via Getty
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEB 4, 2001 – Dale Earnhardt checks out the view from the newly completed Earnhardt Grandstand during winter testing, two weeks before the Daytona 500, at Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL, in this file photo from February 2001. (Photo by Brian Cleary/Getty Images)
via Getty
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEB 4, 2001 – Dale Earnhardt checks out the view from the newly completed Earnhardt Grandstand during winter testing, two weeks before the Daytona 500, at Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL, in this file photo from February 2001. (Photo by Brian Cleary/Getty Images)
Dale Earnhardt is undoubtedly one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time, and the stats prove it. However, until 1998, one race continued to elude him, the iconic Daytona 500. On that fateful day on February 15, a 6-year-old spina bifida patient, Wessa Miller, fulfilled her lifelong dream of meeting her idol. Additionally, a small gesture from her went a big way in changing Dale Sr’s fortune, which he will be grateful for.
With the help of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, she got a chance to attend the 40th running of the Daytona 500. Her wish was to meet the Intimidator, Dale Earnhardt, himself. Just before the race, she handed the legendary driver a copper penny and told him that it would bring him luck. Naturally, he obliged and took the penny from the child. When Dale Sr stepped inside the car, he glued the penny to his dashboard so that he could see it at all times.
How did the race pan out for Dale Earnhardt?
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As expected, as soon as the race kicked off, the Richard Childress Racing driver dominated the proceedings. However, in recent times, he often had a tendency to fade away towards the end.
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This time, though, the 7-time Cup Series champion was on a mission, a mission to make a 6-year-old’s wildest dreams come true. That little penny on his dashboard was a constant reminder of the task at hand, and he was not about to fail now.
via Imago
15 Feb 1996: Dale Earnhardt celebrates his seventh Gatorade125 Qualifying race as he chases the remarkable 500th win, at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Mandatory Credit: David Taylor/Allsport
Somehow, he managed to cross the finish line and finally win the Daytona 500. It would be his only Daytona 500 win in his entire NASCAR Cup Series career and his only win in 1998. Since then, he reached Victory Lane on five more occasions, at Talladega thrice, Bristol, and at Atlanta.
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WATCH THIS STORY: From Dale Earnhardt to Chase Elliott: NASCAR Drivers to Win a Race on April Fool’s Day
Tragically, his life was cut short during the 2001 Daytona 500. That weekend will forever remain as the darkest race weekend in NASCAR Cup Series history.
