From Tragedy To Triumph: Junior Exorcises The Demons of Daytona in 2001

Imagine coming back to the track when, only five months before his death, your father was one of NASCAR's greatest drivers of all time.

All the pressures, expectations, sorrow and anguish had to weigh heavily on then 26-year-old Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who was having a tumultuous season in 2001 with more hardships than successes on and off the track.

Immediately inheriting his famous father's fans and expectations, "Little E" had little room for solace and comfort to even fathom what happened in his life and as a driver—what he had to do at each race besides driving the wheels off his car.

Following his runner-up finish to teammate Michael Waltrip in the Daytona 500, Earnhardt Jr. had to carry on, not only for the remainder of the season, but for the rest of his life, without the voice and guidance of his father. There was no longer a proud "Papa" in Victory Lane praising him on a great race, or for advice if he sought for it.

During the early segments of the 2001 campaign, Junior struggled at races like Rockingham (where he was involved in an early crash), Las Vegas (where he missed on the set-up), Atlanta (where he suffered a cut tire), Darlington and Bristol. Regardless of your allegiance, you almost had to wonder how he could bring himself to the track and if he could regain his focus for good showings and finishes.

Things suddenly improved for the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet team at Texas, when Junior won the pole and finished in the eighth position in the race. An 11th place effort at Martinsville, followed by a trio of top-10s, dug Junior from the trenches to the top 10 in points heading into the summer stretch.

Junior and his team experienced a rough month of June, with only a third place finish at Dover being the "sparkling" effort for the No. 8 crew. Finishes of 39th, 20th and 19th offset those solid finishes of April and May, placing "Little E" in 11th position overall in points.

Amidst a new television contract and the great void in the sport from the death of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. came another big moment for the sport in 2001: the return to Daytona International Speedway for the running of the Pepsi 400.

Why was this a big moment, you ask?

It would mark the first race for NBC as a TV partner for the sport as well as Earnhardt Jr.'s return to the track of his father's tragedy.

It had to haunt Junior that he was coming back to the place where, on the last lap, he raced on to a glorious second-place finish in the Daytona 500, while a few seconds behind him the No. 3 Goodwrench Chevrolet was crashing head-on between turns three and four.

The infamous black Monte Carlo, synonymous for roughing up fenders and trading paint for nearly 13 seasons, sat idle on the grass portion of the fourth corner, hood smashed into the windshield and a lifeless driver who seemed indestructible to fans and teams.

Gone was "The Intimidator," who for so many years, had given chills to the greats like Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Buddy Baker, Terry Labonte, Rusty Wallace and Harry Gant as well as some of the sport's new faces like Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Dale Jarrett and Tony Stewart.

You could not possibly watch the race weekend events at Daytona in July of 2001 without thinking about the last-lap tragedy and wondering how Junior would perform under the scrutiny and barriers that stood in his way.

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