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A Win For Dad

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

July 8, 2001 / 6:33 PM EDT / CBS

With 200,000 fans cheering, Dale Earnhardt Jr. veered his car off the track to spin doughnuts on the grass, a celebration he learned from his father.

"I was a little teary eyed crossing the finish line, coming down the short chute there," he said. "You know, it gets to you, emotions get to you."

For Earnhardt, reports CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston, this victory, his first at Daytona, was bittersweet. Five months ago, on this same track, his legendary father, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., Was killed in a crash in the last turn of the last lap.

The accident stunned the racing world. For fans, one writer said, Earnhardt's death was like the deaths of Elvis and Princess Diana.

Celebrating the victory

In last February's race, Earnhardt died blocking traffic for his son, who came in second, and his teammate, Michael Waltrip, who won the race. Saturday night, it was Waltrip who blocked for junior. Both men celebrating their own victory, and honoring their role model.

"This is our little way of trying to do something or say something for daddy," Earnhardt said after the race. "This is a way to remember him, I mean, you can't even write a script better than this, you know what I'm saying? You can't do it."

For the 26-year-old Earnhardt, this may be only the beginning. His victory at Daytona came 11 years to the day after his father's first win here. The famed "Intimidator" went on to win a total of 34 races on the Daytona track.