LDN - Sports

Stenhouse shares spotlight in Earnhardt's emotional Daytona finale

[July 04, 2017] By Jonathan Ingram, The Sports Xchange

There were a record number of cautions and wrecker trucks dispatched at Daytona during this year's 400-mile summertime classic. Stage racing turned into crazed racing. Given the 14 cautions, this race never really found a rhythm.

Beyond gas mashing and crashing, the race was a tale of three drivers: the top two finishers and pole winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- one of those caught up in the bent steel jamboree.

The winner was Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who won for the second time in seven races by beating Clint Bowyer to the flag stand, backing up the idea that there's plenty of young studs to take over for Earnhardt Jr. after he retires at the end of the season.

Still, this race was a reminder that Earnhardt Jr.'s epic journey will be hard to match in a sport that reserves legendary status for a select few.

The summer and fall are now looking to be one long fare-the-well for Earnhardt Jr. He may not have legendary statistics, but he still stirs the drink in NASCAR.

The son of seven-time champ Dale Earnhardt Sr. would be the first to acknowledge his father's personality and wheelhouse prowess were the stuff of rare occurrence. So, Earnhardt Jr. was a little surprised that he was treated like, well, a champion in his final appearance in a points race at Daytona. Then again, it will be hard to forget the night he passed Johnny Benson on the outside in Turn 4 to win in the summer of 2001 -- the same turn where his father had been killed that February.

That victory was the beginning of a tide of affection for the son who might also be king, although as it currently stands he has yet to win a championship. Earnhardt Jr. turned out to be merely excellent behind the wheel -- but a truly engaging guy outside the crucible of the cockpit. The way he has carried himself despite the grief and pressure to measure up has earned him much applause in the various social platforms, not the least of which are grandstand cheers.

Unlike his father, who took the divide-and-conquer approach, Earnhardt Jr. has been more like "King" Richard Petty -- trying to be inclusive.

"We have watched the sport and grown within the sport through his eyes -- the relationship he had with his dad, and then his dad's tragic death," said teammate Jimmie Johnson, the driver who has tied Earnhardt Sr. and Petty with seven championships but has never won a Most Popular Driver award. "He is a very entertaining guy, and a very open guy. I know I've appreciated the ride along the way and I'm sure the fans have as well."

Earnhardt Jr. said he was taken aback by the outpouring from fans, even though he has been the sport's most popular driver ever since when.

"I just didn't expect all that attention all week," he said. "My phone buzzing all day long with social media going crazy. Everybody talking about this being my last Daytona race. I hope every weekend isn't like this as far as that goes. The attention and the reaction from the fans makes me feel great. Hopefully we are able to turn that around and back on them for the rest of the season and thank them for all they have done."

After coming back from two laps down early to get back into the thick of the lead draft, Earnhardt Jr. was collected by one of many accidents occasioned by contact. Kevin Harvick, who likely suffered from a bent fender cutting his tire, spun directly in front of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy.

This was not a race for those fearful of mashing the gas. Plate racing meant all cars were equal in the draft -- if not drivers. With stage points at hand and a possible trip to the postseason playoffs up for grabs for the non-winners, Daytona presented itself as an equal opportunity dance party for all.

Perhaps it was Stenhouse Jr.'s first career victory at Talladega that might have skewed some thinking. If he could do it after four years of not winning, maybe anybody could win at Daytona.

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Stenhouse Jr. proved that first victory was no fluke. He said he spent much of the race trying not to run into cars ahead of him, such was the speed of his Roush Fenway Racing Ford. But he, too, had his aggressive moments, such as when he cut down inside fellow Ford driver Ryan Blaney at the exit of Turn 4 to take the lead.

When Kyle Larson's Chevrolet vaulted into the air on the back straight, it was Stenhouse Jr. who filled the gap. The contact of Larson's tire to the nose of the Ford is what launched him. In overtime, Ty Dillon -- who along with Daniel Suarez suggested even a rookie might win -- guessed wrong in the draft and Stenhouse Jr.'s powerful Ford finally had clean air. But in retrospect, it seemed like nobody could prevent him from backing up his first career win at Talladega as long as he survived the carnage.

"Yeah, it's nice to do that in a short amount of time," said Stenhouse Jr. when asked about persuading others his talent is for real by winning a second time. "You know, not waiting another year and getting it in the same year is really important for us. I think it's something that after you win the first one, it was awesome for a week. But then somebody else wins the next week, so it makes you want to continue to win and get back up here in the media center, get back in Victory Lane, and get everybody talking about your team. That's what it's all about, and all the guys work really hard, and they deserve to celebrate."

Stenhouse Jr. predicted a short-track win is in his future, but that Roush Fenway still has work to do on the 1.5-mile tracks. If so, Stenhouse Jr. is not a title contender. But his performance was a clear sign that Jack Roush's decision to hand over day-to-day operations to younger members of his staff is paying dividends after two winless seasons. The victory also confirmed the Fords of Roush Yates Engines are the best on the plate tracks.

Winless is the theme song now for Bowyer, a runner-up for the second time in as many races in his Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.

"Second (stinks)," Bowyer said, "but it's better than third, you know? We finished second two weeks in a row, so that's a huge confidence booster for our team, but nonetheless, the pressure cooker is turning up."

Aside from the usual career considerations, the pressure is coming from the playoffs. At present, Bowyer is OK on points to make the top 16, but would prefer to take his season's first victory to gain entry to the postseason instead of letting one of the other drivers in the same winless predicament do likewise. Bowyer had enough to beat Paul Menard to the finish line, but not Stenhouse Jr.

"You're sitting there looking up there, that green-white-checker (and) coming to the green there, and you're thinking, 'Oh, no, somehow, some way, I've got to get up there and keep one of those guys that are going to be first-time winners out of this thing,'" Bowyer said. "That's real, it's alive, and it's something you're going to have to pay attention to. You hope you keep riding this wave and turn one of those seconds into a win."

Bowyer said he was happy he didn't crash or flip -- which Larson came very close to doing. On the other hand, he has joined that cadre who are fighting a case of Stenhouse Jr. envy, which includes other winning veterans such as Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr. -- all looking for a playoff-clinching victory.

At the beginning of the season, nobody would have thought this would be a prevailing ailment among these drivers.

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