All language subtitles for Blink.Of.An.Eye.2019

Hi. This is trace adkins,

your host on "county music countdown."

This one takes us back
to February, 2001.

A pair of unlikely friends shared destiny

on the high banks of the
Daytona international speedway.

It was a day we'll never forget.

A day of triumph and tragedy.

If you're out there listening, Mikey,

this one's for you.

Set for the start of the Daytona 500.

Whose face will
grace victory lane today?

I'm going number 15, Michael waltrip.

I know he's motivated, and believe me,

he's got a man who can motivate him,

his owner, dale earnhardt.
I like Michael waltrip.

Dale earnhardt is the most prolific driver

in Nascar history, chasing his 35th total

victory here, in Daytona.

I think it's going to be exciting racing.

Gonna see something you probably
hadn't ever seen on fox.

Michael waltrip leads the Daytona 500.

Right now, the car behind him is
his teammate, dale earnhardt jr.

Then the man who owns
those cars, dale earnhardt.

Pretty impressive, up there, in the lead.

Dale earnhardt in,
that's what d.e.i. stands for.

Waltrip, earnhardt jr., earnhardt sr.

They want one of those cars to win.

- Whoa!
- Look at earnhardt!

Sterling got into earnhardt.

Dale is doing everything he can
to keep sterling behind him

because this is a chess match
at high speed.

Michael waltrip
has never won a cup race.

Every driver dreams
of winning the Daytona 500.

Michael waltrip dreams
just of winning any place

to break that big oh-for streak, 0 for 462.

Everybody said, "why did dale
put Michael in this car?"

Folks, here is why he put him in there.

Michael wants to win a race
worse than anybody out there,

and he's not going to give up
that lead without a fight.

Darrell, your first ever race on fox.

Did you think it'd be like this?

That's the greatest race
in the world, the Daytona 500.

My baby brother's leading it.

Come on, mike, let's go. You're my man.

Just stay under him, dale jr.
Just stay under him, buddy.

Block him. Block him. That a boy.

To the flag. Come on, Mikey,

you got it, man. You got it. You got it!

Mikey!

- The 3 car...
- oh!

Big trouble.

They're wrecking behind you.

They're wrecking behind you.

Michael waltrip has
won the Daytona 500.

While rescue workers
tend to dale earnhardt,

who's still in his car,

his driver is in our coca-cola victory lane,

here Jeff Burton.

Michael: I've never been to
victory lane before.

I began this ask Buffy, "where's dale?"

And I asked, ty, you know,
"how come dale's not here?"

And then, my friend, Kenny schrader,

he came to victory lane, and...

and I never will forget
because he comes up and says,

"I just want you to know,
I saw dale, and it ain't good."

I don't think people...

no, let me back up.

So, people are obviously
capable of handling

the highest of highs
and the lowest of lows,

god made us that way.

But I don't know...

I don't know how many people
have had to experience them

within seconds of each other.

So, Bryson, you just kind of
have your microphone like this

when I'm talking to you, and I'll say,

"it's going to be tough,
so just pay close attention

and listen to me."

And then, you go,
"I think I got this, mike."

17 years later, I haven't gone to therapy,

and I still struggle with it.

But everything on earth
happens for a reason.

Our hairs are counted,
our days are numbered,

and we're going to leave this world

when we're supposed to leave it.

Life's hard.

You're going to have ups and downs,

and I'll be darned if my two biggest ones,

you know, two of
the biggest ones of my life

came crammed together,
and you just got to persevere.

You got to keep pushing.

When I was born
in owensboro, Kentucky,

it was a three-bedroom house

and there were seven of us living in it.

So I shared a room with my sister

until I was 7 or 8 years old.

Eventually, everybody moved out,

and it was just me, and mom, and dad.

And we lived right there in town.

And I was always trying to find

find somebody to race bikes with.

I remember I would organize
500 lap bike races,

and we'd go in a circle 500 times

because that was like a Nascar race.

My brother was the reason
why I was such a dreamer.

You know, when I was born, he was 16.

And so every day of my life
that I knew of, he was racing.

They're 600 feet away from the line.

Baker goes to the inside.
Waltrip has won it!

Darrell waltrip in victory lane
for the 10th time this season.

Michael: He had figured out a way.

My dad was a Pepsi man.

My mama worked at the grocery store.

And he had figured out a way
to talk them

into buying them a go-kart.

And mom and dad kept helping,
and he won on his go-kart.

And he kept winning, and while
there was no extra money,

they figured out a way to help Darrell.

And I said, "I want to do that, too.

I want to be just like my big brother."

One thing I can tell you about Michael,

he has a big heart.

He loves to give. He loves to help people.

He's proven that time and time again.

He's probably a little bit opposite of me.

I might be a little bit selfish.

He is a good man,
and he is a good brother.

He's a better brother to me than
I was to him, unfortunately.

But I think in a lot of ways
we've made up for that.

Michael: We would go to
the little tracks in our area

to watch my brother race,

and that's just how I was raised,

was traveling from town to town

and going to the races on
Saturday night and Sunday night.

Mom and dad would come
with the car loaded up,

packed up on a Wednesday afternoon,

get me out of school, and we
would start our trek to Daytona.

We would drive to Daytona
through the night

to be there on Thursday morning
for the qualifying races.

I never will forget going
through that tunnel

the first time
and coming out the other side

and looking up and seeing those banks.

I mean, they were glorious to me.

And how massive those turns
were, how high they were banked,

and what a huge track this was.

It just intrigued me completely.

I was so into that place
and getting to watch my brother

race there, and it just
continued to build the energy

and my enthusiasm for one day

getting the chance to race there.

You know, I told mom and dad
my buddy down the road's

got a go-kart, and it's $500,

and I'm going to be able to race.

And they said, "well, we don't have $500,

and you don't have $500,

so how do you think
you're going to do this?"

Darrell had a really nice car
when he came to town.

He was winning trophies
and heck, I even saw him holding

a big check once that said "$1,000."

I said, "I only need half of that. I got this.

I know what I'll do, mom. I'll call Darrell."

But I remember when I was 12
climbing up on the kitchen table

and dialing up Darrell, telling him

I wanted to go racing him just like him.

He's like, "brother, it's a long road."

Lightning very rarely strikes twice.

And mom and dad don't want
to go through all that again.

I put them through a lot,

"and I don't think it's
in the cards for you."

And I'm like, "all right, okay",

"well, I'll see you later," and hung up.

And I thought, "well, damn, that
didn't go anything near like

I thought it was gonna."

My brother, bobby, he had a go-kart.

I convinced bobby
that I could drive that go-kart

if he would give me a chance.

I remember when they came
to murfreesboro, Tennessee.

I live in Franklin, not far from there.

And bobby called me and said,
"Michael is going to run his

first race at the go kart track
over in murfreesboro.

Why don't you come and watch?"

Michael: And so we go to the race track,

and I get on bobby's go-kart.

And he goes into the first turn
of that go kart race...

he's in the grass, he's in the dirt,

he's off the track.

He'd come back up in front of the pack.

Wins the race!

My first ever race, first time
I ever drove anything, I won.

And I left there that day thinking,

"I am good at this, and I
will be a race car driver."

