Daytona 500 notebook: Earnhardt Jr. limps home 29th

Monday, Feb. 18, 2002 | 9:54 a.m.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Most drivers would not consider it a good day to blow two tires, slide through the infield grass at 160 mph without brakes and get caught up in an 18-car pileup.

Then again, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is not your average NASCAR Winston Cup driver.

The 27-year-old son of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt -- who has his own nightclub in the basement of his house and admittedly drinks too much beer and smokes too many cigarettes -- did all of the above in Sunday's Daytona 500 and wrote it all off as a "cool" weekend.

Of course, Earnhardt did win Saturday's NASCAR Busch Series race here.

Despite a blown tire that shredded his right-front fender 22 laps into the Daytona 500, Earnhardt managed to climb back into the top 10 after some impromptu bodywork to his Chevy that included the better part of a roll of duct tape.

Another blown tire midway through the race damaged Earnhardt's brakes and sent him sliding through the grass in the tri-oval. After retiring to the garage for more work, Earnhardt returned to the track and limped home to a 29th-place finish.

"I had a good, fun weekend," Earnhardt said. "I was just (ticked) off I didn't keep up my string of first or seconds (at Daytona) because I did that for about six races.

"Overcoming the flat tires and being competitive with no fender, that was cool. Sliding through the infield at 160 miles per hour with no brakes and no right-rear tire, that was cool. A lot of neat things happened this weekend."

Marcis, who started his record 33rd Daytona 500, retired after the race.

"It has been a great week, a great 125-miler (qualifying race), just overwhelming support from the fans," the popular driver said. "We didn't want it to end like this, we wanted a good run like we did in the 125-miler."

Marcis started 14th Sunday after finishing seventh in his qualifying race last Thursday.

Robinson lost ground after running out of fuel midway through the race, later making contact with Mike Skinner and then having a drive shaft break.

"My first Daytona 500, I'm not happy about it but the fact that we finished in the top 25 and finished at the end of the race -- we were still out there -- I'd have to say we accomplished something.

"I want to be competitive but these are the steps of getting there, learning along the way. I learned a lot today."

Busch's plans to drive in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this season for Roush Racing were derailed when NASCAR instituted a rule that drivers in all of its touring series be at least 18 years of age.

The 20-race ASA season begins March 23 in Lakeland, Fla., and makes a stop at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway April 6-7.

DEI is hosting a silent candlelight tribute for Earnhardt at its headquarters in Mooresville, N.C. and the tribute at the NASCAR Cafe will coincide with that observance.

Candles will be handed out to race fans who want to participate in the observance and a photograph of the tribute will be taken at 6 p.m. and sent to Teresa Earnhardt.