DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Since starting to race at age 5, Justin Allgaier has held a single goal: Contend to win races. That outlook changed somewhat over the last couple seasons, when he fought to finish in the top half of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pack with a scrappy, single-car team.
“Not that we ran bad by any means, we still had some great finishes, some great weeks but as a competitor, but I saw a side of myself that I didn’t necessarily like,” Allgaier said Tuesday during NASCAR Media Day at Daytona International Speedway. “I wanted to be competitive again. I started doing some things in the way that I approached the race track that I didn’t like the way I was doing; just certain things that you get in a rhythm or a habit of, things that you look at and you just say, ‘I need to do something different.’ “
This year holds the potential to be vastly different. Faced with an uncertain future in the premier series, the 29-year-old Illinois native signed on with JR Motorsports in late October, landing one of the NASCAR XFINITY Series’ highest-profile rides.
The move puts Allgaier back into the series that he called a full-time home from 2009-2013, a span where he won three races and finished in the top five of the season standings three times.
“I think it puts me back in that position where I feel like I need to be at, personally and competitively,” Allgaier said. “Hopefully, we can go out there and be competitive on a weekly basis and go for wins and a championship. And if we can do that, I think that my personal pressures — or whatever you want to call it — that I put on myself kick in and make it even better.”
Allgaier first joined the Sprint Cup Series in late 2013, making his debut with car owner Harry Scott Jr., who had recently purchased the team’s assets from James Finch. But the 75-race tenure with newly formed HScott Motorsports produced just one top-10 finish and performances around the top-30 mark in the series standings.
The cumulative effect was a change in attitude.
“I wouldn’t say that you came to the race track knowing you couldn’t win, but you came to the race track knowing you had a serious uphill battle in front of you,” Allgaier said. “And not that that’s a bad thing. Sometimes when you get lax and say ‘OK, it’s going to be easy,’ and you have a fast race car and you’re going to dominate every week. That’s a bad thing, too. As a racer, we all put stressors on ourselves, and we have plateaus or milestones that we want to hit.”
Which is where JRM’s No. 7 Chevrolet ride comes in. Regan Smith guided the team — co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and managed by his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller — to five victories over the last three seasons, placing in the top five of the series standings each year.
Allgaier said he’s already become better acquainted with his new team, watching portions of the Super Bowl with Earnhardt Miller’s family and racing against her daughter, Karsyn Elledge, in go-karts.
“Just very family-oriented, just a different feel,” Allgaier said of the JRM vibe. “I think that’s been the coolest part for me. They have a vision, they have a goal. They want to go to the race track and be competitive, and they do it very well and they’re great people. They’re very hands-on, and I think any time you have that — an owner who’s a racer and understands what the challenges are on track — all those pieces are only extras when it comes to going to the race track on a weekly basis.”
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 16, 2016) – As anticipation builds for the 2016 DAYTONA 500® on February 21, NASCAR® and Twitter are collaborating to enhance the #DAYTONA500 conversation with fun, original content and unique activations around racing’s biggest event.
Plans to promote DAYTONA 500 weekend include a new Twitter emoji, Vine and Periscope content from Daytona International Speedway and the first-ever Hashtag 500, a Twitter race among fans that will reward winners with memorabilia from Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ race (1 p.m. ET on FOX).
“We’ve seen tremendous growth on Twitter and this collaboration only makes it easier for fans to engage and follow the DAYTONA 500 conversation,” said Jill Gregory, NASCAR senior vice president, marketing and industry services. “This level of activation and support from Twitter is truly unprecedented, and the big winners are the NASCAR fans.”
To help bring DAYTONA 500 tweets to life during race week, Twitter and NASCAR have created a special, race-themed Twitter emoji. Each time fans Tweet with the hashtag #DAYTONA500, the colorful, waving flags featured in the DAYTONA 500 logo will appear in the Tweet.
“NASCAR has always understood the power of connecting with their fans on Vine, Periscope and Twitter,” said Danny Keens, director of North American sports partnerships, Twitter. “We are thrilled to take our relationship to the next level with one of the most innovative brands in the world ahead of #DAYTONA500.”
Activation on Twitter around “The Great American Race®” will also include the following:
• Vine & Periscope: @NASCAR will create Vines and live video via Periscope to give fans an inside look at the DAYTONA 500 experience, including the iconic, newly-reimagined motorsports stadium.
