Father's Day winner recalls a special battle at Michigan track

DAVID POOLE

The Charlotte Observer

Sunday, Jun. 15, 2008

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BROOKLYN, Mich. -Sunday was Father's Day, and after his victory in the LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway Dale Earnhardt Jr. couldn't help but remember a moment he'd had at this track with his famous father.

"That's one race that doesn't get much play," Earnhardt Jr. said of an event in the International Race of Champions. "But, damn it. Have y'all ever watched it?"

Earnhardt Jr. has, a lot of times. A video of it from the onlne site YouTube, he said, is bookmarked on in his computer.

Every time he watches, Dale Earnhardt wins the race by .007 seconds - a margin of about 2 feet - over his then up-and-coming son, who had made the IROC field after winning the 1998 Busch Series title.

And every time Earnhardt Jr. watches it, he still can't believe he didn't win.

"I swear, I had him," Earnhardt Jr. said. "And it burns my ass to this day that Rusty Wallace pushed him by me. Because I wanted to beat my daddy so bad. I had him, and he knew it. I am telling you, it bothers me."

The Earnhardts came off Turn 4 on the final lap in that 50-lap race with Earnhardt to the inside and Earnahrdt Jr. to the outside.

"I sat behind him and he waved and waved, telling me to stay there," Earnhardt Jr. recalled. "I'm like, 'Man, I have to run my own race here. There's only 12 of us out here. Can't you fend for yourself?' "

Earnhardt Jr. said he remembers drafting with his father "like a good son" right until the final lap.

"Then I put a hell of a move on him," Earnhardt Jr. said. "He never gave me any credit for that because he knew I had his ass."

Wallace helped Earnhardt Jr. get the drafting push that helped the son challenge the father in that race, but then pulled in behind the elder Earnhardt as they came to the finish.

"To come down and race side-by-side, door-to-door, and finish first and second was pretty awesome," Earnhardt said on that day nine years ago. "I don't know that we'll ever had that opportunity again. ... It's something we're going to cherish."

Earnhardt Jr. certainly does.

He said it was special to end his 76-race winless streak on Father's Day, and there was a certain irony to that, too. Earnhardt, who died in a crash in the 2001 Daytona 500, finished his career with 76 Cup victories in addition to his seven championships.

"I was more tired after that race than I had ever been in my life," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I worked like 10 men on that last lap. I am surprised that doesn't get more play when people talk about me and him and our friendship and our relationship as father and son. To me, that day ranks right up there."

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