Dark Victory
Daytona Beach, Fla. For a brief time Sunday, Michael Waltrip was elated. He won the Daytona 500, his first victory in 463 NASCAR Winston Cup Starts.  But Waltrip's joy turned to sorrow when NASCAR announced about two hours after the race that his boss, Dale Earnhardt, had died from injuries caused in a last lap wreck.  As Waltrip and DAle Earnhardt Jr. Raced to the finish Dale Sr. was battling for third with Ken Schrader.  Exciting turn 3, Earnhardt lost control of his Chevrolet, ,making hard contact with the outside wall and Schrader's Pontiac.
Waltrip won by 0.124 seconds over Earnhardt Jr. his teammate.  Immediately afterward, the younger Earnhardt sprinted to the site of his father's wreck. It took emergency workers at least 15 minutes to remove Earnhardt's Sr. from his badly battered car. THat process including cutting through the car/s roof.

Earnhardt was taken by ambulance to nearby Halifax Medical Center. A physician there, Steve Bohannon, said Earnhardt had died instantly of head injuries. Earnhardt, who drove for Richard Childress, owned the Chevy's driven by Waltrip and Dale Jr.

Fox television analyst Darrell Waltrip, the 1989 Daytona 500 winner an Michael's older brother, cheered Michael to the victory in the first Winston Cup telecast on Fox.  Then, like many in the crowd of nearly 170,000, Darrell Waltrip asked: "How about Dale? Is he ok?"

I just Pray that he's OK," Michael Waltrip said nearly an hour later.  "That's where my mind is. He's more than just my owner. He's my friend. My heart's just hurting right now.  I want to know what's he's going through, and I want to be with him, to try and help him. I'm just so thankful for what he did for me. And now we do this. And this is how it all turns out. IT doesn't all seem exactly right at this moment to me."

A more massive wreck helped put Waltrip, 37, in position to snap his victory drought, which began in 1985.  THe race was still running at a pace of more than 180 mph when a 19 car crash erupted on the backstretch of lap 173.  It began when the Dodge of Ward Burton, nudged from behind by Robby Gordon's car, made contact with the rear of Tony Stewart's Pontiff. That sent Stewart's Grand Prix into nearly nose first contact with the outer wall.  Then the car nearly stood on its nose before doing two rolls, landing atop Gordon's car and doing a half flip.

Stewart, who suffered a concussion, was said to be awake and alert when taken to Halifax , where a CAT scan and X-rays were negative.  Stewart also complained of shoulder pain.  The wreck forced the race to be red flagged for 16 minutes, 25 seconds.  Some drivers warned that new NASCAR aerodynamic rules at Daytona International Speedway too close for comfort. There were 49 lead changes Sunday. (among 14 drivers), the 10th highest total in Winston Cup modern era which began in 1972.

It was the highest lead changes total in a Daytona 500 since 59 among 11 drivers in 1983.  "It's inevitable," said FOrd driver Jeff Burton, who finished 19th. "You can't put that many people in on pack and expect that something is not gonna happen.  "I know its exciting to watch. And I understand that last years races weren't as exciting as they needed to be.  But Earnhardt's hurt, They're down there cutting the roof off his car.  Stewart's in the hospital and has been transferred there for whatever reasons. "AND if we keep doing this, it won't be the last one."

Safety because a major NASCAR issue last year when the series lost two drivers.  Adam Petty, grandson of seven time Winston Cup champion. Richard Petty and son a driver Kyle, was killed in a crash in May in New Hampshire during practice. At the same track in July, driver Kenny Irwin was killed in a crash.

"The rules just got the cars so bunched up, it's unreal," said Rusty Wallace, whose Ford Taurus finished third. "I went down into turn 3 the last lap and I got a run on everybody, got in there and got between Schrader and Earnhardt".  "I saw Earnhardt get sideways going into 3, and I was able to jump on the throttle and get right between them.  So I cleared Dale and Schrader, and then all hell was breaking loose behind me."  Martin, openly critical of the new rules, was among those taken out by the earlier multicar wreck.  "I can't believe it didn't happen before that." said Martin, stuck with a 33 rd place finish.  "I really hope everyone is satisfied with that race."

"The fans got their money's worth today, that's all I can say. It was lap after lap after lap. And after that last restart there, with all those cars just bunched together like that, it was n accident looking for a place to happen."
 



Credit for the pictures and story:
Greg Suvino/Associated Press
By Steve Crowe Knight Ridder Newspaper
Ladywildlife Endangered Wildlife Press