The Intimidator Walks Away: A Time Line exploring what if Dale Earnhardt Sr. Wasn’t Lost in The 2001 Daytona 500.

I was looking at ASA drivers from the time and felt including them might give me some interesting options for possible butterfly effect tangents to explore given the series had Mike Garvey, Kevin Cywinski, Russ Tuttle, Joey Clanton, Mike Cope, Scott Lagasse Jr., Chris Wimmer, Chad Wood, Tristan Dupuis, Butch Miller at the time and Johnny Sauter was making occasional starts too. Also found it interesting that Herzog Motorsports had drivers in this series.
 
You're really going down the pyramid. I may try to incorporate ASA in mine later on.
I’m also considering USAR ProCup and some other smaller series. My idea here is Earnhardt living might’ve grown the sport even further. Driver development being at a higher emphasis. Plus if Earnhardt comes back from injury successfully, would it spur other older drivers to get the itch again and try to make races on shoestring budgets. Just felt like there was much to explore there. Plus, thanks to YouTube, it’s a viable excuse to rewatch some old racing that I enjoyed.
 
Press release from Richard Childress the Wednesday after the accident. Richard Childress, Mike Dillon, Kevin Harvick,
and Johnny Sauter are all on hand. Richard Childress address the media.

RC: Thanks everyone for gathering here. I want to address a few things for my team moving forward. Dale Earnhardt will not be medically cleared to drive this week. It is still our intent to have Kevin Harvick focus on winning the championship on the Busch series this year and having him compete for Rookie of the Year next year, which means 7 races tops this year. With Dale’s injuries, we are evaluating hoe those 7 races will look. Some may be in 3 filling in and some may not. While fall’s Busch race at Rockingham went okay, Kevin still has limited experience there. So for this weekend Mike Dillon will pilot the GM Goodwrench 3.

MD: I am honored to have the opportunity to drive Dales’s iconic Black GM Goodwrench car. 3 Nation, worry not, I know it’s big shoes to fill but, I am up to the task. However, to focus on getting the Cup car up to speed, I will not be driving our Rockwell Busch series car.

RC: So that means we got an open seat this weekend to
address. For that, we are going to with someone who has experience. We’ve decided that Jim Sauter will pilot the car this weekend. In addition, it is our intent to look at getting Jim’s son Johnny some seat time in various series on weeks that the ASA series is off. We still want Johnny to focus on his goal of winning the ASA championship.
 
Press release at Penske South Racing. On hand are Roger Penske, Rusty Wallace, Ryan Newman, and Alex Barron. Rusty Wallace addressees the media first.

RW: Thanks guys for coming today. I’m not going to beat around the bush, I’m going to be out of the car for 2 weeks. Luckily Roger has a good young hot shoe that could use some seat time.

Media Personnel; Roger, can you elaborate?

RP: Yes, well, we have a very talented young Purdue University graduate who we’ve been developing. Our initial plan was to get him a couple Cup races later on in the year but, sometimes plans get changed. So next 2 weekends, we’ll be putting Ryan Newman in the car. Due to sponsorship arrangements we were are still going to field later on in the year. Now we are obligated with Alltel for 7 races. So if Ryan does in the Miller Lite car and we don’t want to burn his rookie of their eligibility for next year, then that means I got 2 races to fill. So I’ve decided to give Alex Barron a shot at Sears Pointe Raceway. We are looking at options for that other race.
 
MB2 Motorsports press conference. On hand is Jeff Frye, Kenny Schrader, and Lyndon Amick.

KS: Well, guys thanks again for coming. I want to start off by sayin I am disappointed to announce that I cannot be in the car this weekend. Thankfully, I do have an excellent owner in Jeff Frye who understands the circumstances and values my input. With that said, I’m going to let Jeff tell you about the plan for M&M’s Pontiac this weekend.

JF; With Kenny, not medically cleared to race, it put us in a tough spot. However, Lyndon Amick has been rapped to drive on and off for Kenny this year in the truck series and ARCA. So Kenny suggested I give him a chance to fill in this weekend and I decided to follow his suggestion.

LA: Thank you Jeff for the opportunity. I cannot wait until Sunday to hop in the Pontiac and do both you and Kenny proud.
 
I’m not sure if I am going to do anything with this but, I’m going to post the Winston West race that was prior to the 500. Some interesting names were there.


