Earnhardt Enjoying Role as Defending Daytona 500 Champ

Even testing at Daytona International Speedway feels different to Dale Earnhardt these days.

The seven-time Winston Cup champion finally broke through for a victory last year in the Daytona 500, the one big NASCAR race he had never won. It took him 20 tries, including a half-dozen close calls.

“It sure feels good to come back here with a Daytona 500 victory,” Earnhardt said Tuesday after his Chevrolet Monte Carlo turned a fast lap of 190.130 mph on the 2 1/2-mile oval during a test session for General Motors cars. “It took us a lot of years to win it and it was a tremendous time for us down here last year. We want to repeat. It’s just like the first race you win. Then you want to win another one.”

The Chevy he drove to victory lane last February has been on display ever since at Daytona USA, just outside the main gate of the speedway. It went to the stock car amusement center with everything just as Earnhardt left it when he slid out of the car, including a lucky coin glued to the dash.

“They’re going to give us the car back from the museum sometime this weekend,” Earnhardt said. “As soon as they give it back, I’m going to pry that coin off the dash and put it in our new car.”

The 500 was the only race Earnhardt won last year, and the 47-year-old North Carolina native is heading into the 1999 season determined to win more and go for a record eighth title.

“The team is coming together very well, plus we’re working on the 1999 Monte Carlo,” he said, referring to the new GM car that is scheduled to race for the first time in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “We’ve got a lot of things going on that we’re prepared for right now. We’re working well and running smooth.

“We’ve been preparing for that (new Monte Carlo) for a year now. We’ve been tuning with that car and testing and working in the wind tunnel. We should be in great shape.”

RISING SUN: In what could be the first step toward bringing Japanese cars into the big leagues of stock car racing, Toyota Racing Development is working to develop an engine for NASCAR’s Goody’s Dash Series.

The small Dash cars are powered by four-cylinder, overhead-valve engines. Officials at California-based Toyota Racing say they are working with NASCAR engine builders to get the new power plant up and running.

Meanwhile, two teams have agreed to race in the series with Toyota Celica car bodies.

NASCAR rules do not prohibit Japanese companies like Toyota, Honda and Nissan from running in their series if the cars are built in the United States and conform to the rules. Right now, none of the foreign car makers have an engine or a body style that meets NASCAR specifications for its top series.

ANOTHER EARNHARDT: While Dale Earnhardt remains a big star in the Winston Cup series and Dale Jr. has established himself as a future star by winning the 1998 Busch Series title, Kerry Earnhardt still has a lot to prove.

Kerry, at 29 five years older than Dale Jr., is set to begin his first full season of Busch Series racing. He ran three BGN events last year, with a best finish of 23rd on the short track in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

“My dad has set the bar for the Earnhardt name,” he said. “Junior has set the bar here (at waist high) and I’m here (below his waist). We’re going to knock that stick down.”

IROC SET: The International Race of Champions Series will again stage a four-race championship in 1999, pitting drivers from NASCAR, CART, the IRL and road racing against one another in identically prepared cars.

The series will open on Feb. 12 in Daytona Beach, followed by races April 24 at Talladega Superspeedway, June 12 at Michigan Speedway and Aug. 6 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. All of the events will cover 100 miles.

Four of the twelve entries have been announced, with defending IROC champion and NASCAR star Mark Martin leading the list. He will be joined by Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon, IRL champion Kenny Brack and rising CART star Greg Moore.

The rest of the field is expected to be announced over the next two weeks.