Earnhardt shines under the new lights at Lowe's in '93

And track president Humpy Wheeler said, "Let there be lights."

And it was such a good idea that several other NASCAR tracks have since followed suit.

With the help of an innovative design that incorporated mirrors to reflect the light onto the track and retaining wall without obstructing the view of the drivers or fans, Charlotte Motor Speedway was the first track more than a mile in NASCAR's premier series to complete a major race after sundown in the 1993 Coca-Cola 600.

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And despite a pair of penalties, one of which cost him a lap late in the going, Dale Earnhardt was the biggest star that night.

Facing a race that started in sunlight and ended in darkness, teams were unsure how to proceed. And attrition was a factor. No fewer than 10 cars retired with engine issues, including Terry Labonte, Ricky Rudd, Dave Marcis and Brett Bodine, who started on the front row but lasted just five laps.

The early stages of the race provided a duel between polesitter Ken Schrader and Mark Martin. They swapped the lead several times in the first 43 laps. Then Geoffrey Bodine and Ernie Irvan -- who started 19th -- worked their way into the mix.

Watching and waiting was Earnhardt, who rolled off 14th. He knew he had a fast setup -- the same one he had used to win The Winston the previous week -- but it wouldn't be effective until the track cooled.

"At the end of the race, the car ran more and more like it did last Saturday night," Earnhardt said. "We ran the same setup we ran last Saturday night, and we made the right call."

Earnhardt took the lead with a three-wide pass of Martin on Lap 98 and dominated most of the next 120 laps. But when he headed for pit road on Lap 221 for service, things began to unravel. First, he was caught speeding on pit road and given a 15-second penalty. Second, Dale Jarrett stayed out -- and when the caution came out shortly thereafter -- he picked up the race lead.

And it appeared that Jarrett had things well in hand as he led the field by more than 14 seconds with the laps winding down. That is, until Greg Sacks spun in Turn 4 on Lap 327 -- with Earnhardt right on his back bumper. NASCAR officials determined that Earnhardt deliberately caused the accident to bring out the caution and assessed him a one-lap penalty.

Earnhardt was incensed at the time because he didn't think the penalty was justified.

"I still don't say I hit him," Earnhardt said. "If we rubbed or the bumpers touched a bit, it wasn't like I went up there and knocked the heck out of him and turned him over or around."

Sacks later said he didn't believe the No. 3 Chevrolet made contact with his No. 68 Ford.

"We were racing hard," he said. "If Dale touched me, it was just because we were racing hard. He took the air off my car and I got loose."

And while Earnhardt's crew argued the call to no avail, the Intimidator tried to contain his temper.

"I was biting my tongue, biting my lip, but I wasn't saying nothing," he said.

It took all of 34 laps to make up the lost lap. Easily the fastest car on the track, Earnhardt regained his lap when the caution came back out on Lap 350 when Rusty Wallace crashed, putting the black No. 3 within striking distance of leader Irvan.

Then it was only a question of how fast would Earnhardt catch Irvan, and then how quickly could he make the pass. The answer came on Lap 362. Coming out of Turn 4, Earnhardt went high to pass Irvan, who blocked. Earnhardt then put two tires into the grass, throwing dirt into the air as he switched to the inside of Irvan's No. 4 Chevrolet.

Once he was clear, Earnhardt was gone. He beat rookie Jeff Gordon to the finish line by 4.1 seconds. Jarrett was third, followed by Schrader and Irvan.

And in Victory Lane, Earnhardt had cooled off enough to keep from saying anything about the two infractions.

"We won, so all that other is neither here nor there," Earnhardt said. "To win is satisfying. It's really satisfying to win after getting penalized twice. To make [the lap] up as fairly easily as we did, that says something for the racecar and the team."

And a black car in the blackness of the night was an unbeatable combination.

"I get better as it gets darker," Earnhardt said with a smile.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.