It's 16 years already and it's even MORE precious to see this event since this is Junior's final year. Boy, if only he could shoot through cars like that.
Watching this in 2017 and still crying 16 years later. R.I.P Dale SR Gone but never forgotten. This was the best and saddest win of Dale Jrs career to come back to the track that took his dad's life just 6 months prior and have a 1 2 finish that was just a flipped around version of the race that took his dad too soon is awesome. The only win that tops this is Jrs win in 2010 in the nationwide series were he won in the #3 with the same paint scheme his dad scored his first win in.
God i remember being on the edge of my seat, just screaming for junior to win withs tears streamin down my face. Say what you want, this was the best race ive ever seen just for the emotional impact and meaning
Even the fix were in on the 01 Pepsi 400, its what everyone wanted and needed, but given their dominance over plate tracks in following years its obvious they just had the best stuff around at the time.
The new cars have the exhaust under the passenger side door. It throws a lot more sound out to the exterior of the track. You especially notice when you are watching in person.
I can see the 2016 Daytona 500 happening already... 7 laps to go. *Austin Dillon* is in 6th place, with fresh tyres for the restart. Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano are ahead of him. Behind Austin Dillon to help him draft: Alex Bowman (superspeedway, why not), Kyle Busch, and Brad K. 2:10 Bowman gives Austin the drafting help. He passes Matt Kenseth with the newfound speed. 2:32 Dillon enters the top 3 after passing Logano. Now all he's got left is Kyle Larson to pass. 3:05 Austin gets drafting help from Joey Logano, in attempt to get past Larson. 3:10 #3 ROCKETS INTO 1ST PLACE! 3:39 The intimidator's car gets intimidated, by Matt Kenseth, who is now our most experienced racer. 3:50 Two on one: Joe Gibbs VS Richard Childress! 4:33/4:56 Not at Daytona you don't, Bloody KYLE! 5:21 RYAN NEWMAN IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY! 6:28 I'm crying... 6:39 It's Back. The intimidator...IS BACK! That would be absolutely perfect...if Austin Dillon were to touch the hearts of long time NASCAR fans with the sweetest victory ever, at Daytona. Plus, Ryan Blaney finishes 3rd. And in case you still love the 24 car... Chase Elliott begins his career in the top 10!
@sox288 it's like a penalty flag in football, lots of times they'll have to drivetrough pit road once or stop in their pit stall for one lap for breaking a rule
Isn't it fitting when Dale Passes Marlin That there is a Car length Between him and Mayfield? Its like Dale is Right there. I Miss Dale. I Was 3-4 When The 500 Happened. I Cry About it now. We miss you Dale.
Legend of Zelda this race was a high water mark for the popularity of the sport and the product. There will never be a combination of both popularity and storylines coming together with fate the way it did in the 2000 Winston 500, 2001 Daytona 500 and 2001 Pepsi 400 ever again. These incredible storylines about a father and a son and their teams intersecting with the sport's burst into mainstream popularity is just too much of a coincidence to be able to replicate.
The fact people think this was rigged is absolute crap. Look who he had in front of him. Benson, Blaney, Schrader, Mayfield, Stewart. DEI were restrictor plate masters back then, of course he'd pass all of them. Dale Sr passed like 20 in three laps to win at Dega, Jr's car is rigged when he passed 6 in two laps??
Despite the voice crack, this was Allen Bestwick's best call by far. I really wish he would've gone back to NBC with the series still, i like Rick Allen but its not the same
The DEI restrictor plate program between '01 and '04 was just that damn good, and this is coming from a Gordon fan. Hendrick eventually figured them out though.
R.A.D. Engine program for restrictor plate tracks - It was a collaboration between Richard Childress Racing, Andy Petree, and DEI. Those teams rocked out at the plate tracks during those years because of it.
Hey Colby Lindberg, I'd ask that Jr. hater this Q.... If this finish was rigged , as some kind of "sympathy" thing because of what happened in Feb , same year...?? Then kindly explain "how" Jr was able to run wild and all by himself at the 2004 Daytona 500, nearly the entire race. Smoke ran behind him the last 20-30 laps and said , " Nobody could catch Jr. His car was on a mission of it's own"...!!!
Nick Adams I would disagree and say this comes in a close second to 2010 when he took the #3 to victory lane with the same paint scheme his dad scored his first win with.
