Nine years ago, I watched my first race--the first race back at Daytona after the legendary Dale Earnhardt was killed there. His son had caught my attention, and I tuned into the Pepsi 400 of July 2001 wondering what this NASCAR fuss was all about. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won that night--actually, he blew past the competition and showed everyone that the Earnhardts were down, but not out.
I was hooked.
In England, I kept up with a couple of NASCAR message boards and emails from NASCAR-watching friends, and when I came back to the States, I was happy to resume watching races--setting aside my Sunday afternoons (and the occasional Saturday evening) for the roar of engines and some nail-biting intensity.
The last few years, however, my interest has waned a little.
At first I didn't agree with other fans who complained that the newer cars were boring to watch--that lead changes were fewer and the races lacked that old-school excitement NASCAR fans crave. Then I started noticing that they were right. It didn't help that Dale Jr., my favorite driver since July 2001, could barely find the luck to win a race. He was caught up in wrecks, had bad cars, fought with his crew chief. He moved from his father's company, Dale Earnhardt Inc., to Hendrick Motorsports, and the private tensions between him and his stepmother became public.
At Hendrick, he is part of a championship-winning team--and yet, wins have been scarce. Indeed, he hasn't won in so long, I can hardly remember when he did.
Tonight, Junior ran in a Nationwide race (the "minor leagues" where drivers prep for the Sprint Cup series) at Daytona, running a Wrangler #3 car much like the one his daddy raced in the 1980s.
Scratch that--he didn't run, he flew. He won it in grand fashion, that Junior style that hooked me nine years ago and made me a fan.
As his crew chief for the evening, his cousin, Tony Eury Jr., cried on the pit box, my eyes filled with tears. "We lost everything here..." said Tony, trying to hide his emotions from the TV cameras and failing. "To come back and win...with this number...It means everything." Tears leaked from my eyes and a grin split my face as Junior drove a slow reverse lap on the track, waving to the crowd.
It brings back everything I love about NASCAR, and for the first time, I'm excited to watch this weekend's Sprint Cup weekend. I hope Junior can take this momentum into tomorrow night and bring home a win.
Photo sources are unknown.
No comments:
Post a Comment