So I didn't give him enough
credit for the ability he had,

and I didn't give him enough
credit for the desire he had,

and I didn't give him enough
credit for the resolve he had.

And so as time went by,
we were not close.

He's over here, I'm over here.

And he was doing his thing,
and I'm doing my thing.

And I'm fighting tooth and nail
with everybody else.

I don't need my brother involved.

Michael: You know, I had this plan.

I'm going to race
a Kentucky motor speed

the same track that Darrell
started at 16 years earlier.

I'm going to move up to
the darling ton dash series.

That's the four cylinder,
mini modified cars.

They would race on Saturday.

I'm going to win
the championship in dash.

And the next year,
I'm moving to the busch series.

I'm going to run the Saturday
races in the busch series

and win that championship.

And then after that...

on Sunday, we're going cup racing.

That's what the kid was dreaming.

I had an opportunity to drive
a mini modified car,

at Kentucky motor speedway,
and I needed $400 sponsorship.

If you don't have a sponsor,
you don't go racing.

My dad said, "why don't you
go see Fred gipe

down at gipe automotive?

Tell him your plan,
see if he'll sponsor you."

And he said, "I'll tell you what I'll do.

I'll give you $400 credit on parts.

You just have to put
my name on your car."

I'm like, "deal!"

And I won the feature.

In '82, this ride in
the darling ton dash series

opened up.

I had sponsorship from
a gentleman named bill borden.

Guess how I got that sponsorship.

Darrell waltrip!
Announcer#2: Darrell waltrip!

Michael: Darrell has come
to the party now.

I helped him when I could,
when I guess quite honestly

in a selfish way, when it was convenient,

I helped him.

But not every day.

Michael: I had gone from,
"we're not going to be able

to work this, son.

It's not going to work for you"

to go-karts, to the mini modified

Kentucky motor speedway
track championship,

to champion of the dash series
in Nascar.

It was incredible how well I did
and how good I could drive.

You know what's crazy,
when you're a kid,

you don't really understand
how unrealistic it would be

for me to be able to do what
we were able to eventually do.

I just felt like a kid, like a normal kid,

that happened to wind up in the middle

of some extraordinary circumstances.

Once in a great while in every sport,

a superstar emerges...
babe Ruth in baseball,

in boxing, jack dempsey.

And during 1967,
another superstar emerged.

His name is Richard petty

Richard petty is the most
successful racer

in the history of Nascar.

He had a nickname,
they called him "the king."

Richard petty has won the 200th race

of his incomparable grand national

stock car racing career.

Michael: And I'm going to leave
when you talk about me.

So in case you say something bad,

I don't have to listen to it.

What if I say something good?

I just want you to know
how much I appreciate you.

Okay, buddy.

- Good morning.
- I feel bad.

I helped get him started.

Okay, Mikey. Thank you, buddy.

I really don't know exactly the first time

I ever seen Mikey,

but somehow I know that him and kyle,

my son, got together somewhere.

Michael moved in with him for a while.

Michael: So in '83,
when I moved in with kyle,

eventually giving me a job
at petty enterprises.

Petty enterprises.
You hear what I'm saying?

This is the most successful team
in the history of Nascar.

They not only race cars, they build cars,

they manufacture these
incredible racing machines.

So one day I was getting ready
to leave work.

It was about 45 minutes
to drive to kyle's house.

Mrs. petty, Linda,
walks up, and she says,

"Michael, it's a long way out
there to bad in lake every day

for you to make that drive.

We live right around the corner.

Why don't you just move in with us?"

And now I'm eating popcorn at midnight,

sitting on the couch with Richard petty,

and we're talking about the race
that happened that day.

And we're talking
about the car, the "core."

I love what he says car.

Well, the big deal was that
Mikey really wanted to go

to cup, and, you know,
he'd already run some

baby grand races and some other stuff.

And I thought in 1984,
"it's the busch series,

just like this kid planned."

And I told him, I said,

"forget working your way up,
just go start at the top."

If you want to be a cup driver,
you got to get in a cup car.

You're wasting your time with
those little baby grand cars

or running the busch series.

You want to be a cup driver,
you just start right now.

And that way, you don't have to re-learn

from one kind of race car
to another kind of race car.

And that's the first time
I'd ever heard that.

I thought I had to run the busch series.

And so I said, "all right, how do you think

I should do that, rich?"

And he said,

"well, you're going to have to
figure that out on your own.

I don't know. I don't have no car.

I don't have no car for you."

Welcome to one of the biggest single day

sporting events in the world.

You're at the world 600
at Charlotte motor speedway

in north Carolina.

Michael: And so Richard petty
tells me to go

see humpy wheeler.

Humpy is the promoter
at the Charlotte motor speedway.

Humpy wheeler sends me to dick bayer,

and dick owned a race car.

And I said, "bud, I want
to race a cup race."

And he said, "well, if you can
bring us some sponsorship,

then you can race my car."

And humpy wound up
figuring out a local business

that would buy me a couple sets of tires

so that I could drive dick's car.

This is huge. I'm on the main stage now.

This is big.

And I think I showed up
as darrell's little brother.

Looking back through
the field, mike waltrip,

darrell's brother makes
his first grand national

start today.

Michael: That was an interesting day, too.

Darrell was in the race. He's my brother.

Richard was in the race.
I was living with him.

And then you've got the driver,
dale earnhardt,

whose name is "the in timid at or."

And dale never backed down
from anything.

He was the toughest competitor
in the history of Nascar.

And when I say tough,
hard to race, hard to beat.

And then if you wanted to get
in a scrap after the race,

you know he would beat you up.

He was a badass.

I didn't try to wreck.

Didn't run him into the wall or nothing.

And then he tried to
wreck me after the cross.

I think it's because I said it.

I was gonna get back to him
and just rattle him.

I wasn't going to wreck him,
but I got to him

and just turned him around.

So didn't mean to really turn him around.

I meant to rattle his cage.

When a guy tries to cut you off,
you stand your ground,

and a lot of times, it comes out bad.

But, you know, a lot of times,
when you win races, too.

Well, dale earnhardt
has gone out in front,

but it has not been without incident here.

Let's take a look at how he did it

back in lap number 72, area c,
bodine in the 5.

He gets trapped on a slow car.

And as he gets... earnhardt just
drives around in the dirt.

Announcer #2: He goes through the dirt.

Announcer #3: That's a good
example of what earnhardt

will do to get in the lead in the race.

How's that for a shot
of the tire marks from earnhardt

on the side of bodine's car.

Childress: Well, dale was really
an aggressive race driver.

The first time I remember
hearing his name

was back in the '70s.

My brother was working at
a little local race track,

and I was still driving.

He said, "if you ever want
to hire a race driver",

you got to hire this dale earnhardt.

He was racing butch lindley last night.

He come across the start, finish line

"with two wheels up on the wall
and won the race."

He would drive that car,
and you never had to question

that you wasn't getting 100% out of him.

Dale earnhardt!

Childress: I remember a few
run ins with dale and Darrell,

and one that I remember probably
as good as any was at Richmond.

And here they come.

Crowd's up, excited about this one.

He's running out of time.

Darrell waltrip's running out of time.