+Ryan Wile That should've happened several years ago! Just like Ned Jarrett, he was not only one of the great drivers in the sport's history, but also one of the best broadcasters.
One of the greatest days in sports history and it's the day NASCAR and it's fans finally healed. Thanks for all the great memories Dale. Your now retiring but you'll never be forgotten. Thank you so much for the past 17 seasons. Im so happy your retiring on your terms. It's sucks but it's not worth you getting hurt by another concussion. We love you.
Alexander Schumacher safety measurements because of dales crash (sr) they added career then Jeff Purvis career ending crash made gen 4 then jerrry nadeus career ending crash made car of tomorrow and Ryan Newman flip at Talladega showed how the air came under the cars witch created gen 6 witch we have today
+Kyle Frey You know what would have made it even better? It would've been better had the chase never happened. Because without those stupid playoffs that gave Jimmie Johnson six titles... wait for it.... Jeff Gordon would have won another title. and another in 2007. AND ANOTHER in 2014. DAMMIT NASCAR?WHY??? WHY????????
StoneColdReznov I was 10 when Dale SR was killed at Daytona that year and 11 when JR pulled this off. My birthday is in June so I turned 11 a month before this win.
Dale Jr. can give a big assist to Tony Stewart for that win. Watch near the end of lap 156 in turn 3 (about 3:05) when Stewart shoves his nose under Blaney (93) and roots him out of the way and breaks his momentum, which pushes him back into Mike Wallace, which causes the rest of the field to wad up from about fifth on back. I still don't know how there wasn't a massive wreck in turn 4. But that move gave Junior a bunch of breathing room.
Rigged!! Hell no!! Dale JR, won that race!!! Fair and square!! DEI, then had superior engine tech advantages! And Dale JR. As the professional driver!!! #8!!!!!!!!
Somewhere in the night sky that night you know Sr said that's my boy! I got to admit if I was dale jr I would not have gone anywhere near the track that night on a count of what happened in february. Jr did it because he had to and I am guessing if he would have backed out sr would have jumped out of the grave and kicked his butt and told him get in that car..
One of the best called races of all-time. Allen Bestwick's call on the last lap still gives me chills to this day. It was fairy tale that came to life. It was no coincidence that this was Dale Jr.'s 3rd career victory and was even more fitting that Michael was the one who pushed him to victory.
Thank you! I always said Allen's call was legendary here. And ol BP saying yes ya happy! They're supposed to be unbiased but that day all their emotions showed.
Dave Blaney going from 2nd to 21st in just 5 laps? Ouch. Just goes to show the importance of drafting. At the same time Junior took the lead, watch all the cars quickly going by him.
At 3:03 he comes within inches side drafting and then breaks free. I think that what they are doing is breaking free of the bubble the car they are drafting is making and then riding on the front of the bubble for a aero push
Still love this race, and on another note, Stewart never should of been black-flagged. He was forced below the yellow for pete sakes .... God knows what those idiots in Na$car saw when they decided to flag him.
50 extra horsepower in that car. Seriously, all you need to do is pay a few tech guys a shit ton of money to keep their mouths shut, nobody is going to notice a few millimeters difference in a restrictor plate, not even the 8 team. You think Danica Patrick actually got pole position at Daytona, over fucking Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick?
+michael88h I have no evidence. Obviously, there have been some very bizarre pole sitters, but considering she hasn't been anywhere near pole in any other Daytona pole qualifying, and that NASCAR had been hyping her up the entire time, and the fact that she beat out 4 drivers who tally for over 10 wins in Daytona points races, and that I have accurately predicted the last 4 pole winners based WHO I KNOW NASCAR WOULD WANT TO BE ON POLE BASED ON HYPE, I would say rather confidently NASCAR gave her the pole. What's your evidence that it isn't rigged? That she's a good driver, and that NASCAR wouldn't possibly try to rig a race? Even though you see here, a very good example of what happens when NASCAR tampers with a restrictor plate.
MurphyMonster what the hell does Danica Patrick have to do with this race?! This race wasn't rigged, Jesus, DEI was that good on Superspeedways. Hell, he won 4 in a row at Talladega which will probably never be done again. Next to his dad the best Superspeedway driver ever!!
+WelcomeToTheMatrix Exactly. It's like if in the next Daytona 500 (15th anniversary of the death of you know who) Austin Dillon is in the lead and Ryan Newman comes to save the day, it wouldn't be nearly as touching if Newman decided to pass Austin.
