As we pulled into Daytona for the 1999 Pepsi 400 you could tell the
excitement was everywhere. With every car passing you could tell you were
amongst your own......RACE FANS!!!! T-shirts exclaiming their favorite
drivers, Wallace, Gordon, Jarrett, Earnhardt all of them represented. All
hoping they would be cheering their man onto victory this night.

Then there is the moment you actually step into that grandstand and look across the massive thing that is Daytona International Speedway that makes you feel like a kid at Christmas time. I took my son Joe this year for his first time and when he looked out over the track he just had to stop and all he could say was "man".... and I just stood and looked at him and was so happy to have me there with him to see, hear and feel all of this, Joe is a dedicated race fan  too.  He loves this stuff as much as his Dad and helps me with the writing and keeping some of the stats.

Then you walk out onto the track and look back up at the grandstands and know that every one of those drivers you report on every week are someday hoping to be looking up at them while driving by on their pace laps before the race. You look down at the surface and know that in just a few short hours they will be flying by at 200 mph side by side racing like there was no tomorrow. Following the dreams they had when they were running at their local short track to be racing at Daytona on 4th of July weekend, there can't be anything like it in the world.
      
After walking up and down pit road, climbing the banking on the front
stretch, watching them push the cars out onto pit road after being teched,
looking up and seeing the grandstands starting to fill up and the sun is
starting to set it's time to climb those steps and get that seat that for the
next 3 hours will be your spot to be part of the spectacle that is NASCAR
Racing!!!!!!!
      
While Michael Buffer came out with his trademark "Lets Get Ready To
RUUUUUUUUUUUMBLE" and introduced the drivers the stands were filling rapidly, on the big screen on the infield you could see the drivers beginning to file out towards their cars getting last minute good lucks from crew and family
members. Climbing into the cars for 400 miles hoping the last minute changes will work and they will come back safe, knowing that victory lane is that close but yet that far away. The interviews and autograph signings are over, it's time to do what they get paid so well for, its time to RACE!!

evening. Marred back in the field Mark Martin, who had to start from the rear of the field in a back up car after wrecking the primary in practice the day before made some good strides early in the race but was never a contender.

Mike Skinner made some great moves and even was down on the grass after a Rusty Wallace block.  He held the lead for a while but Wallace was strong all night. Tony Stewart front running rookie of the year also showed great driving ending up with a 6th place finish. Jeff Gordon was never really a factor battling an ill handling race car getting up to 2nd but fading and ending up 21st.

Wallace after appearing to have the car to beat all night got caught on the inside all alone and with old tires faded back to an 11th place finish. But it was the familiar "Dale and Dale Show" that was center stage at the end. With laps ticking away and Wallace running away with it Earnhardt was telling his crew over the scanner his tires were gone and on the last stop he needed at least two, the crew argued it would take too long as the other drivers were only taking a splash of gas on their last stop with 10 laps left Earnhardt in his way said "gimme the tires and I will make it up!"

Meanwhile Jarrett was hanging tough with Wallace and it seemed the battle would be won in the pits on who could get the most gas the quickest, it was Jarrett who came out first ahead of Wallace but did he get enough fuel to finish? Meanwhile Earnhardt got his two tires in lighting fast speed came out still in the top 15 all this under the green.

Within 3 or 4 laps Earnhardt had moved up and was on the back bumper of Jarrett who was doing everything he could to keep the Goodwrench Chevrolet behind him. Then with just 3 laps to go caution came out when Jeremy Mayfield, Jimmy Spencer and others got tangled out of turn 4. Coming across for the caution in the  lead Jarrett dropped down to the apron to conserve what gas he had left, and as he crossed for the checkers Earnhardt gave him a congratulatory donut rub on the door. When DJ came back around and was going into the pits you could hear him on the scanner thanking his crew then he got quiet.....the next thing he said was "better come down here boys I'm gonna need a push to Victory Lane......I just run out"........for me and Joe?...WHAT A
RUSH!!!!!!....from Daytona

                                                        -RickAnges