Now waltrip's on the inside.

Side by side.

Down to the inside.

Announcer #2: Oh!

Four cars. There it goes.

Announcer #2: There's bodine
into the fence.

Joe red man spins around.

There's dale waltrip's
Chevrolet, and it is torn up.

Well, they wrecked me.

When we weren't friends,
we wrecked a lot.

You know, he would look over me.
I would look over at him.

"look, you're not going to win."
"well, you're not going to win.

One of us is going to get wrecked."

That was one of our first fines.

I never will forget dale sitting in the car

all leaned over like he would,
and they were interviewing him.

And...

who do you feel hit who on that last thing

between you and Darrell?

That's just racing.

Me and darrell's
got to race week to week,

and there ain't nothing to it.

And his mustache
went real wide and smiled,

and I think that's why
they decided to fine us,

was that smile

helton: When you saw the black
number 3 come up behind you,

you knew that you were going
to have to do something.

You were going to have
to go faster than he was going.

You're going to have
to get out of his way,

or you going to have to race him
to keep your position

and I think that's where the
name "in timid at or" came from.

When you saw him come up
in your rear view mirror,

the intimidation factor
became part of the sport.

I can't tell you how many times
I'd be racing him.

I'd finally get by him,
I go "ha-ha, I got by him!"

Then I'd look in the mirror, and I'd say,

"you idiot. What'd you do that for?

Now he's behind you
and you know what's coming."

Norris: The coolest thing
about him was he had

that big old bushy mustache
and an open face helmet.

Air coming over has a certain way.

When another car is next to it.

He could feel it on his face.

He would get to a certain spot
on another guy's car,

and he feels the air
inside the car change,

and he could sense it and feel it.

Then he would take advantage
of whatever momentum

he could pull out of it.

I think dale just turned on all his senses,

not just his eyes.

Now here's the helmet
we're talking about.

Most of the drivers now
run a full face helmet

with a full chin bar,
but earnhardt is one of a few

that prefers the open face helmet.

Darrell: Well, there's pros and cons.

Dale is convinced...

the helmet... you shouldn't be
talking about the helmet here.

It's the safest helmet
in Winston cup racing today.

Well, let, but listen,
you got to understand.

All I hear is "oh, earnhardt.
He can see the wind."

Now, you know, you're a smart man.

Ain't nobody can see the wind.

If it's blowing in your face, you can.

Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you.

That was my saying that dale
could see air

at these race tracks.

He would know where the air
would be coming off of a car.

It was almost like he could see it,

so I said he could see it.

I've never been around someone
who was so self-aware.

He knew what was going on
in the engine shop.

He knew what was going on
in the fab shop.

He knew what was going on
with the tire companies.

He knew what was going on
with the marketing companies.

I would say from a grand scale,
he had enough information,

insight to every aspect of the industry.

The pit road is a big thing
that you got to remember.

You run fast here and you don't think

you're going that fast
coming down pit road.

You hit your breaks and start sliding,

it's going to slide the inside.

Norris: He was the gravitational
pull for pretty much everyone,

and I don't think he ever asked for it.

There was a lot of times
when he didn't want it.

Everyone could relate to him
even though

he was probably one of
the sports' biggest icons.

Every man on every
crew has come out to the edge

of pit lane to congratulate
the man who has dominated

everything there is to win in this sport.

Norris: There's really only
one Richard petty.

Richard petty was the king.

For some reason,
dale earnhardt just seemed like

if you're going to get to a scrap,

I want to have him on my side

and if I want to have a beer,
I want to have it with dale.

He represented the guy
who came out of a mill town,

blue collar guy, had to survive, thrived,

and never forgot who he was,
how he got there.

Childress: His style off
the race track was very warm,

very personable.

Loved the outdoors.

Michael: I know there's
two dale earnhardt's,

but he didn't want you knowing that.

I know that he had a heart of gold,

and he cared about people.

Not many people did know it.

And then there's
the shrewd businessman

that's building this empire.

He's just intensely competitive, obviously.

Everybody knows
who he was on the track.

So you got the in timid at or...

...versus darrell's little brother.

Back at Charlotte
motor speedway, the world 600,

the longest race in distance
on this Nascar circuit.

Michael: As I come off turn 2,
he was coming up to lap me,

and I mean, my concentration,
my focus wavered a bit.

And because of what
a great driver he was,

he's like, "I better watch
darrell's little brother.

He's probably going to slide up."

And at the last minute, when I slid up...

and we're running
160 miles an hour, remember...

but he's like pointing straight at me

with his open face helmet
and his bubble goggles,

and it scared the [bleep] out of me.

Man, I almost wrecked dale earnhardt.

That would be bad on many levels.

And his warning to me was, "focus."

It wasn't like, "you dumb-ass."

It was more of a lesson to me.

That's what I took from it, was like,

"you better figure this out."

Jenkins: And good afternoon everybody.

I'm bob Jenkins. Welcome to darling ton.

This was the very first super speedway

built for Nascar racing back in 1950.

Michael: Darling ton is the
toughest track on the circuit.

Its nickname is
"the track too tough to tame."

It's narrow, it's fast, it's slippery,

especially on a hot
September labor day weekend.

I mean, you can't imagine how
hot gets in a car at darling ton.

Now look at
Michael waltrip, as he closes in

on the leader, sterling marlin.

He may be looking for the lead here

coming out of turn number 2
and down the back stretch.

Michael waltrip passes sterling marlin

and takes over the lead.

Michael: You'd think, "who's
going to win darling ton?

Dale earnhardt.

It's the track too tough to tame,

and who's tougher than dale earnhardt?"

Well, that day I was.

We led the most laps,

over 200 laps out in front at darling ton.

Michael waltrip may be having some

terminal problems here.

Boy, this will be a shame
because he has been

unbelievable today here at darling ton.

Announcer #2: He may have a flat tire.

It might be just a simple flat tire

because he went almost off the wall.

Well, that's what they're saying

might be a problem.
I think you might have a tire

going down, that's why the car
went awfully high

and brushed the wall just lap or so ago.

Michael: I just sat there
painfully waiting while

Davey Allison and Ricky rudd drove by,

and they ran one, two,
and I finished third that day.

The way we had been
running competitively,

I had began to feel like I belonged.

And I was at a point
in my career where I said,

"I can do this. I'm going to win
one of these races soon.

I know I am. A win's coming."

Oh, a car just turned down.

One car just turned over.

It's Michael.

Oh, trouble!

That is Clint bowyer in the 29 car

at the 99 of Michael waltrip.

Michael waltrip in second spot,

and Davey allison's just up
in front on the point.

How's Michael doing out there?

He's got to have a smile a mile wide.

Yeah, I guess he does right now.

Just coming out of turn number 4,

Michael waltrip, number 30.

Look like it spots the cylinder.

Michael: Up until 1984,
I'd won at everything.

I looked like I was the next Richard petty.

When I didn't win
when I got to the cup series,

that was a real reality check
for me that I think I needed.

Understanding that it wasn't
going to be a cake walk.

Michael waltrip,
a fine third place finish today.

Michael, you kind of rolled
the dice there at the end

and it didn't quite work out.

Hey, chuck, are you going
to fire him this week?

