Earnhardt Jr. continues winning tradition

Elwood · October 4, 2002

By MIKE HARRIS

AP Motorsports Writer

October 4, 2002

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -- The late Dale Earnhardt hated restrictor-plate racing and never tried to hide it.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. loves racing on NASCAR's biggest tracks, where the horsepower-sapping plates keep the fields tightly bunched and make every on-track decision a possible disaster.

One thing the father and son have in common, though, is that both have been big winners in the plate races.

The elder Earnhardt, killed in a crash at the end of the 2001 Daytona 500, won 10 Winston Cup races at Talladega Superspeedway and three at Daytona International Speedway. Those are NASCAR's biggest and fastest ovals and the only tracks where the plates restricting air to the carburetor have been in regular use since 1988.

Earnhardt Jr., who didn't become a Winston Cup regular until 2000, has replaced his father as the scourge of the big tracks, and, no matter where he qualified Friday, he'll be the favorite Sunday in the EA Sports 500 at Talladega.

The third-generation NASCAR star, who will turn 28 next Thursday, finished second in the race in which his father perished and has won three of the next six. That includes two in a row on Talladega's 2.66-mile oval.

Richard Childress, for whose team the senior Earnhardt won six of his seven series championships, used to say Dale Sr. could ``see the air'' at the plate tracks.

Dale Jr. doesn't claim to have any special sense in the typical two- and three-wide racing on the big tracks. It's just fun.

``I like it because it gives everybody an opportunity to be competitive, even if your car is just a little bit down on horsepower or doesn't quite draft as well as others,'' Little E said. ``You can still be in the middle of the race and have some fun, no matter whether you're racing for first or 25th. You can still race and pass people and feel like you're doing something.''

Most drivers dislike the plate races because of the inherent danger and constant tension of racing at nearly 200 mph in huge packs and waiting for the almost inevitable big crash.

Different size plates haven't made a difference, nor has changing the aero package on the stock cars.

NASCAR will try another experiment on Sunday, shrinking the capacity of the on-board gas tanks from 22 to 13 gallons with the intention of forcing more green flag pit stops and spreading out the field.

John Darby, the Winston Cup director, is cautiously optimistic that the latest change will make a real difference.

The garage boss said the change to the cars is relatively easy and the minimum weight will remain the same 3,400-pounds, with the crews making up the difference by adding lead ballast.

``By reducing the size of the fuel cell, obviously the green flag runs will be shortened significantly, which proposed a whole new outlook on the race,'' Darby said. ``The teams will have to go back and restrategize their whole race in regards to when they're going to stop, make sure they have a partner when they stop.

``The question of whether I take two tires or four tires becomes even more exaggerated under this format. The pit crews will be involved more. It could be almost double to what they have been in the past.''

Most of the drivers are taking a wait and see attitude.

``If the packs are broken up I think it will be better, but the jury is still out on that happening,'' John Andretti said. ``There have been a lot of times when we have seen a lot of guys race pretty hard to pit road, and things can happen there too.''

Asked if the additional pit stops would make the pits more dangerous, Darby said, ``We don't expect that. This won't effect yellow flag stops. That's when you usually get the most cars on pit road.

``With green flag stops, you tend to get only a few cars on pit road at any one time,'' he added.

Car owner Bill Davis had a slightly different view.

``We're getting on and off pit road twice as often, in theory, and that's certainly always a potential for problems,'' Davis said.

Two-time Talladega winner Jeff Gordon said, ``If we all use our heads and play it smart and do what we're capable of doing, we can put on one heck of a race ... and come out with an exciting finish.''

Earnhardt Jr. doesn't know what to think about the smaller gas tanks.

``I just hope it doesn't change things too much,'' he said. ``I kind of like things the way they've been.''

I bet he does! I wouldn't want them to change if I were him either.