Earnhardt Jr., won two races last season, contended at last year's Daytona 500 and, over the last week, talked frequently about dreams in which he envisioned himself winning in his second try here. His father bullied his way around the track all afternoon in true Intimidator fashion. Earnhardt's fender was on Dale Jr.'s rear bumper as this race wound down, but there would be no trademark pass, no brusk move to the front, and no father-son showdown, a la 1988 when Bobby and Davey Allison raced to the finish line. In fact, it seemed Earnhardt was more concerned with blocking Marlin and other cars in back of him than fighting for the lead. And that's when the accident came.
Someone runs into someone for no reason, that's all that happened.
The rules package was great, but you can't help this. Indeed, revamped aerodynamic packages made for entertaining racing with 49 lead changes among 14 drivers and tightly packed cars through the entire three hours of mayhem. But close racing almost always brings accidents, and several contenders were eliminated after a fiery, 19-car crash with 25 laps remaining. Among them, Ward Burton, who along with his Dodge teammate, Marlin, had one of the strongest cars in the field.