None of that would’ve been possible without how hard NASCAR worked on the race track, how much money they spent on the Air Titans and how they worked through the storms to allow us to race after the six-hour delay. They raced the full length and that’s something about it, they don’t want the Daytona 500 to be cut half short. They wanted the fans to get their money’s worth out of it.
 
After the green flag came back out, they did. You could tell as soon as they went back racing at night, they were racing to get to halfway. They were racing every lap just in case that pop-up storm came, so it was just like every lap was going to be the last lap. That’s why the intensity picked up, and people were pressing and making more pit-road mistakes. It was pretty cool to see how many cars were on different pit strategies, and it made it a different race for everybody.
 
Honestly, you can look back at Junior’s career and his dad kind of taught him how to speedway-race at an early age. Yes, his car was very strong and very good, but Junior knows how to speedway-race. He knows how to break the air, how to keep the wind in his favor and that makes it to where you’ve got to outthink the next guy. That’s why you always see him checking the mirror and knowing where the other drivers are on the race track.
 
That’s what made his car look so strong because he’s very smart when it comes to speedway racing, and that all plays in to making your race car stronger. Hendrick Motorsports has good motors and they’ve got good bodies, but you know all four of their cars are probably identical. It’s just, when it comes to speedway racing and it’s time to go, Junior’s always up front. He always knows how to make the most speed out of his car at Daytona or Talladega.
 
I was very impressed with how well the No. 2 Ford ran; Brad Keselowski hasn’t run that well at a speedway race in a while, but his car was super strong. He ran well in the race, but Denny Hamlin showed his speed all weekend and just came up short. Darian Grubb, Hamlin’s crew chief, has done his homework this year and I think they’re going to be crazy-tough wherever we go.
 
The cars you might not think of that stuck out to me were the Swan Racing cars. Cole Whitt and Parker Kligerman ran very well, were able to pass cars and were able to run by themselves. That’s all a credit to NASCAR and how well they’ve gotent the rules and how equal they’ve gottent stuff to be able to put your car back together from early trouble.
 
But it was easily Junior’s day. Us crew chiefs, we’re racers at heart. Steve Letarte’s a racer. He grew up building race cars. He came up with our team owner, Robby Benton, and they kind of went through the ranks together. Even when Steve goes into the TV booth next year, you’re still going to have that competitive edge that makes race cars run fast. I think it’s a hard mix to take care of your family and still have family time while being in racing, but Steve is just showing that, "Hey, just because the media thinks I’m going to be done racing, I’m still wanting to race, run good and win, and I’m going to do everything I can."
 
He’s done as good of a job with Dale Jr. as anybody has. They always run well, they’re always fast … sure, they’ve run good at Michigan and won the fuel mileage race and everything else, but last year, they ran in the top 10 just about everywhere they went. Steve’s still got it, and he’ll have it until he spends a lot of time out of the sport. But deep down, he’s a racer and I guarantee he’s giving it everything he can today and he’ll do it until Homestead is over. It’ll be cool to see him walk out of this deal with a championship and see him go right into the TV booth with a trophy.
 
Now on to Phoenix, where we’ll see how the new qualifying deal and new ride-height package work on a mile track. The qualifying format for the Nationwide Series cars is going to be even more fun the more we learn it. It’s up to us crew chiefs to figure it out.

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READ: Earnhardt Jr. wins wild Daytona 500	WATCH: Dale Jr. in Victory Lane	WATCH: Danica, a dozen others in Daytona pileup	READ: Official Daytona 500 race results

What may have been more impressive about Hamlin’s runner-up finish at Daytona International Speedway — a personal best in the Daytona 500 — was his ability to guide his No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, without assistance from his team or spotter. The 23-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner battled radio problems throughout the 200-mile race, and after nearly a six-and-a-half-hour rain delay Sunday afternoon the radio problem intensified, with Hamlin losing communication for much of the race’s final 162 laps, including complete silence during the event’s final 15 circuits.
 
"Our radios got wet after the rain, so I didn’t perform as good as I could have, because I was trying to spot myself at the end of the race," said Hamlin. "It’s hard to win a superspeedway race when you don’t know when runs are coming and when you’ve got to time your passes and everything, especially when you’re just trying to guard against just causing a wreck, knowing that you have radio silence.
 
"It was tough and disappointing, because I definitely could have used my spotter there at the end for that green-white-checker to possibly time a run on the 88 (Earnhardt Jr.). I’m at least happy we finished the race and didn’t get in big trouble."
 
Despite winning the Sprint Unlimited on Feb. 15 and the Budweiser Duel qualifying race on Feb. 20, Hamlin was somewhat somber with his runner-up performance Sunday night.
 
