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  Fred_29

  Feb 24 2008 11:36

  2001, what a year.

  This picture shows one of the greatest endings to a race I’ve ever seen. Even though we lost a great American hero, Dale Earnhardt, in 2001, the races that followed were spectacularly emotional. First of all, we cannot forget that DEI finished 1,2 in the Daytona 500 that claimed his life. It has been said that he was blocking for his son and best friend so that they could battle it out at the end. The races following the 500 brought about feelings of sorrow, aprehension, and quite literally, fear. But once the cars were on the track, things began to return to normal. The pace laps of the Rockingham race the very next week were in “missing man” formation, leaving the pole-position empty. Then the races: I mean, to see every person in the grandstands holding up three fingers on the 3rd lap of each race that year was astonishing, as well as when television broadcasts changed mid-season to NBC, the network was given permission by Fox and NASCAR to continue to go silent on lap 3 just the same way Fox had been doing it all year, honoring our fallen hero – I remember that most of the time (at first), the third lap seemed to be run under caution for some reason. Then the extremely emotional win by the up-and-coming Steve Park in Rockingham the very next week – Steve Park was hand-picked by Big E as the first driver for DEI – Steve almost lost his life that very same year in September, getting T-boned on the driver’s side during the Darlington Busch series race in September, suffering closed-head injuries and having to be cut from his car – Earnhardt fans were like “not again, please don’t take him too” – Steve would return to racing six months later, but unfortunately he wasn’t the same driver – now, no one will give him a shot…so sad. Continuing on, the win by my man Kevin Harvick literally 3 weeks after Dale died (wow, that one got to me), Junior’s first win at Daytona came that same year in July (as shown in your picture), followed by Harvick’s second Cup win in Chicago. The 9/11 attacks happened…. the first time a race (Loudon) was completely postponed if I remember correctly, New, patriotic paint schemes on most cars in Dover, Dale Jr.‘s win in Dover the week after the postponement – Jr. was holding a big American flag out of his window while doing a Polish victory lap. RCR driver Robby Gordon (Earnhardt Sr.’s teammate, then Harvick’s)wins the postponed race in Loudon N.H. on Thanksgiving weekend, Kevin Harvick dominating the Busch series for the championship, the introduction of Kevin Harvick (and his attitude) to the world…what a year! Deep sadness soothed with healing, emotional wins, an exciting newcomer in Harvick, Earnhardt tributes everywhere in the country, none bigger than in Las Vegas, where they had a big number 3 arranged in flowers in an area between grandstands – also, the giant American flag at Talladega flying at half-mast (I know flags were at half-mast everywhere they went that year, but Talladega’s flag is HUGE.) Wow, what a year.

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