Year in Review: DEI

Elwood · December 3, 2003

Year in Review: DEI

By Lee Montgomery, Turner Sports Interactive

Wednesday, December 03, 2003

This is why Dale Earnhardt started a NASCAR Winston Cup team.

For the first time in Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s brief history, one of its drivers contended for the championship while another raced in the top 10 most of the year.

Earnhardt would've been proud. The team that bears his name was a force all season, beginning with Michael Waltrip's Daytona 500 victory and ending with Dale Earnhardt Jr. finishing third in the points standings.

In between, Earnhardt Jr. battled for the championship all year and won twice, including a non-restrictor plate victory at Phoenix. Waltrip stayed in the top 10 in the points until a late-season fade and also won twice.

DEI's third team didn't fare so well, as three drivers combined to post two top-10 finishes, and the No. 1 car finished 30th in the points.

Interestingly, DEI's season mirrored another three-car Chevrolet team, Richard Childress Racing: one team competed for the championship (Kevin Harvick, Earnhardt Jr.), another won two races and finished outside the top 10 in points (Robby Gordon, Waltrip), and the third team changed drivers and struggled all year (RCR's No. 30 and DEI's No. 1).

Earnhardt Jr., though, was clearly the star of DEI in 2003. His popularity off it is undisputed, but his on-track performance lived up to expectations. He led 24 of the 36 races, a feat matched only by super-fast Ryan Newman.

Earnhardt Jr. led the most laps in four races, none of which he won. He didn't win a pole, but his 13 top-five and 21 top-10 finishes were each career highs.

"The team is really getting better and better," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We seem to be growing more comfortable. We stumble a little bit under pressure, not only just driving in races and being in the front and trying to make good pit stops, but we've got a high-profile team and a high-profile sponsor.

"If we overcome the pressure from that, we're doing a good job.

"I feel like the team is getting better and that we can compete next year for the championship. The only thing I don't like about Winston Cup racing right now that could hamper my ability to be as competitive next year is loyalty.

"I feel like I have a pretty good group of guys, and if they maintain their strong bond and loyalty for what we're trying to accomplish, then we can step it up again and again each year. I hope everybody understands the opportunities we have and that they stick around to make it happen."

Earnhardt Jr. wanted his No. 8 team to step up this season, and it did. After a slow start to the season -- 36th at Daytona and 33rd at Rockingham -- Junior took off.

He led the most laps and finished second at Las Vegas, was third at Atlanta and led the most laps and finished sixth at Darlington.

After a mediocre race at Bristol, Earnhardt came in second at Texas, won his fourth consecutive race at Talladega and led the most laps and finished third at Martinsville. The Talladega race moved him to second in the points, where he stayed for 19 of the 29 remaining weeks.

The good runs kept piling up: a third at Richmond, a fourth at Pocono, another third at Pocono, a third at Watkins Glen and a fifth at New Hampshire after leading the most laps. Crashes at Chicago, Michigan and Dover hampered his championship aspirations, but the team kept plugging.

Junior didn't make it five in a row at Talladega, but he finished second to Waltrip there. A fourth-place result at Martinsville cemented his place as the best short track driver, as he scored more points at the three short tracks than anyone.

Then came the victory at Phoenix, his first non-plate victory in two years. A 13th at Rockingham and a 24th at Homestead closed the season, but Earnhardt Jr. still had a productive year.

"It feels like the last day of school," Earnhardt Jr. said of Homestead. "I'm goin' home to celebrate. We were never very good today, but third-place in points is something I'm really proud of.

"It shows what a great season we had, how much we improved as a team and how we were able to run competitively week-after-week, a lot more consistent than before. We wanted to win the championship, but third is something we can really build on."

Waltrip briefly led points standings

Waltrip has something on which to build, too, even though he fell to 15th in the final Winston Cup points standings. Waltrip was solid if not spectacular for most of the season, starting with his second Daytona 500 victory.

After a third-place at Las Vegas, Waltrip led the points. That last only one race, but Waltrip stayed near the front most of the season. First-half highlights were a solid fifth at Darlington, seventh at California, sixth at Charlotte and fifth at Michigan.

He stood fifth in the points after a fifth-place finish at Chicagoland. But after a seventh-place result at Michigan, the bottom fell out. Waltrip crashed at Bristol and ended up 42nd. The next four races ended with Waltrip 26th or worse, including a blown engine at Dover that dropped him out of the top 10 in points.

Talladega briefly arrested the free-fall, as Waltrip led 16 laps and won his fourth career race - all on superspeedways. But he crashed at Kansas and blew another engine at Atlanta.

Waltrip briefly rebounded with a fifth at Phoenix, but he blew up at Rockingham and cut a tire and crashed at Homestead. Still, his two victories were a career high, as were his eight top-fives.

Third DEI team endures rough campaign

Steve Park started the season as Earnhardt's and Waltrip's teammate but was let go after 11 races and only one top-10 finish. Jeff Green replaced Park in the No. 1 but didn't much better. John Andretti finished the season in the car, which blew up in the season's final race.

The only other top 10 the car had all season was at Infineon Raceway, when road racer Ron Fellows drove it to seventh.

But it wasn't all bad news, of course. Besides DEI's Winston Cup teams, the Chance 2 Motorsports team owned by Earnhardt Jr. and Teresa Earnhardt competed in 11 Busch Series races, winning three - all by Earnhardt Jr., including a dominant race at Daytona in July when he led every lap.

Now that's something to build on.