Dale Earnhardt Jr. (26:26)
I mentioned a name there that maybe you hadn't heard much, if at all, and it's John Anderson. He's our fifth place finisher here at Michigan. This is his very first start in NASCAR. He's a short tracker from the area, but he's 35 years old when he makes this first start. It's an incredible achievement. He would only run 32 races in a five year span in the Cup Series. Unfortunately, John was killed in a roadway accident in 1986 at the age of 42. In his 32 events, John would never again match his finish at Michigan. But he'd had these moments in many races, including a third place in a Daytona dual qualifier. I always felt he could have made it in the right opportunity. I wasn't even around back then. But sometimes you just get this gut feeling stories like John's that are deep within the history of the 1979 NASCAR World or what I love discovering. As I research this project, I learned more about Dad's season and so much more. After the Michigan race, dad is going to write another one of his bi monthly articles. This is another installment in a season long series of articles by Dale Earnhardt, the outstanding young Grand National Rookie of the Year candidate from Kannapolis, who is the son of the late Ralph Earnhardt, NASCAR's 1956 late model sportsman National Champion and one of the most highly regarded short track drivers in the sport's history. Earnhardt is currently recovering from injuries received in a wreck July 30th in Poconos. Coca Cola 500 Lake Norman. There I was, on top of the world, right in the thick of things, and all of a sudden I'm a spectator, hurt and out of action. There's no way to describe the feeling, the frustration. It just leaves you hanging. I've listened to every race since the accident, or at least I've tried to listen. I'll get all settled down waiting for the broadcast to start, but as soon as things start happening, I'll catch myself pacing back and forth across the room. Sometimes I just have to walk outside. It's hard to listen to a Grand national race on the radio, knowing you're falling that much further behind in the point, standing, wondering what you'll have to do to make it up. And when. I've learned one thing while I've been out, I'm addicted to racing. Listening to a race on the radio is sheer torture for me. It's like swinging a bag of dope in front of an addict. He can see it, but he can't touch it. It's not a pleasant feeling. I want to go to the races so bad it hurts, but I don't want to go if I can drive. I've been going by the shop almost every day. The guys on the crew have been terrific. They want me back in the race car, but they want me to be well first. Me too. When I get back in the car, I'm going to be able to finish the race. I'll be able to give 100%. I'm not going to be slack. I was really chasing those second leg points in the national championship points when I had the wreck. See, I have to explain this to you. Back in 1979, NASCAR also broke the season up in pieces and they would award drivers for gaining a certain amount of points during a span of the season. So there would be the first leg and you'd get a monetary award for getting the most points during that part of the year. And there was a second leg that Dad's talking about now, and there may be a third or a fourth chapter in the year where whoever gained the most points would be given a monetary bonus of some sort. Nothing they do anymore, but, you know, it was kind of interesting that that was something the drivers thought was cool and they definitely wanted to achieve all those little milestones that were set in front of them. So we'll get back to the article. I felt like I would have finished in the top five in the standings the way things were going now. I don't know. Up until recently, I hadn't really thought too much about the rookie points. That's changed, too. Now I know I'm going to have to run Joe Milliken in the last few races, I've been seeing the doctor, that's Dr. Phil batch, regularly, and he seems to think I'm making satisfactory progress. He's an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine, so he knows what he's doing. As far as going back into the race car is concerned, it's strictly up to him, and I kind of feel like it'll be sometime around mid September. At least I hope so. Rod Osterlin and I have talked about when I'll start driving again, and he told me that it's all up to the doctor. We aren't going to rush anything. I'll be back when he says it's okay. I would like for everyone to know that my job is secure with Osterlin Racing. It's my race car. The wreck at Pocono didn't have anything to do with my job security. I just want to make that point because I've gotten a few calls from fans who've asked me if David Pearson is taking over. David came to our rescue when I got hurt, and he's been doing a heck of a job. We couldn't have found anybody to step in like he has. The races at Talladega and Michigan gave me a chance to do something I haven't done in a long time. That's listening to a race broadcast. Actually, it's a good experience. A lot of things happen that you never pay any attention to when you're actually racing, like the interviews they play during the broadcast. It really helps you understand just how important public relations work is. There are a lot of folks out there listening, so it's important to say the right Things. What a great thought for my dad there to be thinking about how he can get better when he comes back to racing. Not just in the car, but outside the car. Just taking in a broadcast and seeing some areas where, you know, he has a new perspective. And pretty fun to hear that. Now back to the article when you were listening. When Petty put that move on Buddy Baker at Michigan. Boy, I learned something from Richard, and I wasn't even there. He just kept working, Buddy, lower and lower. Then the rascal got him on the high side on the last lap. I recently moved into a place on Lake Norman, and that's been keeping me busy. I'm really intrigued by the place. I've never lived on water before, and this is a big lake, over 500 miles of shoreline. It's nice to jump on the boat at sunrise and cruise around, maybe do a little fishing. It feels good, smells good. The place has been keeping me busy, too. I've got 900 things I want to do, 900 things I've got to do, and 930 things I can't do. I've been trying to thank all the fans who've been in touch with me since the crash. The response was unbelievable. I don't know how I'll ever get around to all of them, so I guess I better say thank you right here. I want to say something else, too. The fellow upstairs, he had a lot to do with me not getting killed in that crash at Pocono. Maybe I don't go to church as much as I should, but I try. We got our own pastor at the races, and that's important to a lot of us. I know. It has been important to me, and it will be when I get back, and that's going to be very soon. So that's the end of the article. You know, Dad's going to miss all of August and four events total before he returns. And pretty impressive that they squeaked an article out of him or a column out of him while he's sitting there, you know, frustrated about having to, you know, sit at home and not be in the race car. But it's good to hear his perspective on this particular part of the season, which is probably the toughest, toughest situation he's ever had to face. So we hear from dad as he's trying to recover from injury. And we're going to the next race, and that's Bristol. It's the Volunteer 500. And this is a tough deal for dad because Bristol's where he won his first race ever in NASCAR earlier in the season, and now they're going back there, but he doesn't get to drive the car. He's dealing with a lot of emotions. I imagine he wasn't in any condition to race, not even close to being healed.
