BRISTOL, Tenn. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a student of NASCAR history.
From memorable events and unique tracks to heroic racers, Earnhardt knows the saga of stock car racing.
Naturally, Earnhardt has a special attachment to Bristol Motor Speedway.
Dale Earnhardt, the late father of Dale Jr., earned his first Sprint Cup win in the Southeastern 500 at BMS. The date was April 1, 1979, and the car was the No. 2 Chevrolet owned by Rod Osterlund.
“This makes sense, I guess, him winning his first race here,” Earnhardt Jr. said, referring to his father during a Friday afternoon press conference. “If there’s a race track that fits his personality, this would be the one.”
The most successful drivers in BMS history have been drivers who relied more on brawn and bravery than strategy. Darrell Waltrip holds the all-time record for Bristol wins with 12, with Rusty Wallace, Cale Yarborough and Earnhardt next in line with nine victories.
“[Earnhardt Sr.] loved racing here and loved winning in front of the people here in Tennessee,” Earnhardt said. “This is such an exciting race track, and I just think he fed off of that for all those years.”
For Dale Jr., the ultimate Earnhardt moment came in 1985 when his father won at Bristol despite having no power steering for the final 450 laps in his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
“For me, I have run like 20 laps at California with no power steering, and it was hard to drive the car where you wanted it to go,” Earnhardt said. “The whole handle of the car, the whole feel of the car changed. I just can’t imagine.”
Earnhardt said the way his father muscled and manhandled his car around the tight confines and high banks of BMS was impressive.
“For him to have been able to do that here, a place like this, on the blacktop, for basically the entire race and win. That was pretty cool,” said Earnhardt, who has hosted his own television show focusing on NASCAR history. “I was here for that and I was pretty proud of him for that kind of effort.”
For a true racer, nothing equals the memory of the first win. Such is the case with the 1979 Southeastern 500 for the legion of Earnhardt fans.
“That’d be awesome to get a videotape of that race,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I’ve never seen it – just some clips of him coming off the corner.”
agregory@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2544
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