Ex-Dale Earnhardt Inc. member Jeff Clark appeared in a recent episode of the Dale Jr. Download Reloaded, recalling Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 2001 victory at Dover Motor Speedway, only a few days after the infamous 9/11 attacks. He drove the No. 8 Budweiser-sponsored Chevrolet from 1999 through 2007.
11 September 2001 was one of the darkest days for America. As per reports, 19 terrorists belonging to the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda ravaged the Pentagon, New York City, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. resulting in the death of over 3000 people, including civilians, police workers, and firemen.
Just 12 days later, i.e., on September 23, the NASCAR community gathered at Dover Motor Speedway for the 64th NASCAR Cup Series race; the MBNA Cal Ripken, Jr. 400. at the Delaware-based racetrack. According to the official website of Dover Motor Speedway, 135,000 fans showed up for the race at the 'Monster Mile'.
Earnhardt Jr. won the race, leading a race-high 193 laps. One of his crew members, named Joey, handed him the American flag, who then performed a victory lap with the flag hanging out of his window and fans cheering. Recalling the same, Clark said:
"The whole culmination of winning the race, Joey putting the flag in the window, that famous victory lap that Dale Jr. took, the fans chanting USA! You can't imagine the energy from that win."
Besides the gruesome attacks, 2001 was already a year of mourning for the NASCAR fans. The sport had lost one of its biggest stars, Dale Earnhardt Sr., a few months back at Daytona International Speedway.
Jeff Clark sheds light on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s driving partner
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was reliant on his spotter and crew members for updates as he ran races. However, sometimes, his crew would not talk to him as frequently as he would have wanted them to. This frustrated the two-time Xfinity Series champion at times.
"Dale Jr. would get communication on the radio a lot of times and obviously Tony Jr., Tony Sr. would talk to him and sometimes they wouldn't talk to him," Frank recalled. "He'd get a little frustrated...Guys, I feel like Tom Hanks out on a deserted island...you know where ya at? Help me out; I need some info. Taking a little bit of that singing it up, we had a really good crew."
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew responded to the 'Cast Away' reference and placed a volleyball like the one Tom Hanks had in the 2000 movie in Junior's cockpit before the race.
"Got the volleyball that Tom Hanks had; The Wilson...that character...and dressed it up, put it in the car," Frank continued. "During the race, (the crew) mentioned it (to Dale Earnhardt Jr.), Wilson's in the car with you if you get lonely, you talk to Wilson. He's like, 'What you guys talking about?' He started reaching around and felt it and I think some of the camera footage actually panned in on it during the race."
Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired in 2017. Since then, he has been competing part time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports, a team he co-owns with his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick. Dale Jr. is also the co-owner of the zMAX CARS Tour Late Model racing series.