Dale Earnhardt

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Dale Earnhardt Jr. could still muster a smile late yesterday afternoon, despite enduring a Daytona 500 that would have been judged miserable by most. "I knew that winning this race was going to be difficult," said Earnhardt, who finished 29th, 29 laps down. "But I had a good weekend." Earnhardt, who lost his father here on the last lap of last year's 500, has become the crowd favorite. Yesterday, his every move was cheered by most of the 200,000 who packed Daytona International Speedway.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Richard Childress walks through the garage alone. He never really thought it would be like this - never spent any time considering how he and his race team would operate without his longtime friend and driver, Dale Earnhardt. Oh, the two of them had talked about it a few years back when they were on a hunting trip in New Mexico and Childress had "wrecked his horse" and cracked his head while falling off the side of a mountain. They had told each other at the time that if anything happened to one, the other was to continue with the business.

This editorial appeared in the Orlando Sentinel on Wednesday. THIRTY-THREE drivers have died during NASCAR's 53-year regulatory reign of the lucrative stock-car-racing industry. But it took the death of a single icon -- legendary champion Dale Earnhardt -- for the family-owned racing empire to consider seriously safety issues. Once again, however, NASCAR has come up short. Six months after Mr. Earnhardt died at the Daytona 500, NASCAR on Tuesday released its own, long-awaited investigation into the tragedy.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of the most exciting young talents on the Winston Cup circuit, but even Earnhardt admits it isn't easy in the big leagues. "Last year seems like five years ago," he said. "It was really hard last year. Our race team and I had a tough transition from the Busch Series to Winston Cup." Earnhardt, 26, is a two-time Busch Series champion. Last year, his first in Winston Cup, he started strong - winning two races before the halfway point - but faded. During the off-season, the son of the late seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt admitted to "burnout."

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - On a starry night, Dale Earnhardt Jr. made nearly every fan packed into Daytona International Speedway shout for joy. Here was the son of NASCAR's fallen hero, Dale Earnhardt, driving like the old man, coming up through the field, taking the lead and dominating the Pepsi 400 Winston Cup event for most of the night and then putting on one final burst of speed to win the race. The elder Earnhardt was the driver nearly every race fan loved or loved to hate. Since he was killed on the final lap of February's Daytona 500 while seeming to usher his two drivers to a one-two finish, Earnhardt has attained the aura of a legend.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Walking around here this weekend, talking to drivers about Dale Earnhardt and the safety issues that have continued to develop nearly five months after his death was at best uncomfortable and at worst intrusive. You can imagine losing someone you loved and worked with every day for years and then having to answer countless questions over and over again. Week after endless week. When do you have time to heal? After a lot of interviews, which for the men I was talking to came on the heels of many others that had included the same, draining questions, I came upon Mark Martin.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Nearly five months after the death of Dale Earnhardt, the Winston Cup Series has returned to Daytona International Speedway, where the seven-time champion died in a crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500 in February. Driving in, you can't miss the big black banners with the white No. 3 outlined in red hanging from the outside pillars of the race track grandstands. You also can't miss the Earnhardt stickers in the backs of car windows and on the bumpers. But stock car drivers are a hardy bunch, and in the garage it seems almost like business as usual as these men prepare for tomorrow's Pepsi 400. "I don't think coming in here stirs it all up again," said Jeff Burton, who drives the Roush No. 99 Ford.

DOVER, Del. - Jeff Gordon was like a man on a carousel, going round and round seemingly without a care. He led all but 19 laps of the MBNA Platinum 400 yesterday, building a lead that stretched over more than a half-mile before beating Steve Park to the finish line by .828 of a second. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished third for his best finish since running second in the Daytona 500 on the day his father, Dale Earnhardt, was killed there. And Ricky Craven, who has been given a second Winston Cup career by owner Cal Wells, finished fourth.

It's curious to see how life works. Two sons. Two fathers. The same sport. The same expectations. But different, still. Kyle Petty, the son of Richard Petty, "The King" of Winston Cup stock car racing, has spent his entire life growing up in his father's shadow. For much of that time, expectations were that Kyle should live up to his dad's achievements. Seven championships. 200 victories. But Kyle knew fairly early in his career that doing so was an impossibility. And so, he carved out a different image and niche for himself.

Loss of Earnhardt devastating for NASCAR We want to thank Sandra McKee for her coverage of NASCAR auto racing. She is truly a great asset to all of us race fans and to The Sun. We are truly devastated by the death of Dale Earnhardt, and this hurt will last for many years. He was a legend in our time and will always be recognized as the greatest person in auto racing. There will be many more NASCAR Winston Cup races, but they will never be the same without Earnhardt. Dale's son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., hopefully will someday fill his father's shoes and achieve what his father set out for - that eighth Winston Cup championship victory.