Blk3GM's NASCAR Busch Series News

Feb. 13, 1999
Junior says, "Dad never had it this hard"
By Tim Hipps - Potomac News Staff Writer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 13, 1999)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Saturday that he doesn't believe his father had to deal with nearly as much carnage as do today's up-and-coming NASCAR drivers.
Earnhardt Jr. spoke after surviving a wreck-marred NAPA Auto Parts 300 at Daytona International Speedway. The NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division opener was slowed six times by cautions for 27 laps.

So, Junior, did you acquire some newfound respect for dad during that wreck-plagued NAPA Auto Parts 300?

"Well, I don't think it's been that hard for the past 20 years, has it?" Earnhardt Jr. asked. "He's been through this a time or two, probably in the past 10 or 15 years. But it's been building up. The more popular the sport gets, the more the demand becomes for the team and the driver. Everybody's excited and anxious to race. That's why you get so much action."

Earnhardt Jr. got caught up in two multi-car accidents, yet managed to complete the race in his defense of the NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division championship.

"Yeah, it was one thing after another," Earnhardt Jr. said immediately after climbing from the No. 3 ACDelco Chevrolet with a 14th-place finish. "We got lucky a couple times, and we were unlucky a few other times. I didn't care if we had just a steering wheel when I ran across the finish line, as long as I finished the race. We've had so much trouble with (these tracks). My mindset going into it just didn't fit the race track and the strategy. I've got a lot to learn, I really do."

With that lesson learned, Earnhardt Jr., 24, of Mooresville, N.C., gained a ton of confidence.

"I got to finish the whole race, and I got to draft a little bit and learn a lot," he explained. "That pays off, the more laps you can get in one of these races. And once you do finish one, you gain that confidence that you can. These things are a monster, and the hardest thing to overcome is to finish one of these races. You see these guys crashing now right and left.

"It's not just the rookie mistakes, it's just the law of the land. When you come here for restrictor-plate racing, you're gonna have that stuff. It's a lot of fun. I wouldn't change a thing about it. But it's probably the toughest challenge we've got.

"We're real happy because we finally finished one of these restrictor plate races. We've been shortchanging them everywhere we go, from Talladega to Daytona. We tried to be patient and come from the back, got up there to about second, and I think the No. 35 car (of Lyndon Amick) tore the transmission out or something on the restart.

"I kind of committed, when I saw the smoke come out from under the car, to go low, and he went that way, too. He could've went low or high, it's really nobody's fault. It's just something happened to his car, and I really had nowhere to go. Then the 44 (Terry Labonte) got me in the back and spun me on around. We tried to keep spinning and not get hit, but it's kind of inevitable in that situation."

Earnhardt Jr. said the Speedweeks spectacle takes its toll on drivers, young and old alike.

"Being away from family and wives and newborns for more than a week, it's tough on these guys," Earnhardt Jr. said of his crew. "It's better suited for me because I get to drive. These guys just have to work on them. And when you tear them up like I do, it makes their job pretty hard.

"We tore up a pretty good body, but the other car's a little bit better. We'll probably still take it to Talladega."

"I've been through a lot," Earnhardt Jr. said of his busy week. "We were in the IROC race, then jumped out of that to go Busch practicing. We've been doing something every single day for about a week and a half. It's about wore me out. This Daytona Speedweeks is pretty tough on a driver, I'll tell you that."

He did not see how toughly the week ended for fellow racer Casey Atwood, whose No. 27 Chevy did a backflip on the final lap.

"No, I didn't see Casey's flip at the end," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Is he all right?"

"He walked away," a reporter told him.

"That's a good deal," Earnhardt Jr. said. "That's important."

NAPA Auto Parts 300 Official Results

NAPA 300 Contingency Awards

NAPA Auto Parts 300 Race Results