The Daytona 500 was slowed by rain on Sunday afternoon, but nothing could halt NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., from achieving a major milestone.
The son of a legend, Earnhardt Jr. made the biggest mark of his own career on Sunday when he finished in first place at one of NASCAR's premier events. "Winning this race is the greatest feeling that you could feel in this sport besides accepting the trophy for the championship," said Earnhardt. "I didn't know if I'd ever get the chance to feel it again and it feels just as good."
It had been 55 races since Earnhardt Jr. was able to climb out of his car a winner, and this stage is as large and perfect as possible to snap the streak. The enormity of the stage makes this victory the biggest of his career, according to his girlfriend Amy Reimann.
"He's just come so far that it just means more to him now," she said. "He's worked really hard for this and waited a long time for this to happen again. It's just a lot of pressure for him (to win), so this is extremely exciting. He feels like it's not real."
When describing her nerves down the stretch as her man battled for the win, Reiman said "On a scale scale of 1-10, I was about a 20."
The win was Earnhardt Jr.'s second at the Daytona 500, with the wins coming a decade apart. "This is amazing. I can't believe this is happening. I never take this for granted, man because it doesn't happen twice, let alone once."
Many of Earnhardt's competitors were thrilled to see him win, even though they were disappointed it wasn't them. "If there's ever a guy who is due, it's the guy who finished second three out of the last four years. He was due," Brad Keselowski said. "So I'm happy for him and happy for all those guys. He's probably my best friend in the garage outside of my teammate."
His teammates were even more excited. "The world is right right now -- Dale Junior just won the Daytona 500," Jeff Gordon said. "That's a sign it's going to be a great season."
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