• Twitter Moments: @NASCAR will curate several moments capturing the spirit and excitement of the DAYTONA 500 festivities.
• Celebrities: Each year the DAYTONA 500 attracts some of sports and entertainment’s biggest names to Daytona Beach. @NASCAR will share content around appearances from John Cena, Florida Georgia Line and Ken Griffey Jr., who will wave the green flag to start Sunday’s race.
• Hashtag 500: The 500th person to tweet a custom hashtag on race day — unveiled by @NASCAR and @FOXtv via the race broadcast – in conjunction with #DAYTONA500 will win one of 10 pieces of memorabilia from the DAYTONA 500. For more information, visit NASCAR.com/hashtag500.
• Twitter Mirror: NASCAR race teams will use Twitter Mirror to bring behind-the-scenes content to life on their Twitter feeds all week long and during the DAYTONA 500.
• Infield Branding: The Twitter Bird logo, as well as @NASCAR and #DAYTONA500, will be featured as infield stencils inside Daytona International Speedway. There will also be a #DAYTONA500 structure inside fan central to remind fans how to join the conversation on Twitter.
The best and fastest way to join the NASCAR conversation and connect directly with the teams, drivers and fans during DAYTONA 500 weekend is to tweet with, and search for, #DAYTONA500.
NASCAR has more than 2.3 million followers on Twitter and increased follower engagement by 87 percent during the 2015 race season.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 16, 2016) – Mack Trucks, one of the most iconic American brands, has entered into a multi-year national sports partnership with NASCAR. The collaboration designates Mack Trucks as the “Official Hauler of NASCAR®.”
Each and every race week, NASCAR transports equipment and technology essential for facilitating the best racing in the world. Logging 450,000 miles a year, NASCAR has a unique travel structure that presents logistical challenges unlike any other sport. Mack, a leader in the design, engineering and production of heavy duty trucks, is providing custom-designed Mack® Pinnacle™ high-rise sleeper models that specifically meet NASCAR’s needs. All Mack trucks sold in the U.S. are made in America.
“The Mack Trucks brand has been a part of American culture for more than a century and is globally recognized for manufacturing a best-in-class product,” said Steve Phelps, NASCAR executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “The custom-designed Pinnacle models are masterfully engineered and we are proud that they will lead the NASCAR convoy to the track each race weekend.”
With its legendary Mack durability and performance, the Pinnacle model is the ideal truck to handle NASCAR’s demanding schedule. Each of the trucks is equipped with a 505-horsepower, 13-liter Mack MP8® engine, the productivity-boosting Mack mDRIVE™ automated manual transmission and Mack’s GuardDog® Connect telematics system. GuardDog Connect maximizes a truck’s uptime by proactively monitoring the truck’s performance and alerting customers to potential concerns.
Mack Trucks will utilize the partnership to engage dealers and potential customers across the nation year round. Additionally, Mack Trucks joins the NASCAR Fuel for Business Council®, which brings together an exclusive group of nearly 60 Official NASCAR Partners four times per year to construct customized deals that help address specific business needs.
“We’re extremely excited about this partnership,” said John Walsh, Mack vice president of marketing. “Joining forces with NASCAR offers us the opportunity to use the sport to exemplify the quality and reliability we’ve proven for more than a century.”
NASCAR’s Mack Pinnacle models embarked on the fleet’s maiden journey to open the season at Daytona International Speedway in February. NASCAR will officially launch its 2016 season in the world’s first motorsports stadium, a world class facility with premium amenities unmatched in the industry, with the 58th annual DAYTONA 500.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season will kick off at the DAYTONA 500 on Sunday, February 21 at 1 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Actor Gerard Butler, star of the high-octane action thriller “London Has Fallen” that opens in theaters nationwide March 4, will serve as the Grand Marshal for the 58th annual DAYTONA 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. at Daytona International Speedway (TV – FOX, FOX Deportes; Radio – MRN Radio, SiriusXM).
As Grand Marshal, Butler will deliver the most famous words in motorsports, “Drivers, start your engines.” Along with the command, Butler will take part in other pre-race ceremonies, including riding in one of the Grand Marshal cars during the pace laps prior to the green flag of the 200-lap, 500-mile race and attending the drivers meeting.
