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Jared Turner: Earnhardt's presence is missed at Bristol

By Jared Turner - SceneDaily Staff Writer

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Article Rating: 4.4
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Fans claim that the racing at Bristol Motor Speedway has lost some of its luster since the track was repaved following the spring 2007 race.
 
Drivers consider the new surface a blessing, citing the extra grooves it has opened up around the .533-mile bowl-shaped oval.
 
With more room to race, drivers are no longer forced to use the old-chrome horn as much to dropkick their competition out of the way. Passes, for the most part, can be made cleanly with much less bumping and rubbing than yesteryear.
 
The result has been a duller race from a spectator standpoint but a tamer one from a driver’s perspective. And the fresh coat of concrete isn’t the only reason for the kindler, gentler Bristol.
 
Another factor – at least in the August night Cup race – has been the track’s place on the schedule. Situated just three races before the field for the Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup is locked in, the Bristol night event has become a more mild-mannered affair since the Chase format was implemented in 2004.
 
Consider that last year’s race featured just nine cautions, and two of them were for debris. In the 2006 night race, there were 10 cautions – still far fewer than the record 20.
 
Winning the summer Bristol showdown is not the top priority of drivers hovering near the Chase bubble because many are unwilling to take the risks they may have earlier in the season. Getting out of Bristol with a solid finish and a car in one piece is now the first order of business.
 
With nine drivers jockeying for the final seven Chase spots this year – positions six through 14 are separated by just 162 points – don’t expect Saturday night’s Sharpie 500 to showcase the kind of fender-banging, sheep-metal crumpling action of the pre-Chase years.
 
And that makes me wonder what kind of impact Dale Earnhardt would have on Bristol if he were alive and still racing.
 
It seemed that no race was more tailored to Earnhardt’s hard-nosed driving style than the Bristol night event. When he showed up at Bristol every August, so did a guarantee of excitement – and usually a little controversy.
 
The iconic image of Earnhardt’s black No. 3 car spinning Terry Labonte’s No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet to win on the last lap in 1999 will forever be engrained in the consciousness of long-time followers of the sport.
 
Earnhardt’s post-race assessment of the incident in which he claimed to have only “rattled Labonte’s cage a little” has become one of NASCAR’s most enduring sound bites.
 
Of course, 1999 wasn’t the first time Earnhardt made his presence felt under the nighttime Bristol sky.
 
Many fans recall that same race four years earlier – in 1995 – when Earnhardt spun Labonte – who else? - across the finish line on the last lap.
 
Earlier that same night, Earnhardt was black-flagged for sending Rusty Wallace into the wall. The two drivers later had to be separated in the garage area after Wallace hurled a bottle of water at his rival.
 
As much as Earhardt’s aggression at Bristol sometimes infuriated his competitors, it clearly paid dividends for him. He won at the track nine times and notched his first career victory there in his rookie campaign of 1979.

Even Labonte, who seemed to attract the brunt of Earnhardt's Bristol bumps, respected the late driver's passion for running well at the short, high-banked track.
 
Asked in 2006 what he misses about Earnhardt since the seven-time Cup champion’s death on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, Labonte didn’t have to look far to find an answer.
 
"I think what I miss [most] about Dale, is Bristol," he said. "When you go there, man I'm telling you - if you were going to win, you were going to race him at some point in the night to do it.”
 
So while the introduction of the Chase and a new surface may have made Bristol no longer the center of excitement and aggression it once was, it’s fair to say that Earnhardt’s absence has also had a little something to do with it.

Average Rating: 4.4

Comments

11 responses to "Jared Turner: Earnhardt's presence is missed at Bristol"
  1. 1
    Sean Doyle said:
    Aug 20, 2008 at 9:26 AM

    The Bristol races are my favorite races of the year, I really enjoy the racing on the short tracks. Don't underestimate the importance of this race in setting the Chase field. You've got nine guys scratching and clawing to get into the Chase. Don't think these guys won't pull an Earnhardt and punt another car if it can help elevate them in the points standings. Go Smoke!

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  2. 2
    John Lockhart said:
    Aug 20, 2008 at 6:44 PM

    Nobody drove BRISTOL like Dale SR.Nor will they ever.Like Terry said,if you were going for a win there, you had to to take from Earnhardt.Man!I miss that guy.Go Dale Jr.!

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  3. 3
    Mark Ernst said:
    Aug 20, 2008 at 6:51 PM

    Earnhardt will always be voted the best driver in the history of Nascar. Watching him plow Wallace into the wall was AWESOME. And then theres Terry. Sr didn't have any fans when he spun him out in 99. They booed him when he made his famous pose in victory lane. Your missed every day Dale. DEI would be the team to beat if he was here. His vision on every thing can't be put in to words. Like him or hate him,Nascar wouldn't be this way if he was still here.

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  4. 4
    robert mcleester said:
    Aug 20, 2008 at 8:30 PM

    Dale Earnhardt personified nascar like no other. how this sport misses his presence.he was and always will be the best!

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  5. 5
    beth emerson said:
    Aug 21, 2008 at 5:33 AM

    I have and will always be a Dale Sr fan. My dad loved him I remember him calling me to watch the race with him.My dad passed away two years ago. I remember when senior died my dad never watched nascar again. He said for him their would never be another driver. Dad and senior you are forever missed and loved.

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  6. 6
    Janet Lyle said:
    Aug 21, 2008 at 7:11 AM

    OKAY, Dale Sr can take someone out in order to win the race.Let's see the comments if another driver does that this week.Heaven forbid if it's Kyle.There won't be enough space on here to write,criticize,and hear from all the haters.GO KYLE!!!

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  7. 7
    John Lockhart said:
    Aug 21, 2008 at 9:30 AM

    If Kyle is trying to be another Dale Sr.,he needs to stop right now.When Dale Sr.took someone out it was because they were slower than he was and trying to block him.That's racing,Kyle has'nt learned that yet.He just takes someone out because he can.

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  8. 8
    emily bagwell said:
    Aug 23, 2008 at 2:13 PM

    Dale sure has given a lot of fun at my home on raceday when we were all together and yelling for different drivers. I, of course, was for Dale. Janet Lyle must never have observed Dale's racing or she wouldn't be using his name in the same context with Kyle. I just don't understand why people have to bash Junior because he is Dale's son. I miss you Dale. God bless you, Junior.

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  9. 9
    emily bagwell said:
    Aug 23, 2008 at 2:14 PM

    P.S. Thanks for the article, Jared.

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  10. 10
    del brown said:
    Aug 24, 2008 at 2:00 PM

    Thanks for the article. In retrospect Dale Sr's death foreshadowed my decreasing interest in NASCAR. If he was still around and actively involved in some manner it would help offset the boring cookie-cutter tracks, the favoritism sometimes shown officials, the inconsistencies. etc. Dale - many people miss you in many ways.

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  11. 11
    Roberta Cowan said:
    Aug 26, 2008 at 5:23 PM

    I was not a Dale Sr. fan. I was and always be a Dale Sr. respector. I was a Rusty girl from the get go until the last checkers fell. When Dale Sr. died that horrible day in Feb. of 2001 everything changed about the sport. Rusty's heart seemed to be gone. And the pretty boys took over the sport. But our sport will never be the same. It died that day in the fourth turn at Daytona. What we got instead is a cheapened version of the real thing. Down to cars that are all alike and a season that rewards strokers more than racers. I for one miss Rusty and believe it or not I miss that black 3 just as much. Rest In Peace Dale Sr. Thanks for everything we didn't know you gave us.

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