Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s 2nd Daytona 500 win couldn't have come at more opportune time

Dale Earnhardt Jr's famous tweet for his father after Daytona 500 win / Headline Surfer®Graphic for Headline Surfer® /
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. pays homage to his late father, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., and the bronze likeness in front of Daytona International Speedway, with this photo tweet after Junior won the 2014 Daytona 500 for the second time in a decade. Along with a pose by Juniotr, he tweeted, 'Look who I ran into at the Daytona Experience. Dad's Happy!'
The elder Earnhardt won the 1998 Daytona 500, along with seven (Winston & Sprint) cup championships. He died in a crash on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, leading to the statue being installed in his memory.
The tweet symbolizes the Earnhardt father-and-son legacy, past and present coming full circle for racing fans, Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR and for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. himself. 
 

DAYTONA BEACH -- The dramatic win by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., in Sunday's Daytona 500 following a six-hour rain delay could not have come at a more opportune time for Daytona International Speedway, as well as the umbrella (no pun intended) sanctioning body known as NASCAR.

Its reality is that the Earnhardt brand has and continues to be the driving force that has allowed the sport to transcend into pop culture.

Dale Earnhardt, Sr. died in a tragic crash off Turn 4 of the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 knowing his drivers -- Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -- were 1-and-2 headed for the checkered flag before he met his destiny head-on -- an instant death from a basilar skull fracture from the collision with the concrete wall at full throttle.

But news of the elder Earnhardt's fate would not come until several hours later when NASCAR executive Mike Helton somberly announced, "This is understandably one of the toughest announcements we've ever had to make. ... After the accident on Turn 4 of the Daytona 500, we've lost Dale Earnhardt."

But news of the elder Earnhardt's fate would not come until several hours later when NASCAR executive Mike Helton somberly announced, "This is understandably one of the toughest announcements we've ever had to make. ... After the accident on Turn 4 of the Daytona 500, we've lost Dale Earnhardt."

But alas, NASCAR fans had Earnhardt's son, who came roaring back five months later in the July 4th weekend race at Daytona under the lights, the Pepsi 400 (since named Coke Zero 400).

Junior won both Talladega races in 2002. In 2003, teammate Waltrip won the Daytona 500 for the second time in three years while Earnhardt, Jr. finished 36th. Still, Junior won the first Talladega race and then at Phoenix later in the season.

Then came the magic of 2004. Earnhardt, Jr. won the Daytona 500 to open the Sprint Cup season. And while that would have been enough to satisfy the fans, Junior went on to win five more races that season: Atlanta, Richmond, Bristol, Talladega and Phoenix.

Then came the magic of 2004. Earnhardt, Jr. won the Daytona 500 to open the Sprint Cup season. And while that would have been enough to satisfy the fans, Junior went on to win five more races that season: Atlanta, Richmond, Bristol, Talladega and Phoenix.

There was hope. Lots of it.

But Earnhardt, Jr., with the weight of the world on his shoulders, went into a decade-long funk.

And while NASCAR tried everything to bring back the magic, it just wasn't the same. That Jimmie Johnson would win five consecutive Sprint Cup championships, meant little to the diehard Earnhardt fans (who make up the majority of NASCAR's fan base), who stayed with Junior through thick and thin.

In the coming days, you'll hear from some of them, exclusively through Headline Surfer®.

In 2005, Junior won at Chicago. In 2006, he won at Richmond. He was winless in 2007. In 2008, his sole win was at Michigan. In 2009, 2010 and 2011, he was winless in Sprint Cup. In 2012, Earnhardt's lone win was at Michigan, and last year, he was winless.

But a decade later, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is back on top of the racing world with his second Daytona 500 championship. And it could not have come at a more opportune time for NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway, which is undergoing two of the biggest projects since the Speedway itself was built in 1958 -- the $400 million Daytona Rising track modernization, and One Daytona, a massive retail outlet across the street.

With this second Daytona 500, Junior now has cemented his own legacy and the Earnhardt name endures with the 39-year-old racer -- the weight on his shoulders lightened considerably.