Still firmly believe this was was NOT rigged. This started a trend of Dale Jr, and DEI overall having dominant plate cars. But Mikey wasn't going to let a single soul past them. He actually said in his book "In The Blink Of An Eye" that he wanted to pass Jr, but something on the inside told him to stay in line
My god has nascar changed... SINGLE FILE RESTART!!! Man, I wish I was there, never have I heard presenters more excited about one driver... he will be missed, but not forgotten. My favorite win that I do remember was his feb 23rd win in 2014. It was my 16th birthday and me and my dad flew out to Daytona for the weekend... what a race to see for my nascar event, what a win to remember!
When this happened, I remember holding my breath at 6:27 just hoping no one wadded-it up again in Turn 4. When they all got through, it was just as exciting as when Junior won.
I remember watching this live on tv it was my first Daytona race live. But anyway I have a question for some of theold schoolers out there (I had been watching NASCAR since 98). If Bobby Labonte had been pushed to the win by Stewart, would Bobby still be credited with the win even though his teammatr was black flagged? If they revoked the win, how would they determine his placing in the official results?
This race was not rigged. The DEI team had found a way to change to oil system and they could run their cars a lot hotter I guess and could use more tape
I remember listening to this race on the radio. Can't believe it's been 16 seasons ago and tomorrow is Jr's last race. Doesn't seem right. On the off chance he was to this, thanks for the memories.
I think it's equally as impressive that Michael Waltrip was able to get up to 2nd place from 14th place near the end of the race. Love Jeff Gordon but it still makes me happy Jr won this race :)
I'm a big Jr fan but in my opinion the greatest moment in sports history involves real horse power!SECRETARIAT WINNING THE TRIPPLE CROWN AT BELMONT 1973!!!
This resulted in a change in rules. The rule, at the time, said you cannot go under the yellow. They changed it to "you cannot go under the yellow and advance your position." They also changed it for Talladega to state you would be black flagged if you blocked and forced someone low.
There are just some moments in racing that give you goosebumps, moments so spectacular they cannot be hated. Danica Patrick, Twin Ring Motegi. Ashley Force, Atlanta. Kevin Harvick, Atlanta and Daytona. This is as sweet as any of them.
people fail to remember that Michael Waltrip came from 14th to 2nd in 6 laps.. im glad JR won.. but great driving by Mikey to get to Jr's bumper... fantastic finish.. great healing day...
If people are still grieving over a death of a TV character from 13 Reasons Why....when we lost Dale Sr. at the 2001 Daytona 500 (it took 5 months for Nascar to heal). This shows that life goes on regardless of losing a friend, father, or anything in that nature. Dale Jr, its time to bring the Cup Championship home for the first time in 23 years for JR Nation.
i miss seeing #8. Hell, idc who drives it, i like seeing the # in trucks with Hunter Nemechek, although its not the same number font, i still like it. The number font should only be for RCR and Jr and all, i would like to see RCR buy the number from who ever owns in xfinity and start using it. Or grab it in the cup series, if #3 can be brought back there, why not #8, if Jr isn't going to ever race in it again, shit just bring it back lol
I guess they were all getting used to the new out of bounds rule at this time. So many black flags. Haha but indeed, probably the most emotional, biggest ending to any NASCAR race in history aside from Earnhardt Sr's 500 win
@billabonghewett I agree, and they never shown the clip when they hugged on Images of the Decade on ESPN. Glad I brought it with my tribute of the 2000s.
I was a Dale Earnhardt fan back in the early 80's when the only Dale fans either worked for RCR or were named Earnhardt.I remember watching this race screaming at the tv,"go motor".It was awesome and still is.
You know what? I think this race might be related to the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega in '08 in a way, as far as Tony Stewart. If you look closely, you can tell Tony was clearly forced below the yellow line. I think NASCAR might've been trying to show Tony a little consideration. Maybe if NASCAR never black-flagged Tony in this race, Regan Smith would've won the '08 Amp Energy 500. Just thought I'd point that out.
THIS is why I'm a Jr. fan...and I will stick with him thick and thin till the end....there are very few people in the world that have to deal with the pressure he has and the crap he gets...Kyle Petty would be the closest in the sport to what Jr. goes threw...except Jr. IS better than kyle was and Richard Petty didn't die at the height of his popularity...GO JUNEBUG!!!