"There’s a lot to be disappointed about, but there’s a lot to be happy about," he said. "I feel good. It was a solid run for us. We didn’t have the speed that we had before the rain came. I thought — the Duels and the Unlimited — I felt like our car didn’t have quite the speed. But, for some reason, whether guys picked up their intensity, it was tougher to pass out there. I’m so 50-50 on whether I’m pissed off or I’m happy. I just don’t know."
 
Even with the defeat though, Hamlin, who missed four races last season due to an L1 compression fracture in his back following the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. last March, is off to a hot start in 2014 and will head to Phoenix International Raceway this upcoming weekend with the most momentum he’s had in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition since 2012.

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READ: Earnhardt Jr. wins wild Daytona 500	WATCH: Dale Jr. in Victory Lane	WATCH: Danica, a dozen others in Daytona pileup	READ: Official Daytona 500 race results

"Bet that doesn’t happen too much in here does it," he joked.

It was raw emotion and leftover adrenaline and exactly the kind of reaction that lures and captivates us.

Winning the Daytona 500 is a really, really big deal. When the sport’s biggest star wins it, well … you can only imagine.

Before heading out on a national press tour for interviews that included a "Late Show With David Letterman" appearance to celebrate his win and its massive impact on the sport, Earnhardt officially joined Twitter in the early morning hours of Monday.

His un-manned, but years-ago fully-claimed @DaleJr Twitter account had 213,000 followers before he even sent his first Tweet. Now, it’s more than doubled that in less than 24 hours.

He still isn’t following anyone else, but said that’s just because he’s "been too busy" to make his selections. There are plenty shamelessly pleading their case now.

As of mid-afternoon on Tuesday, he had only written 10 tweets – most were accompanied by "selfies" he took with his cell phone camera.

One of those was of him standing in front of the statue of his father, the late seven-time Sprint Cup Series champ Dale Earnhardt, located outside of Daytona International Speedway.

A source of complete unfathomable heartbreak when his father was killed there on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, the sport’s most famous track is also a continued source of triumph for Earnhardt Jr.

Those there that day can’t forget that Sunday afternoon watching with a helpless and gutted feeling as a then 26-year old Earnhardt Jr. hurriedly parked his car, scrambled out its window and jogged down the entire length of pit road frantically searching to find out what had happened to his dad moments earlier.

And yet, in the months and years afterward, Earnhardt Jr. always insisted he held no grudge toward the town or the track for the accident. Overall, it’s been a source of more happiness than sadness for him. He’s always chosen the fond memories.

And there have been plenty. In addition to the pair of Daytona 500 wins, he has a July Cup win in 2001 and seven finishes of third or better, including three Daytona 500 runner-up showings in the past five years.

His win Sunday in the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet, however, is especially significant because it takes the pressure off what must be hugely strong shoulders for the first time in recent memory. Perhaps for the first time since he’s raced at NASCAR’s Cup level.

His happiness is reflective and indicative of that.

In the short term, this win likely earns him the first berth into the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup field and it lets him go about his final season paired with crew chief Steve Letarte in a more unbridled fashion. It wouldn’t surprise if he turns this special moment into a career season. That’s often it how it works in sports.

The rest of us could only guess how hard it must have been holding up a legacy — the high expectations under bright glare — being Dale Earnhardt’s son and namesake.

But Earnhardt has always seen his background as a blessing and admirably handled his circumstances — the doubters, the believers, the fanatical and the fuddy-duds.

The skeptics would say, sure he won one Daytona 500, when would he get another? Sure he’s made three consecutive championship Chase fields, but when would he again.

Now. The answer is now.

"I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am and thankful I am that (team owner) Rick Hendrick didn’t give up on me, that they believed in me, were trying to find ways to make the chemistry work regardless of what anybody said, regardless of what the critics were saying when everybody was saying I was finished, whether I was going to do anything ever again," Earnhardt said.

"I’ve been pretty vindicated, but I’m in a good place now. I got my priorities in better shape. I feel like we’re embarking on a season that could be something really special for me."

Earnhardt has always been gracious taking the good with the lumps. But he conceded Tuesday he hopes this effort under the brightest spotlight will help remind people of his dedication to the sport — not just as the perennial Most Popular Driver, but as someone extremely driven.

"When we weren’t running good, I think people underestimated how much I cared about performance," Earnhardt said Tuesday. "When you look at the critics and you look at their comments, aside from people saying I was overrated, they would always say I didn’t have killer instinct that I didn’t have the stuff that I needed to drive to win a championship. That I didn’t want it bad enough.

"I was never bothered by being called overrated, because it’s such a broad term. When people really pick at your determination, your drive, your hunger, that bothered me more than anything else did because I grew up around the sport and I love it to death."

