A Day with Earnhardt

Monday, March 2, 1998 | 5:30 a.m.

Editor's note: SUN Assistant Sports Editor Rob Langrell spent Sunday at the Las Vegas 400 with Dale Earnhardt's No. 3 GM Goodwrench Service Plus Chevrolet team. Following is a diary detailing the day's events:

5:45 a.m. -- The sun isn't even up, yet scores of Winston Cup crew members -- including Earnhardt's team -- are lined up in the infield near the gate leading into the garage area. Colorfully designed jackets are the attire of choice, as there's a little nip in the morning air. Amazingly, there already are a handful of fans in their grandstand seats for the race, which still is six hours away.

6:00 -- The garage opens and the team members file though the gate like a herd of cattle. They are all off to their respective transporters, the high-tech, 18-wheelers that haul two race cars and the equipment and serve as team headquarters in the garage area.

6:05 -- The unloading of Earnhardt's transporter begins.

6:26 -- Race day tires are loaded onto a four-wheel cart designed to carry four sets of rubber -- 16 total tires. They are then taken to Earnhardt's spot on pit road along with a variety of other items.

6:50 -- Several of the crew members are busy setting up Earnhardt's black No. 3 Chevy in the garage area. The team has practiced on the speedway since Thursday and has decided how it will set up the car for the start of the race. The crew is busy finalizing all of those things.

7:36 -- Doughnuts arrive. About eight dozen will help satisfy any hunger pangs.

8:15 -- Team owner Richard Childress is busy signing autographs for fans outside the transporter.

8:40 -- Earnhardt files through the crowd to his transporter. He has taken a helicopter to the track to avoid the traffic. He heads for a private area inside for a chat with a NASCAR official.

9:15 -- With a mob of autograph seekers standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the rear of his transporter, Earnhardt slips out a side door and heads for the 9:30 driver's meeting. These gatherings are a weekly occurrence, always two hours before the event. That's where some of the technical points of the day are discussed, such as the speed limit on pit road.

9:34 -- Chocolate Meyers, the team's gas man and a popular figure on Earnhardt's team, is busy on pit road using adhesive to apply lugnuts to the extra sets of tires that will be used during the race. With those in place, it eases the process for the tire changers during pit stops when quickness is essential.

9:54 -- Crew members roll the car from the garage stall to NASCAR's inspection area.

10:14 -- The car passes inspection and the team pushes it to pit road, where all of the entries are lined up in order, according to their qualifying position.

10:21 -- Finally, a little time for a break. Most of the team grabs lunch -- ham sandwiches, Pringles and Coke are the fare of choice.

10:27 -- The team gathers for a closed-door pre-race meeting in the transporter. Crew chief Larry McReynolds heads it, and the first item on his agenda is fuel mileage. He tells the team that it should expect to run between 58 and 60 laps on a tank of gas. "We'll probably stop a little short of that on the first stop," he says. Tire wear is next on the list, as McReynolds warns the team that a two-tire stop may be a possibility. He has come to that conclusion as a result of a watchful eye during practice and during Saturday's Busch Grand National race. "Today may be a frustrating deal at this track," McReynolds said. "It's new and we don't know much about it. Let's just keep cool. We have fought hard for three days, but it's been pretty trouble-free. Someone will figure things out today. Let's be the ones."

10:37 -- McReynolds concludes the meeting by leading the team in the Lord's Prayer.

10:55 -- Earnhardt and his wife, Teresa, walk hand-in-hand from their motorhome in the infield to the start/finish line for driver's introductions.

11:00 -- Earnhardt is chatting with Kyle Petty, Rusty Wallace and Michael Waltrip while he waits for his turn on the podium. Several other drivers stop by to congratulate him on his son Dale Jr.'s second-place finish in Saturday's Busch race. The field is introduced in qualifying order, from the rear to the front.

11:14 -- Earnhardt is introduced and the fans in the packed grandstand cheer wildly. He acknowledges them with a wave and steps onto the podium for several photographs and a handshake from entertainer Wayne Newton. It's then off for a lap around the track atop a red convertible Corvette before he's dropped off on pit road.

