Junior's win in the No. 3 to be remembered forever (cont'd)

And that led to a question, and led to one of Earnhardt Jr.'s most insightful, and incisive, sets of comments. The query was that old saw about Junior's "commitment."

"I think people can stop questioning my commitment -- whether I care, whether I have the passion anymore, enough passion," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I have worked my ass off to get back just to subpar. Are we right? No, I'm still wrong [laughter].

"Anyways, to be above average, I have busted my ass. I mean, I can't drive and work any harder than I'm working right now. I can't. This is all I got. And I'm doing it hard, man. I mean, I cannot work any harder.

"You can't do this half-assed. You can't do it 90 percent. You'll get eaten up. It will be obvious to everybody around you: Your team, your crew chief, everybody who builds your motors, builds your cars -- they'll stop giving a [crap] because they know you're not giving a [crap] and you won't go anywhere.

"I'm not burnt out. I still got a lot in the tank. We got a long season left. But I got the passion, man. I want to win. I want to be here for a long, long time. But I guess people will question that until you're done -- not just me, other drivers, too, I'm sure.

"I shouldn't take it so personal. But, man, when you work so damn hard -- I mean, you guys know how it is. You're working your [tail] off to try to get somewhere, do the best you can to do your job, whatever it is. For anyone to ever wonder whether you're giving it all you got pisses you off. But that's just the way it is."

In the end, "it" -- the win -- was big; even nine years after the death of Dale Earnhardt. The Lap 3, three-finger salute by thousands proved his memory will never die -- even if his son, in his passion, made one last plea.

"This is it," Earnhardt Jr. said of him and his dad's former number. "I just knew before the race, and I said it -- I felt 110 percent sure, regardless of whether we finished or even started the race. So, yeah, I'm so glad we won.

"It means more to me now, knowing that I won't ever do it again, that I won. You know, we can all just remember this, squash it, finish our lives, you know? Do what we got to do, what we need to do, 'til we get too old to do whatever we want to do."

And thank God, the cousins proved, Friday night, that day's a long way into the future.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.

Related:
• Earnhardt Jr. drives the No. 3 to Victory Lane at Daytona