It’s a Family Affair at Daytona: ‘The Intimidator’ Against ‘Little E’

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. â€”  Famous fathers competing against their sons is nothing new in motor racing. Among the more prominent have been Bobby and Davey Allison, Al and Al Unser Jr., Richard and Kyle Petty, and Mario and Michael Andretti.

None of their first meetings, however, had the anticipation surrounding the IROC race today at Daytona International Speedway, which pits defending Daytona 500 champion Dale Earnhardt, 48, against his 24-year-old namesake, Dale Jr.

Dale Jr. earned his way into the prestigious IROC--in which 12 of the country’s leading drivers race 100 miles in identically prepared cars--by winning the Busch Grand National series championship last year. He drove a No. 3 Chevrolet, just like his dad, that was owned by his stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt.

Even though the IROC includes Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon, Indianapolis 500 winner Eddie Cheever, Indy Racing League champion Kenny Brack, NASCAR veterans Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace, Jeff Burton, Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte and CART champ car drivers Greg Moore and Adrian Fernandez, the IROC advertising campaign in local papers headlines “Dale Earnhardt vs. Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the International Race of Champions.�

“As a father, to have your son invited [to the IROC] is a thrill,� Earnhardt said. “It’s an even bigger thrill that I get to race against him in his first IROC at Daytona.

“He earned his invitation, just like the guys before him. He had to win to be invited and he did just that. I’m looking forward to it, but don’t think it’s going to matter whether it’s little Jeff [Gordon] or little Dale when it comes to crossing the finish line first. It’s going to be big Dale.�

Dale Jr., quieter and more laid-back than his father, known as “the Intimidator,� said he welcomed the challenge.

“Just to be among so many champions is a real thrill,� he said. “But to go fender to fender with them is what I count as a real privilege that not too many people get to experience. I have watched my dad race these cars for years and it looked like so much fun. Just to know that you are in cars that are equally prepared and that no one has a real advantage is what makes IROC racing great.�

Dale Jr. recently signed a $50-million deal--largest in NASCAR history--with Budweiser to drive their Chevrolet Monte Carlo full time in Winston Cup from 2000 to 2004. He also will drive five Winston Cup races this year, which means he still will be eligible for rookie-of-the-year honors in 2000.

The elder Earnhardt was rookie of the year in 1979 and won the first of his seven Winston Cup championships the next year.

“Everything has been happening super fast, and I’m trying to adjust to it,� said the younger Earnhardt, who is being called “Little E.�

“I don’t want to adjust too much. I want to continue to be myself and do the things I like to do. All this money business is bound to create some changes. I can’t do much about that.

“My father definitely had the talent when he was my age but a few things were lacking and money was one of them. We’ll just have to chalk it up as the change of times. There’s a lot more money in the sport and a lot more sponsorships.�

Dale Jr. also will drive an AC Delco-sponsored Chevrolet in the entire Busch series in defense of his championship, starting here Saturday in the NAPA Auto Parts 300.

This actually will be the second time the Earnhardts have been in the same race. The first time was in an exhibition in Japan.

“We raced with Dad and Jeff Gordon in Japan and got to swap a little sheet metal with them,� Dale Jr. said. “Only thing is, my dad hits back. You’ve got to watch him.�

After the final pit stop in Japan, Junior passed his dad--but as his son went by, Dale tapped him on the rear bumper to let him know what he was doing. Junior finished sixth, Senior eighth.

“It will be a lot different this time, racing in IROC cars in front of all our friends and family,� Dale Jr. said. “It’s fun watching the way my dad is responding to all the attention I’m getting, like people asking him if he’s the father of the guy driving the No. 3 Busch car.

“If I’m next to him, he’ll talk nice and act real pleased. But if I’m not there, he talks all kind of junk, like how he’s going to whip-up on me in the IROC race. So we’ll just have to see how that goes.

“He says he doesn’t want to pat me on the back too much because he thinks I’ll get a big head. But you know, when we win races and he’s got to stand there and get his picture taken with me, well, he don’t like that too much.

“We’re having a lot of fun with it, but remember, I’m an Earnhardt and I’m going to race to win.�

The start today should be interesting. Dale Jr. will be on the outside of the second row in a lime-green car--they’re racing made-over versions of last year’s Pontiac Trans-Ams in IROC this season--with his father right behind him in a cream-colored car.

Another racing offspring, Adam Petty, won’t be racing against his dad, Kyle, but he will be closely watched in the NAPA 300 as racing’s first fourth-generation Petty.

Adam, 18, qualified 21st in the 43-car field for Saturday’s race, which will be his first here, where his grandfather, Richard, won seven 500s and his great grandfather, Lee, won the inaugural 500 in 1959.

His father, who in his first competition here in 1979 won an ARCA race, is racing in Sunday’s Daytona 500, and his grandfather is here as owner of the No. 43 STP Pontiac driven by John Andretti.

“This is a very special moment in my life so far in racing,� the youngest Petty said. “To come here and make this Busch field at the biggest race of the year is pretty awesome. This thing is huge.

“I wouldn’t be here without my mom and dad. I know they’re nervous. I went out there to qualify and my dad just told me to do the best you can. I could tell he was nervous. I was in the bus all morning--just as sick and nervous as I could be--you know this is a big race.

“If you don’t make it, it makes you look bad. So, we’re out here working our butts off and trying to get going. My dad and my grandfather have put no pressure on me at all.�

CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY

An open house, featuring tours of the Fontana facility, will be held Feb. 20 at the California Speedway. At the same time, tickets will go on sale for the track’s two 1999 events, the California 500 Winston Cup race May 2 and the Marlboro 500 CART FedEx race Oct. 31.

Gates will be open next Friday at 5 p.m. for early birds who want to wait overnight. The first 1,000 people in line will receive a commemorative pin that reads, “I Stood in Line in ’99.�

The Automobile Club of Southern California will sponsor the Busch Grand National race there for the next five years. The Auto Club 300 is scheduled May 1 this year.

IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY

Tickets for opening night March 27 at the new multimillion- dollar short track will go on sale Monday at 9 a.m. The parking lot will open at 6 a.m. There are 6,500 grandstand seats.

The inaugural program will feature open-wheel cars on the half-mile paved oval with main events for U.S. Auto Club midget and sprint cars and WMSRA World of Supermodifieds. Tickets for March 27 only will be available Monday. Tickets for other events will go on sale next month.

NASCAR

With Mike Helton becoming senior vice president and chief operating officer for NASCAR, relieving President Bill France of the day-to-day operations of the stock car sanctioning body, for the first time there is no one named France in charge. France, 66, has held the reins since 1971, when he succeeded his father, Big Bill France, who founded the organization in 1948.

Helton, 45, has been with NASCAR since 1994, when he became vice president of competition after having been president of Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala.