The Rising Son
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Even the animals at Sea World are Jr. fans!!!
2004 DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION:
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Jr. takes a victory lap after winning the biggest race of his career.
Dale Jr. and the #8 BUD crew celibrate
in victory lane!
AND... Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins the Busch race at Daytona...
When the Busch race was red flaged for rain on Saturday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in the lead. Only 30-some laps had been run, and the race could not be restarted on Saturday, so the end of the race was moved to Monday. After winning the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Dale Jr. still had to come back monday and finish the Busch race. And I'll bet he's glad he finished it himself rather than finding a back up driver, because he won this one too! The daytona 500 was Jr.'s eighth career win and Daytona and the Busch race was his ninth.
2004
Dale Jr.'s latest special paint
scheme.
This car was raced in the 2004
Budweiser Shoot-out on February 7th, as well as in the first 2004 Twin
125 race Where Dale Jr. won, and in the 2004 Daytona 500 which Dale Earnhardt
Jr. won.
The #2 Chevrolet powered Daytona
Prototype driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, and Andy Wallace
finished the 2004 Rolex 24 hour race at Daytona in 5th place overal and
3rd in class. With just six hours remaining the team was leading
the race by three laps. After a slow pit stop they dropped to just
one lap ahead of the competition. The race was delayed by the red
flag for several hours when the rain which fell for most of the race became
too heavy for racing to continue. Green flag racing resumed and Dale
Earnhardt Jr. pitted a little later, leaing driving duties to Tony Stewart
who was to finish the race. They still led the race by a lap.
On the last pit stop it was noticed that a right rear shock had broken,
rendering the car very hard to handle. As the broken shock got worse,
the car was litterally running around much of the track on only two wheels.
There was still a possability to win the race, but as rain began to fall
again, the ill handling car crashed in turn one of Daytona's road course.
What could have been a victory turned into nothing more than a 5th overal
and 3rd in class. After the race, Tony Stewart said that after coming
so close to victory and then having to deal with a broken race car, he
will be back in 2005 to try again. Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he intends
to compete in the race again as well when he was asked about it a couple
weeks later after he won the Daytona 500 and the Busch series race at Daytona.
2003
In 2002 Jr. was vastly improved from his past three seasons in Winston Cup. He wound up a career high second in the year end championship standings. He battled eventual champion Matt Kenseth all season, but was never able to pass him up. He won his first Budweiser shoot-out, locking him into the starting lineup for that event for the rest of his career, regardless of weather he wins a pole every year or not. He won his fourth consecutive race at Talladega to set a record for that track. He also won later in the year at Phoenix for his first win at that track. One this that hampered his year was a concussion at Dover in September. He came back strong the following week though, to finish second behind team mate Michael Waltrip at Talladega.
The new look for Jr.'s car in 2003.
Jr. gets a hug from Harvick after
winning his 4th consecutive race at Talladega.
Harvick finished second in the
race, pushing Jr. past Matt Kenseth and Jimmy Johnson late in the race.
...
For the third strait year, Jr. drove
a special MLB All Star Game car.
This time, however, it was at Chicago
rather than Daytona.
Jr. drove this car with the band
Stained in the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond.
Jr. won his second consecutive season
opening Busch race at Daytona in this Chance 2 Oreo/Ritz car.
.
Jr. won the Talladega Busch race
in this Chance 2 car which advertised the Dale Earnhardt Legacy Concert
in Daytona later in the year.
Jr. won the Second Daytona Busch
race in this Chance 2 car.
2002
The 2002 season started out looking good when Dale Jr. won the Opening Busch race at Daytona in the #3 Oreo car owned by Richard Childress Racing, Jr.'s father's long time car owner. This marked the first, and so far, only time that the #3 has appeared on the track in NASCAR's three main series since the death of Dale Earnhardt in the 2001 Daytona 500. After that he endured a season of ups and downs in Winston Cup.
Dale Jr. Talking to Bobby Hutchins
of RCR before the race.
Jr. dominated on his way to his
first Busch series win at Daytona.
...
Jr. gets a hug from Richard Childress
Dale Jr. gets a hug from stepmother
Teresa Earnhardt after his win.
DAle Jr.'s luck from the Daytona
Busch race did not follow him into the Daytona 500 the following day.
While following team mate Michael Waltrip who was leading, Jr. blew a right
front tire.
He fell off the lead lap, but his
crew made repairs and got him back on the track...
...Only to be taken out in a major
wreck later in the day.
Jr. drove this RCR owned car in
a Busch race at Charlotte in May.
Unlike the Daytona Busch race,
this time he got caught up in a wreck.
Jr.'s Cup car (#8) and the two RCR
owned cars that he
drove for one race each in the
Busch Series in 2002
Dale Jr. owned this DEI prepared
Busch car that he drove in the fall Busch event at Richmond.
He dominated the race all day and
won.
Continue...2001
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This site was created in August, 2001, and last edited on February 21, 2004. If you have
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