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Saturday, February 24, 2001
Earnhardt more than a car owner
ESPN.com news services
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. -- Michael Waltrip never got to celebrate his Daytona 500 victory. He never received all that comes with winning NASCAR Winston Cup racing's biggest event.
Shortly after Waltrip pulled into victory lane after winning last Sunday's race, he was informed by fellow driver Ken Schrader that his team owner and fellow driver Dale Earnhardt was in grave condition after he crashed in the fourth turn on the final lap of the race.
|  | | Michael Waltrip collects himself as he listens to a question concerning the death of his car owner Dale Earnhardt. |
It was the first victory of Waltrip's NASCAR Winston Cup career, but it's likely he would give it all back to have his buddy, Earnhardt, back on earth.
"I had an incredible week dealing with the loss of Dale and what it has meant to us," Waltrip said. "I was his friend and we all loved to watch him race his car and those were the things that we are going to miss. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Teresa (Earnhardt's widow) are going to miss a big part of their family.
"I need Dale. Everybody needs him. When someone dies, it's hard on us, but it's better for them because they are in a better place now. That is what is going to make me go on. I'm overjoyed and overwhelmed. I know Dale would think it was pretty cool, too. When this weekend is over and we have raced, next week we can talk about winning the Daytona 500. It's my personal preference to let this week be the week we talk about Dale and what he meant to all of us, and to me personally. Next week, we'll talk about the other stuff."
Waltrip arrives at Rockingham for Sunday's Dura Lube 400 as the Dayton 500 winner, but does not have any provisional starting positions because it is considered a new team.
"With one round of qualifying, we really have to work on our car and concentrate on it and make sure that we do our job on Saturday when it comes time to qualify to make sure we get a good starting spot," Waltrip said. "We came down here and tested for two days and I was real pleased with the time that I ran and the team was happy with the results of the test. But it took us two days to get the car adjusted that way."
Steve Park is also a driver at Dale Earnhardt Inc. along with Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. In fact, Park drives the first Winston Cup team that Earnhardt put together for the organization three years ago.
"It's been a tough week and we have had a lot of opportunities to talk among the three of us," Park said. "Dale Jr. has been incredibly strong along with the rest of the Earnhardt family. It would be easy to say I wish I didn't know Dale as well as I did because it probably wouldn't hurt so much, but I wouldn't give up the time that we spent together because Dale gave me the opportunity of a lifetime to be successful.
"He taught us all how to be winners and that is something you can't replace."
Park said he will go on and try to do what Earnhardt taught him to do and to become winners.
"We sit back and think how we are going to go on without Dale being there, but he is looking down on us and guiding us spiritually in what we need to do," Park said. "I think he would be mad if he saw how much of a fuss we are making.
"The whole organization has come along in the last couple of years to become a winning team in Winston Cup. The fondest memory I have is all four of us racing at the front of the Daytona 500 late in the race. You know Dale was really proud of us that day. Even though Dale is gone, he will never be forgotten."
It took Earnhardt 20 years to win the Daytona 500 as driver, but won the race as a team owner in only his fourth attempt.
"A memory I will always cherish is when we were running 1-2-3-4 in the Daytona 500," said Waltrip. "To orchestrate that, put it all together and give us cars to do that with is amazing. If you ever wondered about Dale's grasp on this sport and where he was headed, all you have to do is see us running with the top four spots, that was really cool and I'm proud of that."
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