At 180 mph, it's hard to simply go through the motions. But every time the NASCAR Winston Cup Series roars through the fourth turn, the memory of Earnhardt's final-lap death in the Daytona 500 will be both haunting and painful.

How can anyone forget?

''It's not going to be the same,'' said driver Elliott Sadler as the racing's traveling circus prepares to make its first trip back to the sport's flagship station since that fateful final lap on Feb. 18. ''What's Daytona without Dale Earnhardt?''

Only a handful of drivers have been to Daytona since the most-accomplished driver of his generation died instantly when his familiar black Chevrolet made a sudden and wild right-handed turn into the fourth-turn wall. Making a return for Saturday's race certainly will reopen emotional wounds, but it will be part of a grieving process that never seems to end.

Officials at the Daytona International Speedway are conscious of the distraction Earnhardt's memory presents. There will be no reminders of Earnhardt inside the raceway, nothing to catch the drivers' attention as they prepares for pole qualifying Thursday night, practice Friday and the main event under the lights on Saturday. There will be banners memorializing Earnhardt hung from the back of the grandstands that face the parking lots, and tributes to the former seven-time series champion will be on hold until after the race.

''It's probably not as fine a line as you'd think,'' said speedway spokesman Glyn Johnston of challenges to honor the driver's memory without distracting from the race itself. ''It's not so difficult to show proper respect to a man we all loved and to the drivers who are here.

''There will be some feelings people will have when they pull back into the speedway. We understand that. We have those same feelings, too.''

The only shrine to Earnhardt's life - and death - inside the towering walls of the Daytona International Speedway is his memory. That may prove to be more omnipresent than an eternal flame.

There is concern that Earnhardt's crash, the many unanswered questions about his death and the continuing investigation by NASCAR into the accident may take center stage as 43 drivers prepare to race 400 miles. Richard Childress Racing issued a statement that all questions concerning its former driver won't be answered until all 400 miles are complete - and there are no more ghastly announcements like the one that followed last February's race.

''Next week at Daytona is obviously going to be very tough for everyone at Richard Childress Racing and for everyone who knew and loved Dale Earnhardt,'' Childress said. ''I have said that we were going to treat this race like any other since the Daytona 500. I now know that will be impossible. But as difficult as it's going to be, we know it's what we have to do.''

Childress put together six of Earnhardt's seven Winston Cup championships. The team has forged through every race since the deadly crash with rookie Kevin Harvick as the replacement. Childress changed the car and the number after the crash. The black No. 3 now is the white No. 29.

Some will try to block Earnhardt's memory from their minds once they pass through the tunnel and enter the massive playground with a 2.5-mile asphalt moat. The fact they have to make a conscience effort to forget seems to strengthen Earnhardt's presence.

It's hard to block out what happened on the final lap of this year's Daytona 500. Earnhardt was running in the lead pack, and the only thing between him and a Daytona 500 victory were cars driven by Michael Waltrip and his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

When the lead cars reached the fourth turn - about a half mile from the finish line - Earnhardt's was consumed by a wave of traffic: Sterling Marlin on the inside, Rusty Wallace on the outside and Ken Schrader against the wall. Earnhardt's car bobbled, then veered right, collecting Schrader's car on a violent three-second ride toward Daytona's fourth turn wall. Dead at impact.

''To go back without him is going to be tough, but I'm going to try to look at the positive side,'' Sadler said. ''I grew up being an Earnhardt fan, and I looked up to him a lot as a person, not only as a driver; so I'm going to try to look at the positive things he meant to the sport. That's how I'll remember him when we go back. But it will be tough.''