The Great American Race – the Daytona 500 – is tomorrow.  It really is hard to believe we’ve waited 3 months for this day.

I saw a link to a story the other day that talks about Dale Earnhardt Sr’s lucky penny from 1998 when he won the Daytona 500.  I knew Dale was given a lucky penny that weekend by a Make-A-Wish child and that he attached it to his dash but I had never heard the whole story.  Here is an excerpt from the article, and then here is a link to the article itself.

Wessa packed two things to give to Dale Earnhardt. The first was a hunting video, since it’s known that Earnhardt loved hunting as much as he did racing.

The second was a lucky penny. Wessa believed that the only thing Earnhardt needed to win the Daytona 500 was luck, and she planned on being the one giving it to him.

However, during the family trip to Daytona she lost the penny and had to find another one. She ended up losing that one as well. But she was able to rub luck into Penny No. 3.

…

Then she gave Earnhardt the gifts, “I told him it was going to bring him good luck in the race,” Wessa said. “He said, ‘I hope it does.’”

After their meeting Earnhardt rushed back to the garage and to his car to glue the penny to his dashboard. As the team scrambled to adjust the car, Earnhardt was more concerned about the penny being there.

I wasn’t really a NASCAR fan back in 1998.  I do recall it being a big deal, though, that he had won.  It’s amazing to see replays and hear stories about that race.  The pictures & videos of all of the crew members and officials out on pit road to congratulate Dale on finally winning the Daytona 500 are some of my favorite NASCAR footage.

As far as tomorrow’s race goes…Dale Earnhardt Jr starts 14th.  I’ve never really given much thought to where a driver starts, especially Junior, at Daytona.  Junior is very good at going from last to first at restrictor plate tracks.  Other notable starting spots…Martin Truex Jr – 1st; Mark Martin – 2nd; Jeff Gordon – 3rd; Tony Stewart – 5th; Jimmie Johnson – 7th; Ryan Newman – 36th.  (I know that is quite a list of notables.  Martin is my 2nd favorite driver.  Mark, Jeff, & Jimmie are Junior’s teammates at Hendrick.  Tony & Ryan are in Hendrick-related cars under the Stewart-Haas Racing banner.)

And…In case you’ve ever wondered, here is the secret to winning a NASCAR race – “Drive Fast.”