11:21 -- Fighting a mob of fans, Earnhardt makes it to his car on pit road. He obliges ESPN2 with an interview for its pre-race show, signing autographs simultaneously.

11:24 -- The driver dubbed "The Intimidator" climbs into his shiny black car, straps himself in and dons his helmet.

11:45 -- The drivers get the order to "Start your engines," and Earnhardt cranks up his Chevy.

11:54 -- Green flag drops to start the inaugural Las Vegas 400 -- 400 miles (267 laps) of Winston Cup racing. Earnhardt starts 26th in the 43-car field.

11:55, Lap 1 -- Like every race, Earnhardt will keep in contact with McReynolds via a two-way radio system. McReynolds will call off lap times to keep Earnhardt posted as to where he is running. A spotter located atop the roof of the suites on the front straightaway keeps Earnhardt abreast of cars to his rear and side.

12:11 p.m., Lap 29 -- Earnhardt radios in and says his car is "loose," which means he is sliding up the track in the turns, something McReynolds tells him they will try to fix during the first pit stop.

12:20, Lap 45 -- Earnhardt runs a 34.50-second lap. McReynolds tells him to keep up his "good, consistent laps," and he has about 15 laps to go until a pit stop.

12:26, Lap 57 -- Earnhardt, running 20th, pits for four new tires and gas.

12:30, Lap 60 -- "We chopped a lot off the leader on that pit stop," McReynolds says to the team on the radio.

12:35, Lap 69 -- Earnhardt is running in 12th place.

12:43, Lap 85 -- "We're about a half-lap down to the leader right now, Dale," McReynolds radios.

12:45, Lap 89 -- First caution flag of the day flies when Kenny Irwin spins in turn 4.

12:47, Lap 90 -- Earnhardt pits for four new tires and fuel.

12:48, Lap 91 -- Childress radios the team to make it aware that several teams only took on two tires during their stops. "Let's see what happens," Childress says. Earnhardt has moved up to 10th place.

12:52, Lap 92 -- Preparing for the restart, McReynolds radios Earnhardt with a bit of advice. "Pull those seat belts tight. You got one (lap) to go next time by. Let's get diggin'."

1:05, Lap 114 -- The second caution flies when Jeff Green spins in turn 2. On the ensuing pit stop, McReynolds calls for a two-tire change. The move proves fruitful.

1:09, Lap 116 -- Earnhardt is running in third place, behind only Jimmy Spencer and Jeff Gordon.

1:21, Lap 134 -- The halfway point of the race comes with Earnhardt running fourth.

1:40, Lap 166 -- With Earnhardt's tires wearing down, McReynolds tries to coax him home. "Just eight more laps until we stop Dale, hang in there." Earnhardt is in seventh.

1:44, Lap 174 -- Strategy sets in. McReynolds tells Earnhardt to stay out one more lap so that he can lead (and pick up five valuable Winston Cup points) because everyone in front of him has pulled onto pit road. Earnhardt is the short-lived race leader on Lap 175, and then pulls his Chevy into the pits for four new tires and gas.

1:51, Lap 186 -- Earnhardt radios, "Boy this tire pressure sure feels good. I think this will work."

2:07, Lap 214 -- Earnhardt is running eighth, but is having trouble gaining any ground on the cars in front of him.

2:15, Lap 226 -- A pit stop gives Earnhardt four new tires and a full tank of gas. He returns to the track in the same spot -- eighth.

2:33, Lap 257 -- McReynolds radios Earnhardt to tell him there are 10 laps to go.

2:36, Lap 261 -- McReynolds has this advice for Earnhardt: "Six laps to go. Keep on diggin'. You the man."

2:39, Lap 267 -- Earnhardt takes the checkered flag and finishes eighth. He is the top Chevy finisher and the only Chevy on the lead lap.

2:42 -- Cleanup of the pit area is well under way.

2:46 -- The car is back at the transporter and the crew is preparing to load it for a long haul home.

3:27 -- The GM Goodwrench Service Plus transporter pulls toward the speedway's exit, beginning its journey back to the race shop in Mooresville, N.C.

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