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The Daytona International Speedway is a course the Earnhardt family never had trouble with. The senior Earnhardt won numerous races on the track, but the Daytona 500 was always just a bit out of his reach. It took Dale Sr. 20 years to take the checkered flag in the illustrious Daytona 500, but on February 15, 1998, he finally won the Daytona. Unfortunately, only three years later, the 49 year old “Intimidator” would be killed as a result of massive injuries sustained in a last lap crash.
In 2004, “Little E”, Dale Earnhardt Jr., won his first Daytona 500, only three years after losing his father and inspiration on the very same track. Little E has taken over the role of “future of NASCAR” from Jeff Gordon in the last year, and he tends to have fans either love him or hate him, similar to the status of a New York Yankees type team. On his day of victory at Daytona, the super bowl of NASCAR racing, even the fans that disliked Junior had to cheer for him. Even fans that were rooting for other drivers might have cried a team for Junior the way he cried a tear to remember his father. The Earnhardt family has been one of the most influential in racing, and Dale Jr. has quickly become the leader of a sport taking over mainstream television. The Daytona 500 is the biggest race in the sport, and everyone is desperate to win it at least once, but there is no way you can expect to see Junior taking it easy at Daytona International Speedway anytime soon. The first one he won was for his late father, but the next one will definitely be for himself.
Buy Daytona 500 Tickets and be a part of it all!
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