Augusta Georgia: Other Sports:Earnhardt Jr. back up to speed 03/31/01

Earnhardt Jr. back up to speed

Web posted Saturday, March 31, 2001

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NASCAR notebook
Harrah's 400 qualifying

By Don Coble
Morris News Service

FORT WORTH, Tex. - For nearly two months, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had isolated himself from the world as much as any grieving child could following the tragic death of his famous father.

Until Friday.

As he walked down pit road before time trials for the Harrah's 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway, he was overwhelmed by the stirring ovation from 60,000 fans. Moments later, he worked them into a frenzy by winning the pole position.

``I never really realized how many people paid attention,'' the third generation driver said after driving a family-owned Chevrolet Monte Carlo 190.678 mph. ``The fans in the grandstands really got going on. They even did the wave. It's really cool.''

Less than two months after his father, seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt, was killed on the final lap of the Daytona 500, the son was finally back up to speed.

``It will be a long, long time before I feel like I did before it all happened,'' Earnhardt Jr. said. ``Everybody has their own little way to deal with it. I think about him all the time. It seems like there's good days, and there's bad days. Maybe it's not such a bad thing, because I like thinking about him.''

For now, the race car is his only escape. He won his first NASCAR Winston Cup Series race a year ago at Texas, and he expected to be one of the drivers to beat again this year. The pole position, however, caught him off guard.

``I came in here with confidence we'd race in the top three, top four, top five,'' he said. ``I didn't have the confidence we'd win the pole. This is really good for the team.''

Young Earnhardt has secluded himself behind the walls of Dale Earnhardt Inc. most of the time since his father died. He's avoided questions about his father and safety issues that have become a haunting issue for NASCAR.

After winning the pole position for Sunday's race (1 p.m., Fox-54), Earnhardt Jr. was a little more comfortable talking about the past - and facing the future.

``The way I look at racing, the way I think about it, the way I prepare myself is totally different than before,'' he said. ``Some of the aspects about racing that were huge to me a year ago aren't that important now. Other things are really important to me. One of my things in the past was to see how proud my father was of me. That's gone. Now I'm trying to make a living. Some things are still important; it's just different.

``Before my father's death, I raced under his arm. I didn't have to deal with the problems other drivers had to deal with. Dad was a guy who controlled things. He was the guy who walked around and patted guys on the back after things didn't go well. Now when I go to the race track, every dollar I get is for me. We have to pick each other up as a team from now on.''

Bobby Labonte, himself looking for a bright spot in an otherwise dreadful season, qualified second in a Pontiac Grand Prix at 190.463 mph.

Dale Jarrett will be third in Sunday's lineup after a run of 190.436 mph, followed by Bobby Hamilton in fourth at 190.208 and Steve Park in fifth at 189.813.

With only one round of qualifying, two drivers won't get a second chance to make the 43-car lineup. Kyle Petty and Rick Mast weren't quick enough to make the grid on speed, and neither was eligible to use a provisional exemption.

Harrah's 400 Qualifying

After Friday qualifying; race Sunday At Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas Lap length: 1.5 miles

1. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, 190.678.

2. (18) Bobby Labonte, Pontiac, 190.463.

3. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 190.436.

4. (55) Bobby Hamilton, Chevrolet, 190.208.

5. (1) Steve Park, Chevrolet, 189.813.

6. (28) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 189.633.

7. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 189.235.

8. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 189.129.

9. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 189.049.

10. (19) Casey Atwood, Dodge, 188.996.