As cars were wrecking behind him coming to the finish line, the No. 3 driven by Austin Dillon went airborne and turned the catch fence into tattered, twisted and mangled steel.
The in-car audio spoken by Earnhardt and spotter T.J. Majors ended up being a statement to why fans have voted him NASCAR's most popular driver for more than a decade. If you heard it live during the late-night broadcast or caught up with it on social media after a good night's sleep, there was real, legitimate emotional impact.
But don't just take it from me. Give a listen to what Junior had to say after the race when he spoke to NBC. If you weren't a fan of the No. 88 before, you should be now. There's an undeniable maturation that's happened to Dale Earnhardt Jr., and what happened at Daytona is another important step in the process.
He's engaged to Amy Reimann. He's got six wins in the last 53 races after needing more than 10 years to get his previous six. And he's second in points with nine races left until the Chase.
Yup, it's good to be Junior right about now. Not just for the racing, but for the person he's become.
Daddy Dale is certainly showing his approval from heaven.
One striking thing that came from the Daytona wreck involved the pit crew for the No. 88. Every last one of them ran out to Dillon's upside-down car to make sure he was OK.
NASCAR mandated that only the safety crews were allowed on the track after the Tony Stewart-Kevin Ward incident from last August, but other than a stern lecture (probably) from the powers that be, no penalties will be forthcoming.
And there shouldn't be, either. A racer's humanity means there will always be concern for their own whenever a life goes flashing before their eyes.
Thank goodness this one was only a flash.
Tom Zulewski believes Dale Earnhardt Jr. will find championship karma as the 2015 season unfolds. Feel free to share this post and follow him on Twitter @Tomzsports.
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