Earnhardt: 'Dad loved this place; I'm still at peace with this place'
RELATED: #TBT to NBC's first broadcast, Dale Jr.'s first Daytona win
On NBC's pre-race show, Steve Letarte visited Dale Earnhardt Jr. to watch his emotional Daytona win in July of 2001, which marked the first time that he returned to the track since his father's tragic death five months prior.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on returning to Daytona after the crash that killed his father: "I could tell my buddies were like, 'Man, what's going on? How is it going to be? What's the deal?' So, as soon as we got there, we drove around to Turns 3 and 4, right where dad hit the wall and lost his life. And, we stopped, and everybody got out and I just walked around a little bit by myself. I just spent some time there seeing how I would feel. I didn't want to fall apart in front of all of my guys and everybody in the race and the garage. It was good. I was like, 'Man, dad loved this place and I'm still at peace with this place. I still love being here and looking forward to racing here many more years."
Steve Letarte: "Have you ever gone back and relived or re-watched that race in July [that you won]?"
Earnhardt Jr.: "Oh yeah, tons of times."
Earnhardt Jr. on his Daytona win: "I was wide open the whole time. Panicking. How many laps are left? Are we going to have enough laps left? Just full-throttle panicking."
Earnhardt Jr.: "I think that win right there made the whole company feel like they could move on and that things were going to be alright. We could be a strong team… you just don't see victory celebrations like this every week. It was special."
Earnhardt Jr. while watching his first interview after his win: "[Laughs] I sound like an idiot. Once you drive in there and you get out of the car, and you're in Victory Lane, I think the emotion and everything sort of sucks me in."
Earnhardt Jr.: "I know that a lot of people took pleasure in how that worked out. And if they couldn't have won the race, I heard that 100 times in the garage the next day. 'If I couldn't have won that race, man, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."