Dillon takes the pole…

This Sunday I’ll be watching the Daytona 500 as I always do. I will be watching as I was back in 2001, when my hero was killed on the final lap of the “Great American Race”. Dale Earnhardt represented so much of the “American Dream” to so many. His life was an exercise in uncompromising ambition, and his success was a product of the freedom necessary to pursue ones happiness. So when his car owner and best friend Richard Childress, decided to finally return his famed #3 Chevrolet to Cup Series competition this season, and with his grandson at the wheel, there were those who questioned the wisdom of such a move.

What made Dale so loved by those of us who watched him perform racing miracles as the legendary “Intimidator”, was the fact that he was an “average Joe” who just loved racing and made it big. We also know he loved NASCAR, and was a huge part of bringing the sport out of the stereotypical South and into most every living room in America in the 1980’s and 90’s. He would have wanted Childress to put that car number back out there, for all he knew it represented to the sport. A huge bear hug and hair tussle, and he would have told his friend, “put that boy in the car Richard, and lets win this thing”.

So when the famed #3 takes to the race track this weekend, I will be cheering,,,, reminiscing,,,, and tearfully albeit quietly missing my hero. But I will also be happy to see that number again, and relive all those very special memories, knowing this is surely what Dale would have wanted…