Diaz: Dale Earnhardt Jr. embraces family ties with tearful memories
Check out the latest NASCAR standings. Chairman Brian France and everybody else in the sport just hit the lottery:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is in the Chase.
The NASCAR brand identifies strongly with the Earnhardts, right alongside the Pettys. Father and son, past and present, intertwined in the family business.
Kyle Petty never quite found his groove in NASCAR, although his son Adam seemed quite capable of carrying the family’s stout tradition until his death in 2000.
Like the Pettys, the Earnhardt legacy is marked by tragedy. Dale Jr. lost his father at the 2001 Daytona 500. He’s carried on for over a decade, often introspective about the circumstances, and rarely emotional.
Then came Sunday, Earnhardt’s first victory at Talladega in 11 years. Between father and son, they have 16 victories here, ranking 1-2 all time.
There was some of that in play as the tears welled in Earnhardt’s eyes, as well as fond memories of his father, who would have been 64 on April 29.
“I don’t really get to think about him that much,” Earnhardt said. “His birthday came and went. Today, it made me think about his birthday, how much I miss him, how much he meant to me and so many more people that I can’t even fathom the number of folks that he had a relationship with in this sport, a connection with, all his fans out there really enjoyed seeing him compete here.”
Earnhardt has often asked himself the question of whether he belongs, despite his success and the fact that he’s been voted the most popular in the sport for 12 consecutive years.
It’s an understandable reaction, given the dynamics and how he struggled in 2009 and 2010 on the Cup circuit, being the third wheel on a dominant team that included multi-championship winners Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.
Was he just a Favorite Son given a lot of perks?
“I watched a lot of sons follow a lot of fathers, regardless of the profession, and just have a real challenge of it,” Earnhardt said. “That is the part I feel like I’m fortunate about.”
He’s more than fortunate. He belongs.
“Those are tears of joy,” said Fox analyst Darrell Waltrip, one of the late Earnhardt’s closest friends. “He had an emotional week with his dad’s birthday and other things going on.
“One thing I’ve seen in Junior over the last few years is that I think he misses his dad now more than ever. He told me back in January that he wanted to add to the Earnhardt legacy at Daytona and Talladega because those places are really special. He really wants to contribute to that and not just live through it.”
Done. He belongs.