While all eyes are on this year’s Daytona 500, it’s easy to reflect back on some of the race’s greatest moments throughout its lengthy history. One such example is the first victory by this year’s honorary starter: Dale Earnhardt Jr. back in 2004. As NASCAR.com pointed out, that year was Earnhardt’s first full-time season in his impressive career — and he kicked it off with a bang.
Then-President George W. Bush was there to order the engines to start, which lead to a day that helped define the legacy of not only Earnhardt Jr., but Tony Stewart as well. Almost half of all the laps were led by Stewart, though Earnhardt Jr. went on to win the Daytona 500 in just his fifth start.
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He’d win the race one other in 2014 time before retiring, making him one of just a dozen drivers to accomplish that feat.
Even though he’s hung up his racing gloves in 2017, Earnhardt Jr.’s love for automobiles is still apparent. Just over Christmas, he gifted his wife, Amy, a 1966 El Camino — the car she always wanted. She called it “by far the best gift I’ve ever received.”
Although you can take the racetrack out of the man, apparently you can’t keep the man off the racetrack, as Earnhardt, Jr. still takes part in one race per year, having recently finished in the top five at the Darlington Raceway back in September.
There was a somber moment for the racing world last month after John Andretti passed away from complications from colon cancer on Jan. 30. After the news spread, racing fans everywhere offered their condolences to his family on social media.
“John was a loving husband and father, a devoted son and a trusted cousin,” Andretti Autosport said in a statement. “He was a philanthropist, an advocate for the sport, a dedicated teammate, a driven competitor and most importantly a dear friend. We will forever carry with us John’s genuine spirit of helping others first and himself second. Our prayers today are with Nancy, Jarett, Olivia, and Amelia, with our entire family, and with fans worldwide.”
The son of Aldo Andretti and the nephew of Mario Andretti, he recorded two career wins in NASCAR including the 1997 Pepsi 400 in Daytona.
The Daytona 500 will air Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox.