No way. I was never going to do it.

We're going to be together a long time.

He's a great guy and a great driver.

Well, Michael, I'm glad to see

all these fine rumors put to rest.

You know, I've been
fired 600 times this week,

thrown out of my own ride.
So everybody says, of course.

My car owner chuck rider,
he's as solid as a rock,

and I appreciate the world out of him.

My girlfriend, Buffy, who I'm fixing to ask

to marry me one of these days.

Hey, would you marry me?

Yeah!

Hey, were you serious, Michael?

Yeah. You were?

I got you a ring in the truck.

I just didn't know when to give it to her.

I never did it before,
so I didn't know how to do it.

Buffy, what about that?

Do you accept?

Yes!

Hey, guys, what do we do now?

I don't know what to do now.

Hawthorne: I first met Michael
when I was in college,

when I worked for a p.r.
and merchandising

licensing company that
handled all of dale's stuff,

michael's stuff.

In fact, I lost my job because
I started dating Michael.

Not from... dale didn't let me go,

but the other guy
that owned the company with dale

or was his partner,

um, didn't seem to think that
that would work, so...

he had as much confidence

as anybody that he would
win a cup race, and I did, too.

It's hard.

I mean, I can remember
sitting in a car in the infield

of a race track at 5:00 in the morning

just to beat traffic

and him just being completely
consumed with qualifying

and if he was going to make the race.

And I would be sitting there
knowing that my fate,

the whole mood of the whole weekend

was going to be set based on qualifying,

and that's just kind of
how we lived our life, so...

Michael: We were at Bristol,
started in the back

and made my way to the front.

Number 30, Michael waltrip,

has passed two or three cars
up on the outside,

so he's pretty brave getting up there.

Michael: And as I came off turn 2...

back up front, I.d. ottinger now.

Getting chased.

Announcer #2: Bad crash over in turn 2.

Michael waltrip has hit the wall hard.

The car is upside down,

and you can see the car is really torn up.

Michael: For some reason, I was
the first dumb-ass to ever hit

right where the armco steel
and concrete came together.

I clobbered into the concrete,
and the car just disintegrated.

Or as Darrell would say in his interview,

it "dis-indegrated,"

which is what we called it
in Kentucky, evidently.

But anyway, the car blew up,
and the crowd went silent

and just knew they had seen
Michael waltrip die.

And some of the competitors
run out to try to see

what they could do.

And when they pulled
the metal back, there I sat.

Darrell, what an unbelievable crash

that your little brother Michael had.

I just praise god that he's alive.

I was standing looking right
at it, and I couldn't move.

I mean, I just froze.

I never seen anything like that in my life.

The car just disintegrated,
and I knew he was in it.

And I thought he was hurt.

But I walked up there,
and the car is gone,

everything's gone, and the
roll cage is all bowed up.

I looked at him,
he looked up at me and winked.

So mom, dad, he's a waltrip.
He got a pretty hard head.

Michael: I was still sitting in my seat.

There was no steering wheel
in front of me.

It was over there somewhere.

And there was no floor board under me.

My feet were on the track,
but I appeared to be okay.

Or at least in one piece.

When they got there, I was coming to,

because I hadn't hit my head,
I just got my breath back.

And so I'm like, "I'm fine."

So I get out of the car, and they take me

to the infield care center, and we get to

the infield care center...

we get to the infield care center, and...

...one of the first people
there was was dale.

My brother came, and dale was there,

and...

and, um...

these are tears of joy.

This makes me so happy to remember.

But he comes in and says, "boy..."

Remember this is a guy
a couple of years ago

that tried to straighten me out.

And he came in there,
and he looked at me

and just shook his head, and he said,

"you're one tough son
of a bitch. I'll tell you that."

And turned around and walked out.

And I was...
and everybody in there laughed.

And so the reason why I'm crying
is because,

you know, obviously
I am one tough son of a bitch,

first of all, but secondly,
it was so awesome

that we'd come from the point
where the toughest driver

in Nascar who had to straighten
out darrell's little brother,

now all of a sudden has called
me a tough son of a bitch.

And so when my buddies come in...

they let started letting people in...

they're like, "you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

I said, "guess what, y'all,
dale earnhardt said

I'm a tough son of a bitch. I'll take that."

Norris: I met Michael in the late '80s

during that process
when I was a sportswriter,

and I would talk to dale,
and he would talk about

the tire at Richmond is so bad,

and I'm talking about a Dover race

and the aerodynamics there
and such and such there

and torque in my engine.

That's how he would talk about it.

You talk to Michael about the Dover race,

and he would go, "they got
a really nice crab shack there.

I'd really liked to go get crabs there,

and I really like to go do this."

And his whole outlook
at things were different.

It didn't make him any less
intense as a race car driver.

His life was around many more things,

so people didn't take him as serious

as they took other drivers,

because Michael was fun loving Michael.

A very strange event happened.
It was probably '93.

Dale called me, and he said,
"I just got this yacht.

I'm going down to the Bahamas in June."

He said, "I want you to go."

I thought that was like
winning the lottery.

And it was.

And he goes, "yeah,
and michael's going, too."

I'm like, "Michael who?"
and he goes, "Michael waltrip."

And I was, "okay.

This is this most strange
combination of three people."

And so that's where
I saw the relationship

with Michael and dale start.

You guys will be surprised.

This is sunny money,
and this is our dining room.

This is where Michael waltrip sits.

Michael: Right there. My place right there.

Waltrip sits. This is where tianara sits.

Teresa Diane earnhardt sits.

Taylor eats downstairs
in the bed watching tv.

Okay, and here's Michael now.

- Turning over.
- I'd like to add to that,

whatever he said.

Here's to you, man. Cheers.

Hawthorne: I feel like
dale always brought out

the best in Michael.

You know, he made him happy.

We got to get you
some of these right here.

I got these. They're my beer shorts.

Your what shorts?

Ah, these ain't them.

Oh, here they are. Here it is.

They're for beer. Beer shorts.

A lot of people think
michael's happy all the time.

He can put on a good act,

but dale truly made him
happy as a friend.

Earnhardt jr.:
dad and michael's relationship

to me was pretty odd.

There's an age difference there.

Dad and Darrell were, you know,
fierce competitors.

They were friends, but at the same time,

they were competitive

on and off the track in life, you know?

And dad was hanging out
with his brother

who's much younger,
and I just didn't see dad

and Michael being compatible
as far as having a friendship.

It just, uh...

Norris: I think dale loved
michael's fun loving character.

And when he went to the Bahamas,
he just wanted to have fun.

But it turned into more than just a guy

you're racing on the race track,

more than just Darrell waltrip's brother.

They became friends.

I know dale paid attention
to everything Michael did.

And I just think that dale
always believed more in Michael

probably than Michael
even believed in himself.

I think dad saw, or was curious even,

as to what Michael could do
in a really, really good car.

The common theme, when we were
sitting on the back of the boat

or riding around the farm was,

"you'd win in one of my cars."

And he would say that a lot.

"I put you in one of my cars, you'd win."

And I think that dale believed
that I was a good driver,

but I hadn't done a very good job

of managing my career necessarily.

