Day of Drama for Dale Jr. at Daytona_2/17
No. 8 Budweiser Team 29th after Tire Woes and a Crash
 Ward Burton took home his first Daytona 500 victory Sunday at Daytona
International Speedway in a bizarre race that saw numerous crashes,a red flag delay and
moments more suited to Keystone Kops than the biggest race in American auto racing. Dale
Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team were among the favorites coming into the race,
and ran easily in second place early in the race, but fell victim to two blown tires and a
multi-car accident. Despite the repeated difficulties, the Bud team soldiered on,
repairing the car during multiple visits to pit lane and the garage, finishing the race in
29th position, 29 laps behind the leaders. Elliott Sadler and Geoffrey Bodine finished
second and third respectively, following Burton across the finish line. The Key Moment: Dale Jr. ran easily in second place
for the first 22 laps of the 200-lap race until debris on the track cut the right front
tire on the Bud car while barreling toward turn one at more than 180 mph. Dale Jr. was
able to keep the car from crashing, but the damage from the tire was extensive. Somehow
the team remained on the lead lap after making four pit stops to repair the damage, but
dropped to 39th position.
Even with a damaged car and with duct tape flapping in the
breeze like a tattered flag, it took Dale Jr. only 12 laps to pass 29 cars and move back
into the top 10. Another 20 laps later, he climbed into second position before making
another pit stop on lap 81. One lap later, the second yellow flag of the race flew,
allowing the team to make more substantial repairs to the front of the car. The lengthy
stop dropped the team back to 35th position until a blown right rear tire on lap 93 sent
the car sliding wildly for the second time. Dale Jr. somehow managed to keep the car going
forward while careening through the infield grass. The shredded rear tire cut a brake line
and damaged the right rear brake caliper, which forced the team to pull into the garage
for repairs. After 12 minutes of welding, taping, hammering and mending, they returned to
the race, 12 laps behind and in 39th position.
As if that wasn't enough fun and excitement, Dale Jr. was
caught up in the tail end of a multi-car crash in turn one on lap 150. This time, the car
returned to the garage on the back of a wrecker while Dale Jr. made a mandatory trip to
the infield medical center, where he was checked out and released. The team again made
band-aid type repairs and returned to the track, where they managed to remain until the
conclusion of the race.
Dale Jr's Quotes: "I think this shows
a lot about our team today. The results won't show it, but we had a lot of little
victories today. This team showed a lot of heart and hard work when they repaired the car
again and again. I hope I was able to show some of that spirit too. We never gave up, and
it may not look like it, but a lot of good things happened today. We want to be
championship contenders this year, and I think this showed our commitment today. It was
like a bunch o' junkyard dogs or something - we were going to keep trying and trying. I'm
disappointed that we lost our string of finishing first or second in the last six races
here (at Daytona), but if this is as bad as it gets this year, that's pretty damn cool. I
had a fun weekend and it's going to be a great year for us.
"The car was awesome early on. We were able to just
chill out behind (teammate) Michael (Waltrip). I think we ran over something and it cut
the right front tire and I was just trying to hang on and not crash. Even with the car all
torn up, I was still able to run with anybody out there. It felt like we passed the whole
field and then we had the second cut tire. That was wild. It blew coming off of turn four.
I think Terry Labonte (who was behind the No. 8 car) must o' thought the world was coming
to an end with all of the rubber and pieces flying off the car. Once it blew, I had no
control over which way the car was going, and then all of a sudden, I was trying not to
hit another race car or anything on pit road, so the best bet just seemed to be running
through the grass. (Stuff) was flying up into the car - I mean, look inside the car and
there's dirt and grass and god-knows-what all over in there."
Best Radio Conversations
Dale Jr. (to the team during the final pace lap before the start of the race) "All
right y'all this is what it's all about. I'm gonna have a blast out here so you guys may
as well enjoy it from where you're at there in the pits. Oh, and the next time I come back
around, I'll be going a lot faster."
Dale Jr. (as he moved into second place behind his teammate
Waltrip, sounding like a small child imitating race car noises)
"Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooooowwwwwlllllllllllllllll"
Tony Eury Jr. (car chief) (to the crew before they began
the process of replacing the damaged nose of the car after the first blown tire.) "OK
guys take a deep breathe. We're gonna go real slow and it's going to fit together real
easy. You all know what you need to do."
