Word: packings
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...Monte Carlo changed the car's aerodynamic shape and let him know before the endgame that he wouldn't be the winner. But up ahead, there was a solid chance that someone else from Dale Earnhardt Inc. would be, as Michael Waltrip and Dale Jr. were leading the pack. By talking with his pit crew over the radio, Earnhardt started coaching his teammates. "Those last 10 laps, I saw such a different Dale Earnhardt," said his friend and former crew chief, Larry McReynolds, who was calling the race for Fox from the press box. "I can't imagine how proud...
...race day you rise around 7, pack your gear, attend a sponsor hospitality event. Sponsors call the shots: their money determines the quality of your team and your equipment. Before the race you say something blandly reassuring to your wife--"Hey, I'll see you in a while"--then get into your car. Your team mummifies you with five tight belts. You feel the throttle under your thin-soled shoe. For the first time today, you're alone. You hear silence, then a rapid thumping: "It's your heart beating inside your ears when the earphones are plugged into...
Strategy, both competitive and financial, demands that you be near the front of the pack. Your sponsor equates TV time with money. "Exposure is what it's all about. You have to create an opportunity where you can go up front." The smart spot during the race is second place, behind someone like Earnhardt. You fly faster in the leader's wake. Then there's the TV time being up front near a star. And, well, you just might beat...
...when it takes more than a nod to acknowledge danger. In February 1994, Neil Bonnett died on a practice run a week before the Daytona 500. Neil was a good friend--and Dale's closest. Dale had qualified fourth that year, but I was in the back of the pack. We talked before the race, and Dale spied my wife Stevie slipping me a card with a note written on it. He asked her about it. She told him that for years before every race, she would write out some biblical verse--whichever she found most fitting for that...
...relay advice to his teammates--my brother and his son--who were ahead of him in spots one and two. He must have realized toward the end of the race that his car wasn't capable of winning, so he just kind of sat there and blocked the pack from gaining on Michael and Dale Jr. He played the shepherd, an uncharacteristic role...