That that kept me going,
that kept me inspired,

mainly because I knew that one
of the best ever believed in me

and my desire was burning more
than you can imagine

just to get out there
in a car and win on Sunday.

That's all I could think about.

That is Michael waltrip

out of control, tri-oval,
into a series of sidewinders,

nine shattering, snap roll.

Oh, waltrip is a little upset here.

Announcer #2: Michael waltrip
went over and had words

and maybe more with car number 9.

- Whoa now!
- Oh!

Whoa, Mikey! Come on man! Aah!

- Hit right up against the wall.
- He hit it awful hard.

His win less streak was definitely...

I mean, I tried to ignore it.

It was painful to watch.

I tried to just be as positive
as I could every week.

Forget about last week.
Let's move on to this week.

But, you know, I never lost
confidence in him.

And there's a lot of drivers
that, they eventually disappear

because they don't ever perform
well enough in whatever teams

they drive for, and then
they just kind of, you know,

eventually go away.

For Michael, I mean,
that man is a survivor.

I don't know.

You know, any time things don't go right,

you look back and try to figure
out how you could fix them.

And I think I just look back
and think I don't think

I was bold enough or confident
enough to take a chance.

When I watched some kids my age
get a better ride than me,

what do you do?

You quit your job
and hope for a better one?

I just feel like if I'd have taken a chance,

it might have paid off,

that something would come
along better than what I had.

Hawthorne: Michael was talking
to a couple different

car owners and options.

Michael: I didn't want to settle.

I didn't want to just sign it to be racing.

I did that a couple times
early in my career

where I signed again
just to know I had a job.

Norris: In the summer of 2000,
we at the time,

dale earnhardt inc., had three teams,

but two were in cup,
and one was in the lower series.

And dale said, "I'm only going
to race in cup," and I was like,

"well, that means you have
to have a third cup car,"

and he goes, "yeah."
he said, "let's go to napa

and see if napa would come up with us

"and go cup racing."

And I looked at him, and I said,

"well, who would you have drive it?"

And he goes, "Michael.
We're going to put Michael in."

He goes, "call Michael right now
and see if he's available."

Michael: And when it comes
to late august, September

of a season, plans are
pretty much set for

the following year,
and so my holding out hope

was about to run its course.

So I called Michael, and I said,

"hey, I know this is kind of
a strange question,"

I said, "have you signed
your contract yet?"

I didn't sign it.

We were like, "don't sign it."

Hmm. Maybe something's
gonna work out.

Norris: So we go in, we sit down.

Dale and I sat down with
the napa folks, and dale said,

"I don't want to do busch races anymore.

I want to go cup racing, and I
need to hire a cup driver,"

and he goes, "well, how much
money do you need?"

And he said, "ty, tell him."
I was like, "uh, $9 million."

And they were like "okay,"
so they wrote it down.

And then he said, "who will
you have drive for us?"

It was bob McKinnon who did it.
I'll never forget it.

And dale looked at me,
and I looked at him,

and I looked back at him,
and dale finally says,

"I'm going to put
Michael waltrip in that car

'cause I think he can win."

And it was a split second
hesitation, and I'm like...

and bob McKinnon goes,

"do you really think you can
get him to drive for us?"

I was with my mom.

She was driving, and my phone rang,

and it was dale, and he's like,
"where's Michael?"

I was like, "I don't know.

I guess he's at the house or at the office.

I don't know."

The phone ring, and dale said,
"get over here,"

and I said, "what do you need?"
he said, "just do what I said."

And sometimes he was like that.

So I drove to his shop,
and I said, "what's up?"

And he said, "we've been
to Atlanta, me and ty,

and we told napa
we wanted to go cup racing

and we wanted them as a sponsor
and you as a driver,

and they said they would think about it."

I just know for me,

I just kept thinking
this would be unbelievable,

this would be the best
fairy tale story ever.

Dale's gonna look like a hero
for giving Michael the chance,

and michael's gonna, you know,
get the dark cloud off his back.

And then dale called and said,
"let's do this, napa's in.

We're going racing."

Michael: Well, my mom's going to
be really embarrassed.

I told her I got a ride with earnhardt.

I had drive that truck,

and they won't even turn the hat around.

Dale said I only had to drive that truck

until I won one of those races
on Sunday afternoon, so...

when this thing happened
and I called him,

ty Norris and I called him, he said,

"are you sure now?

I mean, we talked about this,
nothing ever happened,"

but this is going to be
a great race team right here.

I think we're going to be
a winner before long,

and the excitement of it is really good.

Norris: There were a lot of naysayers.

I mean, people come up to us
all the time and say,

"man, if you were going to have that ride,

why didn't you talk to me?

Why didn't you do this?
Why didn't you do that?"

I just said, "this is what dale wanted."

By that point, dad had said several times,

"hey, I think the guy can do it.
I don't think this is crazy."

In my mind, we're building

what is going to be
the biggest and greatest

and most competitive
racing team in Nascar.

That's our vision, right?

And, you know, you're looking
at michael's record,

and then you're thinking, "hmm."

Michael: I think how lucky I am to be

a Nascar Winston cup driver
and how fortunate I am

to have a great sponsor
like napa auto parts.

Norris: The very first
commercial napa made,

it was the first part of Michael

making fun of himself
in a national commercial.

Michael: And it's at times like this,

looking around at the empty grandstands

and listening to the silence
of pit road that I realize...

I'm at the wrong track.

And it was a huge hit amongst the fans.

They loved it, and everyone would say,

"Michael, you at the right track?"

That commercial putting him
in the national limelight,

it brought what was a natural
personality for Michael.

It tied him in to dale earnhardt.

Dad had been on
the race track with Michael

for all these years.

He had seen Michael
run all of these laps.

He'd physically been behind him
on the racetrack

and watched him
go through countless corners.

So if anyone could judge
and be the decision maker

on whether Michael belonged
in there or not,

it had to come from a driver

that had experienced
that track with Michael.

They'd become great friends,
they'd probably had a million

conversations about this.

Dad probably told him,

"look, man, you're going to
have to buckle down."

You're going to have to work.

You're going to have to be marketable

and do all the things off the track

that we need you to do,"
which Michael was excellent at.

Whatever needs to happen,
Michael does it.

You know, being teammates
is about more

than just helping each other
win races every week.

It's also about helping each other learn.

That's right. Michael has taught me

that napa parts professionals

can always help you get the job

done right the first time.

Yeah, and junior taught me
how to do this.

I'm not taking credit for that.

So when dad says, "hey, man,
this is what's gonna happen"

and I believe it'll work,"
everybody was like,

"oh, wow, okay.

If dale believes,
this is probably gonna work."

And dale loved put that big arm
around you and say,

"I told you so."

That was his... he loved that.

All the people you could've
chosen to driven that car,

and you chose Michael?

And dale, like, put that big arm
around people and said,

"I told you so, I told you
he could get the job done."

Michael: It was mine and dale's project.

We did it all together.

"Who's going to be the crew chief?"

"I don't know, eggleston's smart.

He does a good job. Let's get him."

"Deal." "who's the spotter?"

"I like my spotter I had
a couple of years ago,

you want to keep him?" "sure."

"Who's going to do p.r.?"