“We’re honored to have Gerard Butler serve as Grand Marshal for the Daytona 500,” Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III said. “Gerard is a talented actor and we look forward to hearing his starting command to kick off the first Daytona 500 held in the new motorsports stadium.”
In Gramercy Pictures’ “London has Fallen” — the non-stop suspenseful sequel to “Olympus Has Fallen” — Butler returns as Secret Service agent Mike Banning, alongside Aaron Eckhart as U.S. President Benjamin Asher, Angela Bassett as Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs, and Morgan Freeman as Allan Trumbull, now the Vice President.
For more information on “London has Fallen,” visit www.LondonHasFallen.com or check out the movie through its social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, #LondonHasFallen, Instagram, and YouTube.
Butler has also starred in such hit films as “Machine Gun Preacher” and “300.” He joins a long list of actors who have previously served as DAYTONA 500 Grand Marshals including Vince Vaughn, James Franco, Chris Evans, John Travolta, Ben Affleck, Nicolas Cage, and Matthew McConaughey.
Tickets for the 2016 Daytona 500 and Speedweeks can be purchased online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.
Fans can also follow NASCAR on Twitter and stay up to speed on the latest news by using #DAYTONA500 and #SPEEDWEEKS. Stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest for the latest news all season long. You can also stay updated on the latest information by downloading the new version of Daytona International Speedway‘s mobile app.
1
Joe Gibbs Racing
Got caught up in a wreck that put him out of the Sprint Unlimited but nearly landed a spot on the front row for the Daytona 500. Don’t be surprised if the No. 18 wins one of the Can-Am Duels.
-1
Daytona 500 qualifying time disallowed for failing post-qual. inspection. Not an amazing start for the 2014 champ.
The runner-up in the Sprint Unlimited. The reigning Daytona 500 champ. A repeat is looking quite possible.
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Hendrick Motorsports
Johnson rarely does well in the Sprint Unlimited. It’s OK with him, however, since he’s gunning for Sunday. And his car is fast.
3
Joe Gibbs Racing
Your Sprint Unlimited winner, ladies and gents. A first 500 win for Hamlin would do wonders for the No. 11 driver, whose year certainly could be 2016.
0
Hendrick Motorsports
Earnhardt was bummed he just barely missed out on the Daytona 500 front row, but he’s arguably still the best plate racer in the sport. He’ll be strong Sunday.
MORE: Fantasy Fastlane: Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Jr. preview
Kenseth will be starting on the front row alongside Chase Elliott, who is less than half his age. We’ll see how experience plays out there from the green flag.
-3
Team Penske
Barely a top-10 finish in the Unlimited — almost by default, given all the wrecks; though he did lead 26 laps — and a subpar showing in qualifying. Started 39th and finished 41st last year, too.
MORE: Fantasy Fastlane: Daytona 500, Brad Keselowski preview
Finished seventh in the Unlimited and wasn’t one of the SHR cars to fail post-500 qualifying inspection. Success!
The No. 78 team had all offseason to ensure its roof flaps complied with NASCAR rules. They did not.
Chase Elliott may be getting all the headlines right now, but Larson is the young gun who may have a better shot in the 500 itself after a top-four finish in the Unlimited.
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All four JGR cars put up top-10 qualifying speeds on Sunday. Edwards has an excellent shot in the 500.
3
Hendrick Motorsports
Elliott is on the pole in his first Daytona 500. Need I say more?
-1
Kasey’s No. 5 Chevrolet hasn’t looked entirely dominant thus far at Speedweeks. Still time for he and crew chief Keith Rodden to change that, but serious gains need to be made.
McMurray was the second-to-last running car to finish the Sprint Unlimited. But hey, at least he finished.
-1
Newman was one of 10 cars wrecked out of a 25-car field in the Unlimited. Knocking the rust off or just overall aggression for everyone?
0
Richard Childress Racing
While he was unable to match his 2014 feat of winning the Daytona 500 pole, Dillon is quickly establishing himself as a possible plate expert.
Considering he only had four total top-10s in 2015, Biffle’s top-10 finish in the Sprint Unlimited could be a sign of good things to come.
Solid start to 2016 for Menard, who placed third in the Sprint Unlimited. Will he back it up in the 500?