Dale Jr.: (asking about the repairs) "Do you think this'll help?"
Tony Jr: "Yeah! A lot!"
Dale Jr.: "10-4. OK then, we're gonna go!"
Tony Jr: (after Dale Jr. had sped through the infield grass
with a flat rear tire at approximately 160 mph) "That was about the coolest damn
thing I've seen. That red thing was coming right at me through the grass and then you went
past lookin' right at me."
Dale Jr: "That was wild. It blew right out of the corner. I mashed the brake pedal
and there was nothing there. Nothin That's something I can tell my grandkids about.
(suddenly realizing he has passed the entrance to pit lane) Oh I was supposed to come in
the pits? I'll come in next time if that's cool."
Tony Jr: "10-4 next time by..."
-Budweiser
Jr. catches no luck in Daytona 500
2/17/02 - Flat tires, brake
problems and accidents were the stories of the day for Dale Jr. en route to a 29th-place
finish in the season opener. Ward Burton came out as the race winner following an
interesting series of events in the closing laps.
Budweiser Daytona 500 Pre-race report_2/12
Dale Jr. Quotes for the Daytona 500
"I think we should be among the favorites. I'm proud of that, mainly because this is
only our third year in Winston Cup. We were so dominant on the superspeedways last year
that I was worried about being competitive this year with the new aerodynamic rules. But,
we showed in the Budweiser Shootout that we were just as strong as we were before. I think
the new rules reward the teams that worked harder and smarter over the off-season. Anybody
could lead the race under the old rules, but now, the best cars will really come to the
front and hopefully stay there.
"The car we're running in the 500 is the same one that
we finished second with at this race last year, and then we brought it back in July and
won the Pepsi 400. We took it to Talladega and won the Winston million-dollar bonus, so it
has a great record already. I think it's a better car than the one we used in the
Shootout. I can't really explain why, it just seems to be a magic chassis. I know Tony
(Eury) Jr. and the crew guys have massaged it for more than a year, and it just seems to
respond.
"It's a great track and a great race and it would be
an honor to win it this year."
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Daytona
Winston Cup Starts: 4 (points races only)
Best Start: 4th (Feb., 2001)
Best Finish: 1st (July, 2001)
This Race, Last Year: 2nd (led 13 laps)
Dale Jr. finished second last Sunday in the season-opening
Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, leading 20 laps. It is the fourth consecutive race at
Daytona that the team has finished first or second. The Budweiser team was a dominant
factor last season at Daytona, leading laps in every race entered at the famed 2.5-mile
Florida track. They claimed finishes of second in a photo finish in the 125-mile
qualifier, second in the Daytona 500 and then an emotional victory in the Pepsi 400 at
Daytona in July.
Bud Pole Qualifying
The starting lineup for this event is determined by a combination of Bud Pole qualifying
(held last Saturday, which placed Jimmy Johnson and Kevin Harvick on the front row) and
the results of the twin 125-mile qualifying races. Dale Jr. will start in the first
qualifying race this Thursday, taking the green flag from the 10th position (outside of
row 5).
What to Watch
A new aerodynamic rules package has some worried about the lack of passing at the front of
the field. This may also allow the top cars to pull away from the rest of the pack,
allowing a safer and less-congested field barging their way to the finish line. Dale
Earnhardt Inc. teams won three of the four superspeedway races last year, and this year
could see the same results.
Best Seller
Dale Jr's book about his rookie season, "Driver #8" will appear in the # 11 spot
in this Sunday's New York Times Best Seller list. It was # 13 last week in its debut on
the prestigious chart.
-Budweiser
Upcoming events at Daytona
 February 9 - Qualifying for the Daytona 500
February
10 - Budweiser Shootout
February
13 - Qualifying for Busch Series (Oreo Car)
February
14 - Gatorade 125's
February
15 - IROC Round 1
February
16 - EAS/GNC Live Well 300 (Oreo Busch car)
February
17 - 44th Daytona 500 |