"That'd be up to napa."

They got someone named Brooke.

"She seems kind of tough."

When I was assigned to Michael,
I wasn't happy.

I didn't like the things
that I had heard about him.

I didn't like how cocky
he was with the media.

He just... he knew he was pretty savvy.

He certainly didn't need a publicist

to tell him what to do and when to do it.

Michael: I'd had some
interesting conversations

with p.r. people trying to
explain why I didn't win again,

and I think I kind of
got sideways with most of them.

There was no hiding
michael's wins versus losses.

It was 0 and 462, and it was
talked about regularly.

He just had this guarded, defensive aura

when you went down that path,

and I think that's because
truly, he knew he was a winner.

He was getting his shot of a lifetime,

and why did we have to go
and focus on 0 and 462?

It was a new opportunity for me,

and I felt like I needed
to have a new attitude

and I needed to make sure I respected

every part and piece of it, of that chance

and so I gave her
the benefit of the doubt,

and off we went.

Oh, no, this is a perfect way to
kick off a great season for us.

We have a couple of months
to build new cars

and prepare for this race,
so when we come to Daytona,

we're as prepared as we're gonna
be all year long.

We're fresh, and we got our new
stuff, and we're ready to roll.

Petty: Daytona is our super bowl.

If you just win one,
it's still a big, big deal.

If you don't win any race
in your whole career,

if you win Daytona, you're a winner.

Okay? And that's the way
everybody looks at it.

Welcome to Daytona, Florida,

and fox racing.

We've been here
all week for speed week,

and if you're joining us for the first time,

you're in for a treat today.

Promises to be
a truly exciting day of racing.

Dale, welcome to "totally Nascar."

Great to be here.

It's great to be back at Daytona

and try to win some of these races.

How about as a car owner?
You've got Michael waltrip

joining dale jr.

Michael is doing a great job out there

in practicing and drafting.

I want to see how he does
in the qualifying race

on Thursday, which I'm in
that same race I think.

Michael: It's Thursday afternoon.

It's the qualifying races.

We're racing to get our starting
spots in the Daytona 500.

I was up in the top five, six.

When I was running through third gear,

instead of shifting at the perfect time,

you know, I was focused
on making the move,

and I'm like...

the engine hit the rev limiter,

and I lost all my power.

And when that happened,
cars start going by me,

and I grabbed fourth, and it's too late.

And I finished ninth
I think in my qualifying race,

a race that I had put myself
in a position to win.

You talking about beating yourself up?

I'm like, that's a rookie mistake,

and you're 16 years in.

You can't do that.

I would tell myself, and I would tell Buffy,

and I would tell my team,

and I was not looking
forward to seeing dale.

Two days before the 500,
and I'm walking toward my bus,

and as I'm heading that way,
I pass dale's bus,

and the door swings open.

He said, "hey, get in here."

I'm like...

I walked in, and I said,

"hey, man, I'm sorry. That was my fault."

He said, "what are you talking about?"

I said, "I should have won
that damn race. I messed up."

He said, "no, you shouldn't have.

I should have won it.
You shouldn't have won it.

That don't matter. That was yesterday.

Here's how we're going to
win the Daytona 500."

It was so awesome to hear his response

to what I had dwelled on for 24 hours

and his focus on the prize,
what mattered.

And dale was like,
"we got to work together.

We got to push, we got to shove,
we got to push each other.

We got to hang together.
Me and you and dale jr."

We get to the front.

When we get to the front,
we're gonna stay there.

We were gonna work together.

We were gonna draft together,
we were gonna push,

and I found that I loved it.

I said, "yeah, that's perfect. Let's do it."

But also didn't find it to be overly realistic

because, you know, I'm starting 20th

I think back that way somewhere,

and he's up front, and dale jr
is somewhere in between,

and there's 39 other cars out there.

You know, how are you going to do that?

I remember dad telling me and Michael

that we needed to all work together.

He goes, "man, if all three of
us help each other all day,

just us, one of us will win."

And I'm like, that's a crazy plan.

No, that's not gonna"...
I'm saying this in my head.

You know, I wouldn't...

I'm like, "yeah, yeah,
let's all work together."

But in my mind, I'm like, "that's silly.

I'm just going to do
what I need to do for myself.

I'm going to be selfish,
and I'm going to win this race.

If I win it, it's going to
because of what I did."

Michael: That's the first time
I'd ever been in a meeting

with a car owner
that was laying out to me

how we were going to go win the race,

and I left that bus a different person.

And he very specifically told me

exactly how we were going to
go about winning this race.

If I'm a crew chief
right now, I'm really kind of

concerned about how much tension
these guys are feeling.

This is the first race of the year,

and there's a lot of tension

going through the garage area right now.

Announcer #2: Who are the great
passers in this race?

The first and foremost is earnhardt.

I mean, the man comes down here,
he looks like he can see air.

No matter where he goes,
he gets the job done.

Even dale earnhardt jr. Back there,

who's been learning
a good lesson from his daddy.

He's going to be tough, also.

Announcer #2: The anticipation,
the drama, the pressure

building here as we get closer
to nascar's greatest race,

the Daytona 500, coming up here on fox.

Norris: Entering the 2001
season, fox was coming on,

and fox sports was going to
mean mainstream,

every week, network coverage.

And then so this was a big day.

It was mike joy, Darrell waltrip,

Larry mcreynolds in the booth
for the first time.

I was living those moments.

You don't realize it at the time,

but I'm in the tv booth.

I'm a nervous wreck.

I've never done anything like that before,

and the Daytona 500
getting ready to start.

History, speed, excitement.

It's all here for nascar's biggest race.

We're expecting one of
the biggest crowds ever.

Nearly a quarter of a million people

packing this legendary speedway.

And the pressure building,
the track electric.

In the end we'll have one champion,

one driver who will make his way
through 42 other cars

and 500 miles of track to decide
who will win the Daytona 500.

The biggest thing you want
at Daytona and Talladega,

but Daytona, is a fast race car.

And there was no question,
it became pretty obvious

that that d.e.i. came to play.

Michael waltrip had every excuse
possible prior to entering

the 2001 Daytona 500.

Now he had everything he needed.

What was he gonna do with it?

And that's what everybody
was waiting around to see.

I woke up that February morning,
and I'm like,

"they're not beating me today.

It ain't happening."

Gentlemen...

start your engines!

Green flag!

Hondros: This is going to
be a big chance for

even more people to know that
Michael waltrip was a value

or Michael waltrip was a laugh.

Three wide in the back straightaway.

Michael: The cars were closer than ever.

The draft was tighter than ever,

the pack was bigger than ever.

And as the laps wound down,

people were getting more
and more desperate.

The calm, the patience,

they were beginning to run out.

And so things kept getting
tighter and tighter

and closer and closer.

And then finally coming off turn 2...

...just as I had gotten
to the front of the field...

I don't remember how many cars,

but over half of the lead pack done.

And here's another angle.

Announcer #2: It's the big one.

It's what we've all been fearing.

This kind of racing, it's going to happen.

A horrible crash
on the back straightaway.

And tony Stewart goes
for one of the wildest rides

in recent memory of Daytona.