Showed he has a fast car in 500 qualifying — 7th — plus, the Wood Brothers have a recent history of making some noise in this race (see Bayne, Trevor.)
RELATED: From tardy slip to pole-sitter | Gordon gets chills watching No. 24
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The pride on Bill Elliott‘s face was unmistakable as he emerged from a small radio interview room Sunday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway. An hour earlier, his 20-year old son, Chase Elliott, had furthered the family’s storied name by adding his own remarkable chapter to Daytona 500 record books by winning the pole for Sunday’s race.
And his dad was visibly moved.
The great event’s youngest pole-winner ever – by three years – Chase Elliott had just completed a press conference where he was as mindful of realistic expectations for a young rookie in his first Daytona 500 as he was humbled by the historic achievement.
RELATED: Relive Chase’s Daytona pole, frame-by-frame
Chase gets his balanced disposition honestly. His father, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, was never one to give in to the hyperbole through an amazing five-decade NASCAR career that included a Cup championship and 44 wins – including two in the Daytona 500 (1985 and 1987).
RELATED: Father-son duos with ‘Great American Race’ pole awards
However, this Sunday afternoon, Bill Elliott was wearing the smile of an extremely proud dad – and willing to share the experience with a couple reporters. As calm and calculating as Bill was during his own racing career, he was almost effusive in the pride and love he felt for his son this day.
“I try to tell him, ‘Enjoy it,’’” Bill Elliott said, grinning. “Because the problem is, then the years turn into 20 to 30 and to 40, and you wonder where it all went.”
Bill Elliott and his wife, Cindy, had watched their only son’s qualifying laps around the sport’s most famous speedway while managing both high hope and tempered expectation. As usual, they stood away from the spotlight, only emerging when Chase had sealed this very big deal.
“We were in the shadows – where we usually are – just watching and taking it all in, then we walked onto pit road to celebrate with him,” Cindy Elliott said while waiting for her son to complete his media obligations Sunday afternoon. “I guess you could say we just had a big Valentine’s gift. We’re so excited for him. It’s a long week so we’re pacing; one day at a time.”
Some of the reserve and realism that characterized Bill’s great career is readily evident in his son as well.
While answering questions from the media moments earlier, Chase Elliott came off as a much wiser, more sensible person than someone 20 years old should be.
He is noticeably measured, and takes time to think about the questions – and he got a flurry of them Sunday afternoon – before answering.
And quite often, as he typically does, Chase delivered an alternate perspective from what people might have anticipated.
Although cognizant of the hype, Chase does not give in to the great expectations as he takes over Jeff Gordon’s famed No. 24 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports.
He is simultaneously reverent of Gordon’s career achievements and yet realistic about the learning curve he, himself, will endure not only this season, but for several to come.
And his father’s steady guidance and support is both evident and invaluable.
“For some reason, he just thinks this is where he wants to be, and that’s it,” Bill Elliott said. “I’ve told him numerous times, ‘You know, if this isn’t what you really want to do, you need to find something else. It will chew you up and spit you out.’ He says, ‘Nope, that’s what I want to do.’ Since he was a little kid it was, ‘Yep, I want to drive a race car.’
“Since he was little – four or five years old – he always had his Matchbox cars and run them around on these little tracks, totally focused. He’d sit on the pit box on Sundays and tell [then Elliott’s team owner] Ray [Evernham] all this stuff.”
The Elliotts have been such staunch supporters of their son, and subsequently his biggest cheerleaders – whether Chase was winning the prestigious Snowball Derby late model race as a 16-year old or the 2014 XFINITY Series title as an 18-year old in his first full year of big-time NASCAR competition.
They have supported, but they have never pushed.
“Watching Chase grow up and watching him race, he was pretty good when we raced go-karts on road courses,” Bill Elliott recalled. “Then when he moved up and we ran Bandaleros and Legends and he did well with that. But he really excelled when he got in a late model car. That just seemed to be when the light switch went on. And thereafter, no matter what he got in, the heavier, the bigger the car, the better he got.
“I’m very proud today. No matter what today brings and Thursday [Can-Am Duels] brings and next Sunday brings is another piece of the puzzle. … You just have to take Daytona and do the best you can to get through it. You just never know.”
RELATED: Click here to bookmark the live stream
It’s Daytona Media Day Presented by RaceView, and we’ve got you covered at NASCAR.com. From 12:30-4:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, we’re live streaming the event here.
