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Thursday, July 12
Earnhardt Jr.: 'It's really bothered me'
Associated Press
JOLIET, Ill. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is angry and hurt at a time he should be happy.
The reason: rumors and written speculation that his victory in the Pepsi 400 was a fix.
|  | | Dale Earnhardt Jr. vented his frustrations during a news conference Thursday at Chicagoland Speedway. |
"I couldn't believe it," Earnhardt said Thursday before the start of practice for the inaugural Tropicana 400 at the new Chicagoland Speedway. "I was in Seattle for the All-Star Game and this guy asked me what I thought about people saying the Daytona race was fixed.
"I coiled back to knock the hell out of the guy," he added, saying the reports were an insult to his late father and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. as well.
"It's really bothered me pretty bad," Earnhardt said. "It's the biggest win of my career and, for somebody to question its credibility, it's a slap in my face, in my father's face, in Tony Eury Jr.'s face and in the faces of the whole team."
Earnhardt's big win, the third of his career and first of 2001, came in the first race at Daytona International Speedway since his father, Dale Earnhardt, was killed in a crash in February during the Daytona 500.
The elder Earnhardt died as his son followed teammate Michael Waltrip to a 1-2 finish for Dale Earnhardt Inc. This time, it was Waltrip following his younger teammate across the finish line for another 1-2.
Little E led 116 of 160 laps on Daytona's 2½-mile oval and, after changing four tires late in the race, charged from seventh place to the win in the final six laps.
Yet his very dominance made the 26-year-old, third-generation NASCAR racer immediate fodder for the conspiracy theorists, especially after several other Winston Cup drivers, including Johnny Benson and Jimmy Spencer, intimated his victory appeared too easy.
The talk has definitely bothered Earnhardt Jr., who said he hasn't even been able to celebrate the win yet with stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt, who now runs his father's team.
"I never drove any harder in my life," the youngster said. "We won the race so convincingly, it raised questions. But I don't understand how anybody could think that NASCAR would do that.
"Why would they? They've got so little to gain and so much to lose.
"I feel like everybody I talk to about the race, I have to prove to them it was real," he added, grimacing. "It's a shame. It's a great moment in NASCAR history and it was ruined, pretty much."
Ty Norris, executive vice president of Earnhardt's team, appeared more upset than his driver.
"Our guys went back on Monday and they were walking on cloud nine," Norris said. "They had circled that date on our calendar and this was the payoff.
"We had a meeting before we left for Daytona and I told them, 'You guys stay focused. You know what you have to do and why we have to do it.' They went out and got it done and, to have somebody come up and say it was a fix, that's just horrible.
"The same people who made it difficult for Teresa Earnhardt in the most difficult time of her life are making it difficult for Dale Jr. in the most glorious moment of his life. That's wrong."
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