A hero's son meets his own hero
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive
October 3, 2001
6:11 PM EDT (2211 GMT)
KANSAS City, Kan. -- Sometimes with hope and patience, even the most unspeakable tragedy will eventually result in triumph.
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Matt Dahl, along with his father, has been a Jeff Gordon fan for years.
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That was certainly the case Sunday morning at Kansas Speedway, as young Matt Dahl was introduced to lifelong hero Jeff Gordon in a closed-door meeting in Gordon’s transporter.
Following the landmark meeting, Dahl, the 15-year-old son of United Airlines Flight 93 Captain Jason Dahl, whose plane crashed in a rural Pennsylvania field during a foiled hijacking attempt on Sept. 11, granted NASCAR.com an exclusive interview to discuss his dream come true.
He was jubilant, to say the least.
“It just doesn’t get any better than this,” said Dahl, a tall, lanky and refreshingly personable youngster with an ear-to-ear tin grin.
“I’ve done the Indy 500 seven or eight times, and you’re in a position where you say to yourself, ‘Man I wish I could be down there.’ Now I’m there, I have that chance. It’s unfortunate that it had to happen this way, but it’s still the chance of a lifetime.”
Dahl was astonished upon hearing the news that he would actually meet the three-time Winston Cup champion, who currently leads the standings. He was unsure how he would react. His reaction wasn’t uncommon.
“As time progressed, I got more and more comfortable, but when he walked out of that motorhome … I kind of just froze,” Dahl said. “It was one of those things where you have no idea what to say. I had the reaction I expected. I just wasn’t sure how I would deal with it. So far I think I’ve done all right. I don’t think he’s trying to avoid me yet or anything.”
Quite the contrary, actually. When hearing who he was, drivers flocked to him. Not only did Dahl meet Gordon, he also had a one-on-one meeting with 2000 Winston Cup champion Bobby Labonte, arranged earlier in the week without Dahl even knowing.
Tim Sullivan, Labonte’s publicist, gave the young man an authentic pit crew shirt signed by Labonte, the entire No. 18 crew and team owner Joe Gibbs.
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Bobby Labonte and several other drivers were also eager to meet Matt Dahl.
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After meeting Labonte, Dahl scurried off to join Gordon at the pre-race drivers' meeting, where he was introduced as a hero’s son by NASCAR president Mike Helton and received a lengthy round of applause from the drivers. After that it was off to Motor Racing Outreach chapel service, where he joined Gordon and Labonte in the front row.
He then spent the first 30 laps in Gordon’s pit stall and was given an authentic pit crew shirt to wear. He spent the remainder of the event in a suite high above the brand new 1.5-mile Kansas oval.
“This is like a dream,” he said.
The meeting touched Gordon as much as it did Dahl.
“You don’t realize your whole sport is reaching out there to so many people, kids like Matt Dahl,” Gordon said. “His wish was to come here and meet the drivers and meet me. That just really touched me and a lot of other people.
“We’re just thrilled to make his wishes and his dad’s wishes come true. It’s neat to have Matt come here and think about racing and get his mind off of what I’m sure has been a very tough couple of weeks.”
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Captain Jason Dahl piloted United Flight 93, which crashed in rural Pennsylvania after being hijacked on Sept. 11.
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The past two weeks have been quite trying for the Dahl family. The young man spoke of police cars patrolling outside his house and a whirlwind media crush that has been quite intimidating -- even for a young man who is articulate well beyond his years.
“It’s been slightly overwhelming , yes,” Dahl said. “One of the biggest reasons we tried to keep all the media away is I just really don’t want to be harassed by them -- I’m here to have fun. Everyone has treated me so well and has really taken care of me. I’m just having a blast and I don’t have to worry about anything else. I’m having a good time.”
When asked if he was aware of his father’s status as an American hero, Dahl simply nodded his head. He shared a poignant point of view on the situation at hand, but wished for it to remain unwritten. He wanted to focus on the present, a time filled with exhilaration.
“It was shocking when I found out (I would meet Gordon),” Dahl said. “I read the letter that I got and it was unbelievable. This was something my dad had always dreamed about, was being able to do this and find some way to pull some strings to meet Jeff Gordon. Like I said, this obviously wasn’t the ideal way he was hoping for, but he got me here, somehow, and that’s all that counts.
“I’d like to thank everyone for their support and how much they care. We’ll get back to normal eventually and we’ll get through all of this. At the time being, I just want to thank everyone for this. It takes my mind off of all that’s going on.”
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