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© St. Petersburg Times, published February 18, 2002
DAYTONA BEACH -- There was hysteria and mayhem and theatrics, and eventually elation. Sterling Marlin broke the rules. Jeff Gordon might have nudged Kevin Harvick out of a possible win. And Ward Burton, bless his heart, reminded us that nice guys sometimes do, in fact, finish first.
As NASCAR races go, this Daytona 500 was Oscar material.
With Burton's victory, a career was revitalized and a season was launched. And, with some luck, a sport finally moved on, its grieving complete and its mood uplifted from the darkness that has hovered ever so conspicuously since Dale Earnhardt was taken from us so violently here a year ago.
Frankly, it's time. Time to put old No. 3 where he belongs, tucked safe and forever secure in the comfort of our hearts where he always will be remembered and never forsaken.
Sooner or later it has to happen, and Sunday seemed as good a time as any. For a year, NASCAR has mourned and cried and mourned some more, always careful to include remembrances of The Intimidator everywhere it went, from Rockingham to Bristol to Sears Point and back again.
But Sunday, the sport seemed to let go. There were no pre-race tributes to the fallen champion. No moments of silence in his memory. No official remembrances on display except for the statue of him that was unveiled here at Daytona International Speedway last week.
For perhaps the first time since that tragic day last year, everyone's mind was where it should have been.
On racing. On running three-wide through the tri-oval. On those darn restrictor plates.
And ultimately on that mannerly gent from Virginia with the thick, Southern twang.
"A lot of what happens here," Burton said in Victory Lane, "is atmosphere and luck."
From a healing standpoint, it was sheer luck this Daytona 500 turned out the way it did. Imagine if Dale Earnhardt Jr. had won? Or Harvick, who drives Earnhardt's old car? Or Michael Waltrip, who drives for Dale Earnhardt Inc.?
It would have made for great story-telling, but frankly Earnhardt didn't need it. Look, NASCAR can't forget Earnhardt any more than New Yorkers can forget all those they lost Sept. 11.
He forever will have a prominent and exalted presence throughout NASCAR and beyond. You can run a million races and that won't change.
"We'll never, ever forget about Dale Earnhardt," said Tommy Baldwin, Burton's crew chief, "but I think everyone felt relieved to get this full year past and to move on."
Sunday's race was perfect for that. With everything that happened, who had time to harp on the past?
Not when there was that 18-car pileup that took out several lead cars. Or when Marlin took himself out of contention by climbing out of his car during the red-flag period and trying to fix his crumpled front fender, a clear rules violation.
And certainly not when the green flag dropped on that final three-lap mad dash to the checkered flag.
Frankly, Earnhardt would have loved every bit of it. In fact, he probably did, especially all that good ol' bumpin' and rubbin' that went on along the front straightaway (he would have been right in the middle of it, wouldn't he?).
We have no way of knowing for sure, but you've got to believe he would have loved what he would have seen from his sport Sunday. He would have been proud to see everyone seemingly looking forward instead of in the past. He would have welcomed the sense of renewal and anticipation.
That's the kind of guy he was. If you recall, he was hardly the mushy, sentimental type.
No, Sunday was just what he would have wanted. Things were essentially back to normal, and for a sport that has been cloaked in black -- literally and figuratively -- the past 12 months, it was therapeutic, not to mention refreshing.
"As much as we loved him and as important as he was to us and all that he did for everybody in the sport," said Bill Davis, Burton's car owner, "he would want us to go on."
We did Sunday. And, in a way, that meant there were two victories.