MORE: Sign up for RaceView
What you need to know:
• Hosts Jonathan Merryman and Angie Skinner will interview all of your favorite drivers;
• MRN’s Kim Coon will highlight some cool features of Daytona Rising;
• There’s a live chat, so you can ask your favorite driver questions;
• And, of course, expect the unexpected, because it’s a live show!
See you at 12:30.
Jeb Burton, son of former Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton, will compete full time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series this season for Richard Petty Motorsports, according to a team release.
Burton, 23, will pilot the No. 43 Ford for the organization. RPM also fields a pair of entries in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, the No. 43 with driver Aric Almirola and the No. 44 with Brian Scott.
Burton competed last season in the Sprint Cup Series, making 28 starts for BK Racing. He has only two previous XFINITY Series starts along with 50 starts in the Camping World Truck Series.
“When you think NASCAR, you think Richard Petty, and I’m really looking forward to continuing their winning tradition and contributing to the legacy that is Richard Petty,” Burton said.
Veteran Drew Blickensderfer will handle crew chief duties for the team. Blickensderfer, a former Sprint Cup crew chief, worked with former RPM drivers Marcos Ambrose and Sam Hornish Jr. He was crew chief for Matt Kenseth in 2009 at Roush Fenway Racing when that team opened the season with back-to-back wins in the Daytona 500 and Auto Club 500. A third win came in 2011 with driver David Ragan, in July at Daytona.
Burton’s father Ward won five times in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and finished in the top 10 in points twice. Jeff Burton, Jeb’s uncle, is also a former winner in the series and currently serves as a race analyst for NBC Sports.
“We have worked with Jeb on a few opportunities over the past couple of years, and they just didn’t fall into place,” Brian Moffitt, Chief Executive Officer at Richard Petty Motorsports, said. “We feel Jeb is an extremely talented young driver, and I’m happy we have him in our organization.
“He’s proven he can win races and compete at a high level in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and we believe he can do the same in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.”
Martin Truex Jr. detailed his girlfriend Sherry Pollex’s 17-month fight with ovarian cancer in a raw and emotional piece posted Monday on The Players’ Tribune.
Pollex announced Jan. 11 she had completed her final chemotherapy treatment.
Among the specifics revealed in the story was the fact that Furniture Row Racing owner Barney Visser offered to let Truex sit out the remainder of the 2014 season after Pollex was diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer on Aug. 7, 2014.
“But Sherry and I never considered it,” Truex wrote. “We both needed to get back to our normal. And normal for us is racing.”
Truex wrote about first meeting Pollex more than 10 years ago, and how “being with her was one of those things where you were all-in right from the start. You never really questioned it, you never really thought about it. You just did it because it felt right.”
Pollex first began experiencing abdomen pain in April 2014, Truex wrote, but because ovarian cancer often is difficult to diagnose, she did not have a CT scan until August. The following week, Pollex had surgery.
Wrote Truex: “The surgery was performed on August 15, just a short week after we first heard those words. We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 a.m., and Sherry was prepped for what we thought was going to be a four-hour procedure. Instead, after seven hours of surgery, which included a radical hysterectomy and the removal of tumors all the way up to her spleen and appendix, the doctor was finally confident that he had removed all “visible” signs of cancer. It was only four months from the time Sherry had initially told me she was having abdominal pain, and the cancer had literally spread everywhere.”
Worse than the surgery was the chemotherapy that followed, Truex wrote.
“Watching Sherry go through the grueling eight-hour chemotherapy sessions every couple of weeks for six months was almost unbearable. She lost her hair and lost 27 pounds from her healthy weight of 120 pounds. She could barely walk from the living room to the kitchen in our home. It was one of the darkest times in our lives.”
Truex has expanded his Martin Truex Jr. Foundation to focus on both pediatric and ovarian cancer since Pollex’s diagnosis.
You can read the full story here
EARNHARDT NATION is the story of one of NASCAR’s most famous families, from dirt-track racer Ralph to American legend Dale to NASCAR icon Dale Junior. The book is the first to trace the entire history of the Earnhardt family, from Ralph’s first days working under a hood to Dale Junior’s 2015 Sprint Cup campaign, and everything in between. EARNHARDT NATION is on sale Feb. 16 at bookstores everywhere, or online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all other booksellers. Author Jay Busbee is on Twitter at @jaybusbee and on Facebook at facebook.com/jaybusbee.