That is on full display this week. The grin hasn’t left his face and there is an unmistakable spark and vibe.

Even if you aren’t part of Junior Nation — an Earnhardt fandom larger than the population of some small countries — it’s hard to begrudge him this win and what it could do to set this season apart.

"If you look at how happy I was Sunday after winning the race, you’ll know how bad I want to win, you’ll know how much winning means to me and you’ll know from now on that there’s no questioning my killer instinct or drive, whatever term you want to use."

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READ: Earnhardt Jr. wins wild Daytona 500	WATCH: Dale Jr. in Victory Lane	WATCH: Danica, a dozen others in Daytona pileup	READ: Official Daytona 500 race results

The 23-year-old rookie weathered a pair of scrapes, one where he made contact with fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup Series freshman Kyle Larson, and another where he banged into teammate Ryan Newman. But he also kept it straight in escaping a big crash involving Danica Patrick, somehow saved it after a big fishtail in Turn 2, and at the end took advantage of a fast-moving bottom line to sail past the last-lap accident and into the top 10.

As far as the No. 3 team was concerned, it was mission accomplished.

"Yeah, it is a success," Dillon said. "I was a little disappointed I got my teammate there, but everything happened so quick, and I got into his rear bumper and just turned him. That was unfortunate. But proud of my guys. … We’ve just got to build on this. Got a lot to go. The yellow stripes were out there tonight, you could tell. I wasn’t getting much help tonight out there. It’s just, you’re kind of at the mercy of those guys around you. I definitely felt the mercy of those yellow stripes."

Dillon led the opening lap, marking the first time the No. 3 has paced a circuit in the Daytona 500 since Earnhardt led Lap 183 in his final race here 13 years ago. It was a pressure-filled week for the grandson of team owner Childress, who used the No. 3 during championship campaigns in the Camping World Truck and Nationwide series, and was the biggest proponent of bringing the number — which had been his granddad’s before it had been Earnhardt’s — with him up to the Sprint Cup Series.

Given all that, and the fishbowl of attention that had encompassed the No. 3 team since winning the pole a week earlier, Dillon and his crew seemed more than pleased with the final result.

"That was great. He learned a lot tonight," crew chief Gil Martin said. "It looked like we were in a couple of altercations, but one of them was an accordion thing, and one of them was in the middle of the corner down there — you run out of room in this place. All in all, I think he did a great job. Maybe we were a little too conservative tonight. But in the big picture, coming out of here with a top 10 … all in all, we couldn’t have had a better Speedweeks. If somebody had written the script for us before we came down here in January, one: I would have taken it, and two: I wouldn’t have believed it."

Dillon’s long day into night, separated by a six-hour rain delay, wasn’t without incident. Shortly before the midway point Dillon nipped the back end of Larson’s car when the two vehicles were in pack traffic. "My fault. I will not let that happen again," spotter Andy Houston told his driver over the radio, while Dillon chalked it up to tight racing. Later Dillon made contact with Newman when one line of cars stacked up in the draft. "You were all jammed up," Houston told him. "Nothing you could do there."

He did plenty in a pair of saves that kept his hopes of a strong finish intact. Dillon had to get creative when his car got loose in Turn 2, going "lock to lock" — as far as the wheel will turn in both directions — to keep the vehicle straight. Earlier he squirted through a 13-car pileup, taking only minor damage in an accident that sent Danica Patrick hard into the wall. "A little Volusia County (Speedway) dirt racing saved you, Austin," Childress told him over the radio.

"He got sideways backward and just kept driving," said Mike Dillon, Austin’s father and RCR’s general manager. "That was awesome. That was good driving. You’ve got to keep driving them when you wreck, and you can’t give up. He drove himself back out of that one, where he could have backed it into the fence."

At the end, with a six-car wreck unfolding around him, Dillon was able to find enough space to get to the finish relatively unscathed.

"I felt I was a pinball here for a while. Glad we came out in the top 10," he said. And now it’s on to Phoenix, where the No. 3 team hopes Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Daytona 500 victory will steal much of the spotlight, allowing them to be just another program helping a rookie driver find his footing at the sport’s top level.

"I hope so," Martin said. "There’s still going to be some. Each week it’s going to linger on. With Junior winning tonight, that will take a lot of pressure off Austin, because everybody’s going to be on Junior, and that’s going to be off Austin. We want to kind of fade back over like this team’s accustomed to. Just fade right off so nobody’s paying attention to what we’re doing, click some finishes off, and get him some experience."

MORE:

READ: Earnhardt Jr. wins wild Daytona 500	WATCH: Dale Jr. in Victory Lane	WATCH: Danica, a dozen others in Daytona pileup	READ: Official Daytona 500 race results