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Paddy Lowe as the headline for Autosport International Connect
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The death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. at the 2001 Daytona 500 shocked NASCAR deeply. Days before his accident, ‘The Intimidator’ shared his expectations for an eighth cup title with JONATHAN INGRAM in the February 15, 2001 issue of Autosport magazine.
Dale Earnhardt began his quest for an eighth Winston Cup record, by driving a 24-hour race two weeks before the Daytona 500 blue ribbon. Driving the factory-supported Corvette C5-R, which finished fourth, gave Earnhardt his first chance to drive with his son Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will be racing in his second season in the NASCAR premiere series this year.
Although he is now occasionally referred to as a « Senior » and turns 50 in April, Earnhardt’s passion for performance in racing remains undiminished.« I’ve always been interested in the Daytona 24 Hours, » he said. « When I retire, whenever that may be, I want to look back and be able to say that I’ve completed this race and know what it’s like to drive in it. »
In contrast to his son, who Turned twice on the first lap of his first stint on Saturday after an afternoon of rain and slippery track conditions, the veteran Earnhardt did his job with serenity on Sunday morning in the wet. But like his teammate and main driver Andy Pilgrim, Earnhardt couldn’t overcome his Corvette’s relative grip in the Goodyear rear tires compared to her victorious sister. It fell further behind with two rear axle failures and a gear change.
But there is little doubt that Earnhardt is physically and mentally prepared for the opening of the Winston Cup season.
« I’m ready to get back on track. » « he said after staying twice in the wet on Sunday morning.
» I’m used to driving 500-mile Winston Cup races and sitting in the car a lot longer. «
After the second Place in last year’s points concerns the question that Earnhardt introduces to the 2001 NASCAR season, ironically Goodyear tires. After a number of complaints last year, the Ohio company Akron will use fewer disparate compounds to throw fewer variables at teams during its 36-race schedule, where qualifying is limited to one session. At NASCAR’s request, it will be more difficult to slow down when reducing corner entry speeds. This is in response to three fatal accidents last season in the Sanctions Authority’s three major touring series.
In 2000, Earnhardt was unable to put pressure on front runner Bobby late in the races due to problems selecting chassis and tire pressure changes late in the races Exercise labonte. The seven-time champion blamed Goodyear’s unpredictable tires for part of the problem.
While preparing for the sports car version of Daytona’s Speed Weeks, Earnhardt sarcastically said he had to return to North Carolina to « write Goodyear some checks on my tire bills « .
How will this year’s new tire rules affect ‘The Intimidator’? There are two schools of thought.
First, there are those who believe a tougher bond will favor Earnhardt, who likes a loose lineup and who is known to be cock-lucky with his Richard Childress Racing Chevy Monte Carlo. The other school believes that switching to a harder compound will require finer suspension tuning that Earnhardt and his crew chief Kevin Hamlin may be able to avoid. There is also the ghost of 1992 when the Karoliner struggled to adjust to radial tires and only won one race. It was the last season in which he finished in the top 10 in points.
Earnhardt himself plays down the tire changes. « We had a harder tire at Darlington [in September] and I liked it, » he said. « But I don’t think it will give anyone an advantage. It will still race. You can change all of that and it will still be a race. »
After surgery to repair an upper back disc the 2000 season, Earnhardt remains in excellent physical shape. He’s even less of an « ironhead » than he was after removing a piece of metal from his forehead in Daytona for the sports car test days. The iron got stuck there while Earnhardt hammered with a chisel in 1976.
Despite his infamous « sleep at the wheel » episode at the start of the Southern 500 in Darlington in 1997, Earnhardt rarely gets more than four hours a night, even after racing sleep before attacking another day.
As he sat by the pit wall, waiting for his turn in the GM Goodwrench-painted Corvette No. 3 in the rain at 6am, the smile was big under the typical mustache no surprise.
« Sometimes they wanted me to run, but shoot, I was way below in a few laps, » said Earnhardt after his double stint.
His first session in the rain led to Laps of 2: 11.5 seconds, half a second below the 2:12 laps of veteran Chris Kneifel in the # 2 Corvette that won the event overall. « I’m ready to go out again, » said a pumped Earnhardt after his last two hours in the car.
It was Gary Claudio from GM Racing who wanted to put the Earnhardts in one of the factory Corvettes but had to last year’s suggestion postponed due to an out of season surgery. Also, ‘Little E’ entered its first year of the Winston Cup. Earnhardt credits his operation with the rejuvenation of his career and enables him to tackle the extra duties of the 24-hour this year.
For the driver who once boasted in the 80s that his driving style called him « just could leave another mark on the wall « retirement is not imminent. His trademark aggression was very evident last season, and that probably won’t change this year.
« Physically, I feel great, » he says. « I know what it takes to drive a racing car. »
#ThinkingForward: BSB’s only female team owner for women in racing
Faye Ho, the only female team owner at British Superbikes, discusses her new challenge with FHO Racing and women in motorsport
Podcast: How this week’s key decisions will shape the future of F1
In the latest installment of the Autosport podcast, the team discusses a number of key decisions that have been made in the past few days that could affect the future of the series
Paddy Lowe as the headline for Autosport International Connect
Former F1 technical director Paddy Lowe will be one of the stars at Autosport International Connect to discuss the future of fuel sources in automotive and motorsport
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Ref: https://www.autosport.com
