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GURSS: Weirdness, Atlanta Adventures for Dale, Jr.
Written by: Jade Gurss   
10/28/2008
Mooresville, North Carolina
 
Faster. Louder. The weekly column on SPEEDtv.com by Jade Gurss. (Harold Hinson Photo) ยป More Photos

While agonizing over the teetering collapse of the American auto industry and marveling at the brilliance we’re seeing with Jimmie Johnson and Chas Knaus, I couldn’t bring myself to repeat the same column written by 100 other writers in the past several days.

But, as I watched the recurring nightmare of Dale Jr. make his usual early-race charge only to drop like a stone later in the day, it reminded me that despite Junior’s disgust at finishing 11th, it was a rather tame Atlanta outing compared to some previous events.

Atlanta Motor Speedway has always been a place where Dale Jr. and cousin Tony Eury Jr. have performed well, as they led their first career Cup race at AMS in their fifth start in 1999.

“The faster, the better,” Dale Jr. mused. And nowhere is as bad-fast as Atlanta. Yet, it seemed odd gremlins kept Junior from the winner’s circle.

In his first season in Cup, Dale Jr. was thrilled with his car in the March 2000 race. After leading early and cruising easily in second place while supposedly “toying” with the competition, a small module placed near the rear wheel to provide telemetry for ABC-TV (this was in the days before the now ubiquitous black box) cut through a rear brake line and sent Junior slamming into the turn two wall. Ouch.

The following season, several weeks following the tragic death of his father at Daytona, Dale Jr. dropped a
lap behind after running out of fuel. Pre-Lucky Dog era, he earned his lap back on sheer speed, and then charged like a bull back through the field, flying into third place with five laps to go. With Junior going three-wide for the lead and the victory, he cut a tire. Junior careened into the pits for new rubber, and finished 15th. Kevin Harvick won the race in his father’s former car, which created a tumult of mixed emotions. While he was happy for his father’s former team, he knew his own victory had been tantalizingly within reach.

The second Atlanta race in 2001 produced an even more bizarre finish. The Budweiser team led 171 laps, and could seemingly lead at-will all afternoon. Suddenly, with 50 laps remaining and running away from the pack, a panicked Dale Jr. came across the radio.

“Alright, I gotta little emergency here,” he said. “A medical emergency. I have a big ol’ chunk of metal in my left eye. I tried to get it myself but I can’t. As soon as this race is over, I need to get it out as soon as possible. Make sure someone is there to take it out as quick as they can. Make sure that happens.”

So, driving “Pirate-style” with one eye open, Junior finished the race in seventh place as his lap times slowed dramatically. As soon as he was out of the car, we got him on a golf cart and rushed to the infield care center to remove the metal sliver.


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