I sat in my car, and I looked in the mirror,

and saw that black car
sitting there, and I thought,

"wow."

It's me and him and dale jr.,

and we're at the front,
just like he said we'd be.

And so I'm sitting there near,

the last few laps that race going,

"well, michael's here,
dad's there, he sees me."

If I do something, he's going to go,

"why'd you do that?" you know?

And so, I'm thinking,
"man, how do I win this race"

without screwing this up?

You know, I want to win.

I don't want Michael to win. I want to win.

"Dad can run third if that's
what he wants to do."

Seven laps to go in
the biggest race in the world,

the greatest race in the world.

Dale was using every line
on the track to hold back.

I mean, he was a one man dam.

- Whoa!
- Look at earnhardt!

Sterling got into earnhardt.

Dale is doing everything he can
to keep sterling behind him,

because this is a chess match
at high speed.

Martin: You know,
I'm holding this field back

to let my guys go.

And normally, dale would
never make a move like that.

It just seemed like something
I had never seen before.

Michael waltrip leads the Daytona 500.

Right now the car behind him is
his teammate dale earnhardt jr.

Michael: Dale jr.
And I stayed tight together,

and we kept pushing ahead.

And dale was the one
that was in the storm.

He was executing the plan
that he had shared with me,

and it was working perfectly.

Hondros: I truly believe that
nobody thought it was really

gonna happen until the car
crossed the finish line.

Two to go bud, two to go.

Hawthorne: You're excited.
They're in the lead,

but you also know that that can change.

You just thought something else
was going to take that away,

that never in a million years
could 0 for 462

turn into a cinderella story.

Come on, man!

Michael: I was off turn 4 and headed for

the checkered flag when my spotter said,

"they're wrecking behind you."

Big trouble. Big, right behind them.

To the flag.

Darrell: Come on, Mikey, you've got it.

You've got it, you've got it, you've got it!

Mikey!

All right!

Michael waltrip wins.

Darrell, is this better than winning it?

No.

But this is great.

I just hope dale is okay.

I guess he's all right, isn't he?

Whoo-hoo!

Michael waltrip, 462 green flags,

finally a checkered.

Does this feel as good
as you had hoped?

Just unconscious. Thank god.

Michael: The confetti and champagne

and family and friends.

And it was just, it was a beautiful scene.

It was a beautiful sight.

God, I can't believe it's over!

Now, let me ask you a question, Darrell.

How much better does 1 for 463 sound

than 0 for 462?

That ain't nothing.
It sounds a whole lot better.

You people hung up on my record,
I don't care.

But I do know this, me and my brother

have both won the Daytona 500!

That's right, brother!
That's right, brother!

Michael waltrip has
won the Daytona 500.

Just a flood of emotions
and, you know, relief,

in a lot of ways.

It just felt like it was just going to make

a lot of things that had been
difficult and challenging

to live with day in
and day out so much better.

Michael: I think I was in shock.

I couldn't believe dale's plan
worked like it did.

I couldn't believe
I'd won the Daytona 500.

I couldn't believe
all we had been through

to get where we were,
we were going to go celebrate

the Daytona 500.

It all worked out!

I just couldn't wait for dale to get there.

I knew when he got there,

I was going to get the best hug ever.

I was more excited about that hug

than I was the trophy or the money.

And, you know, that hug never came.

- Everybody okay?
- Schrader's climbed out

of his car.

He and earnhardt crashed together.

Schrader: And I went over there
thinking he's going to be

aggravated, and we all know what...

it was very serious.

So I didn't... I mean,
I was just, I was surprised.

When I came down, I started
asking Danny culler,

his spotter, "what'd dale say?"

And he goes, "he didn't say anything."

He said, "richard's been calling him,

but he hasn't responded."

I just thought it was another crash.

I've seen it on tv. It didn't look that bad.

It looked like just another tough crash.

And I hollered at dale, hollered
at him a couple of times,

and he didn't answer me back,
which was unusual.

So I started walking up through there.

This isn't what you would
expect, you know?

You usually see the guys get out and...

um, you know it just
looked like it was taking

a little bit longer for them
to get dad out or whoever.

I don't even... I couldn't
even tell at that point

really what the struggle was,
what the hold up was.

But it was a situation.

Darrell: As we go off the air,
as long as I live,

I'll never forget, the ambulance
comes out of the track.

That ambulance was doing
15 miles an hour,

maybe 20 just creeping down the road,

headed to the hospital.

We were probably 15 minutes
into the press box interviews,

and...

hawthorne: I'm watching Michael,
and I see Brooke.

She looked at me, and she went like this,

like stop the interviews.

And told them that unfortunately

we had to cut
the press conference short.

So that made me uncomfortable.

I mean, that made me think, "oh, god."

When we got into the elevator
and Michael and Buffy

were in this corner
of the elevator, so my right,

and I stopped the elevator,
and I looked at.

Michael and Buffy, and I said,

"I'm so sorry, but we've lost dale."

Michael: I remember wanting to leave.

I remember wanting to leave, and, uh...

I think that's when the reality
of it set in finally.

You know, some time between
the elevator and the van ride

and getting in a motor home

and getting everyone else to leave...

I guess it's just that fight or flight.

And I knew I had to be strong.

So...

and then being in the bus, just in shock.

This perfect day that I dreamed of

turned out to be one of
the saddest days of my life.

Norris: That one moment that
he was supposed to have,

in a selfish way, was robbed of that.

Then you add in, that's my best friend,

oh, yeah, by the way, that's my boss.

Oh, by the way, he just hired me,

and I just won the Daytona 500 for him,

and I don't get to celebrate with him.

When you start adding
all of those things,

and you start thinking about, um...

hold on a minute.

We got to the hospital, and I walked

right into dad's room,
and I knew right away

when I seen him that it was
just as bad as it could be.

And, um...

I turned around and walked
back out of there,

and we spent 30 minutes at that hospital

before they finally told us
that he was gone.

Helton: This is undoubtedly one
of the toughest announcements

that I've ever personally had to make.

But after the accident in turn 4
at the end of the Daytona 500,

we've lost dale earnhardt.

Darrell: What are we supposed
to do with this?

The greatest icon of our sport...

...he just got killed.

Reporter: They've come out to
drop off flowers, balloons,

a t-shirt, or even an old racing hat.

They've come to say
goodbye to their fallen hero.

We all sat down some time
the next week and said,

"you know, dad would want us
to be at the race track.

He'd be real..."

And you hear people say that
when they have loss

or they lose somebody.

Somebody dies,
you hear that all the time.

"Well, they'd want us to keep going,"

and you think, "how do you
really know what they..."

But you do. You know?
And I always... I'll never...

dad would have really been
pissed off if we didn't go race.

You know, we had to go
racing the next Sunday,

and I knew what my responsibility was,

and I knew...

...exactly what I wanted to do

or needed to do in order to deal with it.

And that was to honor
my friend and, um...

and...

racing will go on at rockingham.

Perhaps that will get these drivers

and their crews a chance
to get together in the garage,

laugh a bit, perhaps shed a tear,

then go out and race like hell
to honor the man in the 3 car.

I had an incredible week

dealing with the loss of dale

and what all it's meant to us.

I mean, I was his friend.

