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Dale Earnhardt

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Waltrip frees Earnhardt Jr. to capture victory

By Mike Fish, CNNSI.com
July 8, 2001
1:03 PM EDT (1703 GMT)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Like a burly tag-team partner, Michael Waltrip played the enforcer while escorting Dale Earnhardt Jr. to a storybook finish.

It was reminiscent of the Daytona 500 when the late Dale Earnhardt did some late blocking so his team's two young drivers -- Waltrip and Little E -- could take the checkered flag. Only at the Pepsi 400, Waltrip dove down in front of a pursuing Bobby Labonte, freeing his teammate to cruise to victory Saturday night.

The bold move came two laps from the finish, sending the Daytona International Speedway crowd into frenzy. It was an ending NASCAR and its fans couldn't have written better, coming on the same track where Earnhardt's dad lost his life in February.

"That was the way it was supposed to be done there," said Waltrip, who'd struggled since his Daytona 500 victory. "Dale Earnhardt lay back there and fought the battle of his life so me and Dale Jr. could get home [in the 500]. Tonight, I was in the defensive mode.

"I did my part, man."

Waltrip and Dale Jr. celebrated in Victory Lane shortly before a firework show paid tribute to Dale Sr.

On this night, the son showed signs of stepping into his father's shoes. This came after Dale Jr. gave away his sister, Kelley, at her recent wedding.

"Those young kids are tough," Waltrip cracked. "He head-butted me after the race. Man, that hurt."

The son proved strong all night, running at the front most of the night.

It appeared no one could ruin the perfect script. Then, a late yellow caution flag threw everything into disarray. Earnhardt managed to slip back to sixth on the restart with six frantic laps remaining.

His crew chief Tony Eury envisioned the worst in the pits, gloomily predicting "The best man is not going to win the race.''

Wrong, boss.

Earnhardt roared back to the front in a matter of a couple laps and had Labonte's car kissing his bumper with three laps to go. It was soon after that Waltrip went seriously to work for his teammate.

"When I got there with two to go, I was thankful," said Waltrip, 15th on the restart. "I pretty much thought Junior and I could get home from there.

"I didn't think about winning. I wasn't going to pass him for nothing. I was just going to push him home."

Labonte, the defending Winston Cup champion, proved gracious in defeat.

He and teammate Tony Stewart rode behind the pack most of the race, determined to avoid trouble and save their cars. Stewart was black flagged for crossing the inside yellow line two laps from the finish. After the race, he had to be separated by team owner Joe Gibbs during a heated exchange with Winston Cup Series director Gary Nelson.

"[Dale Jr.] had the best car all night," Labonte said. "I just wish I could have finished second, but Michael had a different idea."

The night was wildly rewarding for Waltrip, who'd not registered a top-10 finish since the Daytona 500. There'd be suggestions his first Winston Cup victory was just good luck. He arrived here with finishes of 29th, 30th and 20th in his previous three races.

"We'd still been doing things better than we had been," he said. "You can't just drop in and race like this without doing some ground work."