In this excerpt, a young Dale Earnhardt, not yet a NASCAR driver, is learning just how treacherous life can be when you’re racing for your groceries every week.
Friends, family, everyone was telling Dale to quit this racing silliness — to go get a real job and stop smashing the family’s money into unforgiving track walls. When Earnhardt quit his last real job, at Punchy Whitaker’s Wheel Alignment in Concord, North Carolina, Whitaker, a local automotive legend, asked, “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going racing,” Dale told him.
“You gonna starve to death, boy,” Whitaker declared.
Dale’s one-page 1975 application to race in NASCAR is a country music song on Courier-font paper. Beside “Children (Names & Ages) Earnhardt wrote “Kerry Dale, 5 / Kelly [sic] King, 2 / Dale Junor [sic], 3 months.” Beside “What happened in first race,” he wrote “finish 10th.” And beside “Ambition (other than racing),” he wrote “None.”
Dale saw a glimmer of something more in himself, and each weekend, he drew just enough encouragement to keep running – sometimes literally. One night at some dirt track – it could have been any of them, really – he was running in fourth place when third paid enough for his family’s food for the next week. He had one hell of a problem right ahead of him in the person of Gene Daves, a locally famous driver who went by the nom de track of “Stick Elliott.”
Stick was a man in Ralph Earnhardt’s mold; he’d mortgaged his life in the early ’60s and gone on to win hundreds of races in his career. But where Ralph had preferred the solitude of his own tools and motors, Stick had gone for the glory. Stick had served as a stunt driver for the 1968 Elvis Presley flick “Speedway,” and according to legend, even took Elvis on a terrifying ride around Charlotte Motor Speedway. In short, young Dale Earnhardt was about to toy with the man who’d intimidated The King himself.
Not that it mattered. Dale Earnhardt would have put a bumper to the devil if need be. On the final lap, Dale caught Stick, turning the veteran and scooting past his spinning car for that third-place finish and some critical grocery money. As Earnhardt was climbing out of his car, word reached him that one of Stick’s crewmen was headed his way with a pistol. Earnhardt fled the track, still wearing his dirt-covered firesuit. The next weekend, Earnhardt showed up at the track only to see Stick and his crew headed Dale’s way.
Oh, hell, Dale thought.
Stick walked right up to the kid, stared straight at him, and then broke into a grin. “You know, son,” he said, “you might just make a driver yet.”
Young and wild-haired, Dale Earnhardt did little to distinguish himself from any of a dozen other drivers’ kids. He drove a ’55 Chevy, same as his father, but that and the surname were the only connections between Dale and Ralph. Where Ralph was precise, Dale was ragged; where Ralph worked his car like a scalpel, Dale wielded his like a club. “That Earnhardt boy,” an old driver named Red Farmer said one night, “hit everyone and everything at the track except the people in the grandstands.”
At one 200-lap Sportsman race in Savannah, Dale prepared to race against a crew of luminaries that included fellow future Hall-of-Famer David Pearson.
“I got to win this race,” he told Gary Hargett, his car owner and mechanic at the time.
“No way,” said Hargett.
“I’m broke,” Dale said. “I got to win this race.”
And that’s exactly what he did. For 199 of the race’s 200 laps, he tailed Pearson, but on the race’s final lap, Dale turned Pearson, putting him into the wall and sliding past him for the win.
Hargett was furious; turning a man was no way to win a race. “Why in the world would you do something like that?” he complained.
“(Forget) him,” Earnhardt shot back. “He’s got money, and I’m broke.” He and Hargett had to peel out of the track at full speed to avoid a pack of fans eager to discuss sportsmanship with the kid from Kannapolis.
“You didn’t want to mess around at these tracks,” his friend Little Bud Moore said. “Some of these places, you didn’t want to get too close to the wire fence or the women would cut you.”
“Dale knew that the difference between doing well and doing poorly would determine whether he was headed back to the cotton mill,” said NASCAR Hall of Fame executive director Winston Kelley. “The thing about Earnhardt is, even when he got to the point where he didn’t have to be successful every race, he raced just as hard.”