A father and an icon

Surely, Kelley Earnhardt would say that the 1998 Daytona 500 was the most memorable of all her father's wins.

After all, Dale Earnhardt had tried his hand in NASCAR's biggest race 19 times before, and 19 times, he'd wound up short. For him to finally come out on top was something bigger than the sport itself. He was congratulated by members of virtually every crew on pit road and then became the first of many to cut a celebratory donut in the infield -- and maybe the last to do so spontaneously.

To this day, more than a decade later, the 1998 Daytona 500 ranks as one of the greatest races in NASCAR history.

So the event would have to be her favorite, right? Nope. She wasn't there and she can't really even remember what she was doing when he finally won the race. When asked which win stood out for her, the answer speaks volumes about Kelley Earnhardt's relationship with her dad.

She wasn't sure of the year, just that her dad had won the All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and they were able to spend some time together afterward. That's what counted. That's what made the night special.

"Although [the 1998 Daytona 500] was a huge accomplishment for my dad and something that he worked for year after year, I'm going to go back to one of his [All-Star] wins," said Kelley, Earnhardt's second child and his oldest daughter. "It was just really cool, because all of my family was there. We were in the condo watching. Taylor [her youngest sister] was there, and I know Dale Jr. was there.

"Charlotte was really cool for us because we would go to the condo, watch the races and hang out as a family with my grandma, aunts and Teresa [Earnhardt, Kelley's stepmother]. That particular one, we all got to go down to Victory Lane. That was really special to me. My dad was just in an awesome mood from winning. It was just one of those few times we actually got to be together after a win and really hang out together. That didn't happen a lot." (Continued)