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2002 Season
The Look of a Champion
By: Maverick
(January 27, 2002)
The look is the same. Cold, fearless
eyes filled with the desire to win and the forthcoming daringness of a champion; a winner. Stable and steady, every move being carefully
calculated, every decision having reason and purpose.
Nothing is done until he thinks good of it.
Winning runs in the blood. It
pumps through the veins and into the heart where it is nourished with adrenaline and
tenacity. This is the make of a champion, and
yes, the look is the same.
The look is still the same. The
glasses are different, and instead of a mustache, a goatee covers the face of an
old-but-young competitor. Old in ways and in
experience, which were passed down, but young in career.
This man walks with the same objective and purpose as his predecessor. Hes one who carries the torch, who leads
the field, and one who is learning how to be the one with all the answers. Hes following in the footsteps of a man who,
all others have tried to follow in. Hes
doing it the best, though, for the look is the same.
The name is the same. Earnhardt. Earnhardt. Earnhardt. You can hear it screamed by throngs of fans, or
whispered in the sounds of the motors at every race track as every car passes around the
track. Earnhardt. The drivers know as well as the fans. We have lost Dale Sr., but arising out of his 10
ft shadow is a man who will assume the lead and repair the cracks to NASCARs
foundation. Earnhardt. Dale Jr. is rising to the occasion and is showing
the world what he can do. During the time
after his fathers death, he handled it much the same way as his father handled the
death of Neil Bonnet. He raced. Racing. Earnhardt. The words are fully associative with each other. And they will continue to be, for the name is the
same.
Dale Jr. is trying to be his own person. He
is not trying to be anyone else. He is Dale
Earnhardt Jr., but you cant hide what is natural.
The glimmer in the eyes, the Earnhardt grin, and most of all, an Earnhardt driven
car in Victory Lane. He gives nothing and
asks for nothing. You have to earn anything
you get from him. The game is the same. If you want to pass him, you have to
EARN- it. Hes battled with
the best and beat the best. He is his
fathers son, the next generation, our next champion.
In this coming NASCAR season, the foremost thing that will be on everyones
mind is the death of Dale Earnhardt. But
through the smoke and through the clouds of the foggy haze that surrounds the topic, one
man will burst through with burning rubber and screeching tires. His red and white rocket will soar into Victory
Lane on numerous occasions, beating all challengers and making a lot of noise. Crowd noise, that is. Whenever the name Earnhardt is mentioned, the
crowd erupts for they are loyal to their driver and to his namesake. Dale Jr. will win races. He will win championships. He will put up with questions about his
fathers death, but not by answering them. Hell
silence questions by making noise. A lot of
noise.
T h e E a r n h a r d t C o n n
e c t i o n
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