We all loved to watch him race his car,

and those were the things
that we're going to miss.

My personal thinking is that
when this weekend is over

and we've raced, then next week,
we can talk about winning

the Daytona 500.

But let this week be a week

that we just talk about dale.

Oh, we got trouble. Trouble already.

Three cars, four cars.

Michael: Had to try to move forward,

but me and I don't think a lot of others,

we didn't... we didn't
move forward very fast.

And then the next week
and the next week,

they just all started running together,

and I had this awesome race car

that dale's team was building
me, and I didn't run as well.

I just... I don't know,
I just... it's probably me,

probably me not being able to do my job

like I was paid to do.

And by the time, you know, the return to

the Daytona international
speedway for the July 4th race

rolled around, like,
we hadn't done anything at all.

And Daytona loomed ahead.

Now tonight, one of
the sport's brightest evenings

is certainly saddened
by one of its darkest moments.

This is the first
Winston cup race here at Daytona

since dale earnhardt
was killed in a crash

at the conclusion of the Daytona 500

back in February.

I really like this race track.
It's one of my favorite tracks.

And a win here would
really mean a lot to me

and the rest of the team, as well.

Certainly dale earnhardt is on the minds

of a lot of fans and a lot of teams.

But, Benny, these teams
have come here to work

as well as remember.

Martin: That July race at Daytona in 2001

was one that, you know,
will never be forgotten

in the history of the sport

because of all of the ramifications of,

this is the first time
we're back at Daytona

since dale's death.

How was dale jr. Gonna respond?

How are the fans gonna respond?

How's the d.e.i. team gonna respond?

I remember those all-night
car rides, going through

the tunnel, and popping up
and seeing those banks.

Those started in 1975.

And for the first time, in 2001,
I'm going to Daytona,

somewhere I don't want to be,
and that was confusing.

It was hard.

But eventually, a couple of weeks before,

I told Buffy, I said, "I'm going to go get..."

I'm gonna go get revenge on that place.

I'm gonna go win the race.

I'm gonna go do a burnout,

the biggest victory celebration
you've ever seen,

"and I'm going to celebrate dale."

Could Michael waltrip be writing another

Daytona miracle story?

The Daytona 500 winner coming in here

looking for the Daytona sweep.

Announcer #2: I think you better
look out for junior

because he'll be coming,
and he'll have fire in his eyes.

This young man
wants this one tonight badly.

I didn't have any fear, I'll tell you that.

I mean, when you're racing
and your dad dies in a crash

in the same race you're in,
you don't have much fear anymore

about dangers and getting hurt.

And I felt that empowered me.

Look at junior go.

Announcer #2: Up to fourth.

They're gonna stay on
bottom of the race track.

I think they're going to
give the outside to junior.

To the outside of Dave blaney
for second spot.

Mayfield pushes him along in the draft.

You know, my car is so dominant.

I'm going to go out here,
and I'll be surprised

if anybody can beat us.

Still there. Still there.

To the outside in turn 4,

dale earnhardt jr. Rockets
to the front at Daytona.

Listen to the crowd!

You can hear the crowd roaring
over the sound of the engines.

Michael: There's a late pit stop,

and I knew I needed
to make a great pit stop.

I needed to get in and out
of my pit in a hurry

to get track position so I can go win.

Michael waltrip
slipped through his pit stall.

He has to back up,
and now the whole stop

will have to start over.

It's still supposed to be four tires

and loosen them up a little
with a track bar adjustment.

Let's go to mark.

Dale earnhardt jr. Is in,
and he clearly had the best car

in that run, and he was not happy with it

a little soft he was,
and made a half pound into

the left rear, and they will
win the race off pit road.

So now when they finally
get the 15 car ready to go,

Michael has nowhere to go.

Michael: By the time
I backed up, got my tires,

I was fricking last, and there was,

I don't know, maybe 10 laps to go.

And I drove like I've never driven before.

Every move I made worked.

Michael waltrip under mike skinner.

You've got it from here on in, mike.

Michael waltrip
trying to become the first man

to sweep a season
at Daytona since 1982.

He's up to third.

Three laps to go.

Michael waltrip!

Dives underneath bobby labonte.

They bump on the back stretch.

Waltrip to second. Elliott sadler...

coming off the second turn
with a couple laps ago,

I mean, I'd come from the back,
and I was all the way to second.

Michael is behind me,

and I felt pretty confident about that.

I felt good about that,
because at this point,

it started to become this thing.

So let's help each other.

Will Michael waltrip block for dale, jr.?

Will he try to win the race himself?

White flag is out.

Final lap at Daytona.

180,000 on their feet, screaming wildly.

And I was right on dale, jr.'s bumper,

and we come across
and take the white flag,

and I'm coming down
the back straightaway.

And I said, "there it is.
I'm going to win this damn race.

I'm going to win this race."

Didn't...

didn't even try to make the pass.

Instantly I went from thinking,

"I'm blowing by this guy,"

to "I'm pushing this guy.

I'm going to push him."

Here they come, turn 4.

Down the line at the Pepsi 400.

Michael waltrip is second,

but it's going to be dale earnhardt, jr.

Using lessons learned from his father,

to score the victory in the Pepsi 400.

When we won
that race, and I came down

the front straightaway,
and I was going to do

these donuts, and that's when
I saw Michael down there, too.

I was so glad, you know, that he
made that decision to join me.

Michael: I saw him in there
spinning around, and I'm like,

"well, I'm gonna celebrate, too."

All right, Mikey,
you never got to celebrate

your win in February, you celebrate now.

Michael: Then dale, jr.
Got on my car and we hugged,

and I said,

"this is for your dad. I can't believe this."

And I said, "I love you, buddy."
and he said, "you too."

And then he dove into the crowd
and crowd surfed off.

I said, "kids these days."

That night, it just felt like all the pain,

all the sadness, the sorrow, it was gone.

You know, it was just... it was gone.

It was so real.

You know, it was everything

you'd hope a celebration would contain

with 150,000 people joining you for it.

But fact is some finish to a race

doesn't magically heal you.

That has to come from inside.

And I convinced myself of that,

that I wanted to be the winner
that dale wanted me to be.

There ain't nothing
like going fast at Daytona.

You don't have to,
you don't have to worry about

letting off or cracking the gas.

You can just go.

It's just the biggest thrill I've ever had.

Why would you want to do something

that you know darn well, could kill you?

I hadn't never wanted to do
anything else.

I never had any... never,
ever wanted anything

as much as I wanted
to race or enjoy or like it

or would give up most anything
in life to have it.

Why?

I was born into it.

Bred in me, I reckon.

That's all I think.

I have let it get in the way
of my personal feelings

a lot of times, but I've chose
racing every time.

Michael: I think if you take
what happened on that

February day and look at it,

it wasn't tragic.

I mean, that sounds...

that's hard to say,

but it was a moment
when a man was doing

just what he wanted to do,
and he was taken from us,

but he was racing with a purpose.

He was helping his buddy.
He was helping his son.

He was right where he wanted to be,

and the results for us on earth,

it feels tragic, but for him,

it could have been majestic,
where he thought,

"there you go. I'll leave you all with that.

That's my final act."

That could very well be true.