'Little E' 16th in Winston Cup debut

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Posted: Monday May 31, 1999 12:42 AM

Earnhardt Jr.'s 16th-place finish was better than his dad's 22nd in his 1975 Charlotte debut. AP

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- The best thing you could say about the NASCAR Winston Cup debut of Dale Earnhardt Jr. is he finished.

The 24-year-old son of seven-time circuit champion Dale Earnhardt stole his father's thunder in qualifying by starting eighth in the Coca-Cola 600, but was never a factor Sunday night in the longest race of the season.

The younger Earnhardt finished 16th after going a lap down after 78 laps of 400.

"When we first started the race our car was terribly loose I was just trying to get out of the way from everybody and not make a fool of myself," said Earnhardt Jr. "I was surprised what those guys can do with those cars and how well they drive them."

Earnhardt Jr. sought out his father for approval after the race.

"He said, 'You did good and stayed out of trouble,' " Earnhardt Jr. said. "I wanted to know he was happy as a car owner and a father."

The younger Earnhardt said he had always dreamed of running on the Winston Cup circuit, but admitted he had some nerves from the start.

"It was almost like dragging a dog to the bathtub," he said.

Many of the estimated 200,000 fans in attendance who wanted to see some side-by-side racing between the younger Earnhardt and his father -- The Intimidator -- left Lowe's Motor Speedway disappointed.

The driver known as Little E had demonstrated his potential to be one of the sport's next superstars on the Busch Grand National circuit, prompting Anheuser-Busch to sign on as his Winston Cup sponsor, committing more than $10 million a year through its Budweiser brand.

The young Earnhardt said a 600-mile race was quite a bit different than a 300-mile Busch race.

"I couldn't believe how many green stops we had," he said. "We don't see that many green flag stops in the Busch series. That's something new for me to run 120 laps consecutively without a caution or a breather or anything."

Earnhardt Jr. got off to a rough start in his biggest race to date. He showed his inexperience -- or nervousness -- when he couldn't find his pit on his first stop on lap 63.

He slowed and was ready to pull into an area 20 pits shy of his own, but then proceeded to his area at the end of the frontstretch, wasting precious seconds.

That mistake moved the young Earnhardt even further back in the field. By lap 10 he was already 16th -- losing eight positions -- while his father had moved up to ninth after starting 15th.

"I just wasn't thinking," he said of the botched pit stop. "We had some difficulty there and my spotter was directing me to Steve Park's pit."

On lap 78, Earnhardt Jr. went a lap down when he was passed heading into turn 3 by eventual winner Jeff Burton. Earnhardt then spent the rest of the race trying to get back on the lead lap, which he failed to do.

Unlike his high-profile son, the elder Earnhardt was virtually unknown outside the region when he showed up on Charlotte's 1 1/2-mile, high-banked trioval in 1975, starting 33rd and finishing 22nd.

And Dad showed his youngster that he still has something left, finishing a strong sixth Sunday. Earnhardt Jr. said after the race that he needs to get in better shape.

"Right now, my [fitness] program is calling a pizza joint and drinking a Budweiser," he said, joking. "But my daddy is right, I need to be on the treadmill and working out."

 

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