In his 1st Daytona 500 Junior learned a lesson about
drafting and working with other drivers -- the hard way.
With 30 laps to go he was in 5th, trailing the No.3
Chevrolet of his father. The 2 battled for position with
little give and take, and were quickly shuffled back in
the pack.
"He didn't work at all with anybody," Earnhardt Sr
said. "He wanted to pass. That's all he wanted to do, so
that's why he finished where he did."
But Dale Jr had a different point of view:
"I thought he would be the first one to help me, but
he was the last person who wanted to stay behind me,"
said Earnhardt Jr. "We did more racing than I wanted to.
I wanted to stay with him and stay behind him.
"Then, everybody got to racing behind me and it was
either pass or be passed."
Junior would wind up finishing 13th -- and Earnhardt
Sr finished 21st.
After crashing out of races 2 weeks in a row, 1st at
Darlington, then at Bristol, he captured his 1st career
win on April 2 at Texas Motor Speedway -- the site of
his 1st Busch win as well.
By May 6 Dale Earnhardt Jr had win No. 2 under his
belt with a victory in the Pontiac Excitement 400 at
Richmond International Raceway -- becoming the only 2
time winner so far in the 2000 season.
The win at Texas had guaranteed Earnhardt a starting
spot in The Winston -- NASCAR's All Star race held in
Charlotte. He became the 1st rookie to win the all star
race with a strong charge to the front after a late race
pit stop under caution with just 6 laps remaining.