A mere eight days after the passing of Dale Earnhardt, Steve Park brings Dale Earnhardt, Inc. its second win of the season in the Dura Lube 400
Dale Earnhardt may not have been on the track at Rockingham this year, but his presence was felt everywhere, including a place where the seven-time Winston Cup champion was quite accustomed — Victory Lane.
Steve Park drove his Dale Earnhardt Inc.-owned No. 1 Pennzoil Chevrolet to the stripe first in what may become known as the most popular win of the 2001 Winston Cup season.
But the win did not come easy. Park battled fading grip and a hard-charging Bobby Labonte to capture DEI's second victory in as many races. Labonte, who clearly had a faster car than Park, tried mightily to put his No. 18 Pontiac by Park's Monte Carlo. The two drivers were bumping and grinding the last few laps and the winner was not certain until the final lap in Turn 4 when the front bumper of Labonte tapped Park's rear causing Labonte to glance the wall. Labonte saved his Pontiac but had to settle for second as Park won by about two car lengths.
"(Park) had a good car all day." said Labonte later. "There was no doubt about it. I thought at the beginning of the race that he was going to be a 'hot rod' all day, and he was. Congratulations to those guys. It was a great run for them. They needed that. I sure would have liked to have gotten him there at the end, but I came up a little short."
Almost immediately after securing the victory, Park shoved a No. 3 Earnhardt out his window. Waving the hat in celebration and tribute to his car owner Park started a Polish Victory Lap by reversing direction around the track. Teammate Michael Waltrip stopped along side Park and the two exchanged a high-five while Earnhardt banners, flags, and hats waved delightedly from the crowd.
"It's been a tough week and this is a dream finish," Park said. "Dale's gone, but he's not forgotten, and he's going to be with all the DEI drivers the rest of the year."
Behind Labonte finished race-lap leader Jeff Gordon's Chevrolet. Fourth across the stripe was the other Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac of Tony Stewart while Ricky Craven brought his Ford home in Fifth. Kevin Harvick, who drove the repainted (white) and re-numbered (29)GM Goodwrench Service Chevrolet, finished 14th.