Winston West Winter Heat 150



FinSt#DriverSponsor / OwnerCar
1399 Ken SchraderFederated Auto Parts (Ken Schrader)Pontiac
2232 Eric NorrisJaniKing / Ultra Wheels (Matt Stowe)Ford
3712 Austin CameronCreative Touch / McMillin Realty (Terry Cameron)Chevrolet
414 Mark ReedFry's / Coca-Cola / Nabisco (Matt Reed)Pontiac
51085 Kevin RichardsMonaco Enterprises (Gene Monaco)Chevrolet
6193 Steve PortengaRoto Rooter Plumbing (Steve Portenga)Chevrolet
71108 Scott LynchMr. Gas / Crown Asphalt (James Lynch)Chevrolet
8544 Bill SedgwickDuPont Stainmaster Carpets (Tim Buckley)Chevrolet
92477 Joe BeanRudolph Foods / City of Hope / Coca-Cola (Joe Nava)Ford
102100 Scott GaylordOliver Gravity Separators (Geoff Burney)Chevrolet
11450 Jon WoodWood Brothers Racing (Wood Brothers)Ford
12179 Mike DuncanSurface Pumps (Mike Duncan)Chevrolet
13923 Brandon AshUnified Western Grocers (Richard Hilton)Ford
142304 Hershel McGriffMBNA / Park Corp. (Michael Gaughan / Bill McAnally)Chevrolet
151614 Jason SmallKen Small Construction (Ken Small)Chevrolet
16268 Johnny Borneman, IIIRed Line Oil / Borneman Plastering (John Borneman)Ford
173192 Ross ThompsonThe Room Store (Dan Selznick)Ford
182211 Troy ClineHaas Automation (Gene Haas)Chevrolet
192527 Bobby Hillis, Jr.Fierce Creature Racing (Bobby Hillis, Jr.)Chevrolet
20854 Tim WoodsCopper Hills Homes / Chino Hills Ford (Timothy Woods)Ford
212818 Gene ChristensenRacing For Kids (Gene Christensen)Chevrolet
223015 Jack SellersDayco Belts / PPG (Jack Sellers)Chevrolet
232994 Dennis HannelHannel Racing (Dennis Hannel)Chevrolet
241561 Brett ThompsonRich Thompson Trucking (Richard Thompson)Chevrolet
25616 Brendan GaughanNAPA / Martin Senour (Bill McAnally)Chevrolet
263276 Jeff BarristerJB Sign Company (Betty Shannon)Ford
273365 Sammy PotashnickLucas Oil Products (Sammy Potashnick)Chevrolet
281305 John MetcalfTeam RE/MAX Racing (Randy Morse)Chevrolet
291287 Bobby DotterPeople Against Drugs (Gene Christensen)Chevrolet
302049 Tony SchmidtSchmidt Racing (Tony Schmidt)Chevrolet
311452 Mike GradyJ & M Baling (Kim Gangloff)Pontiac
321845 Sean WoodsideRingers / Ron's Rear Ends / NAPA (Donna Walker)Chevrolet

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Another case where I’m not sure how much I’m going to do with this but, here was the actual results from the Southwest Tour race that was also at Vegas the same weekend as the Winston West race


Featherlite Southwest Tour NAPA 100

FinSt#DriverSponsor / OwnerCar
1199 Ken SchraderFederated Auto Parts (Ken Schrader)Chevrolet
2298 M.K. KankeCommunity RecyclingChevrolet
31670 Greg PursleyStar NurseryChevrolet
41594 Darrell LaMoureMissing ChildrenChevrolet
588 Rick CarelliRE/MAXChevrolet
61020 Jim InglebrightWunder-BarChevrolet
71119 Eddy McKeanMagic Valley PipePontiac
8958 Scott BrandtPatrick's CarpetsChevrolet
92359 Auggie VidovichPG SeriesChevrolet
101448 Steve SmithQuality ChevroletChevrolet
11297 Frank Maronski, Jr.Terry LumberChevrolet
12734 Doug McCounWynn's / TruLineChevrolet
134040 Jim Pettit IIHall KinionChevrolet
141226 Zach NiessnerLeap Energy & PowerChevrolet
153738 Ken WeaverSquare DChevrolet
161836 Bruce BechtelPure Power LubricantsChevrolet
17487 Burney LamarWaveShieldPontiac
182290 Todd EllisonRocky Mountain RacewaysChevrolet
19214 Jon NelsonUltra WheelsPontiac
203612 Bruce YackeyGeneral Air ServiceChevrolet
214110 Nick Joanides11Bet.comChevrolet
223518 John BakerMid-State TruckingChevrolet
233373 Scott BusbyPort-A-CoolChevrolet
242444 Bob LyonNorthridge RentalsChevrolet
253861 Mike LedbetterPabco GypsumChevrolet
261342 Rick AllisonEl Cortez CasinoChevrolet
27647 Ken KaltschmidtMarion AircraftChevrolet
283181 Scott LynchCrown Asphalt / SoBeChevrolet
29175 Joe HeroldQuality ChevroletChevrolet
30546 Matt CraftonSealMaster / Sierra BrakesFord
313271 Greg FowlerElite International ProductionsChevrolet
323443 Ross ThompsonColdwell BankerChevrolet
333951 Kevin VernonAction TowingChevrolet
342754 Marc GroskreutzPatrick's CarpetsPontiac
3532 Craig RaudmanYerf-Dog / ITPSChevrolet
362621 Thomas MartinAmerican Body & FrameChevrolet
372588 Rocky NashPursuit CompetitionChevrolet
382841 Rick SuranWinner's ChoicePontiac
391972 Gary LewisThe Sign FactoryChevrolet
402035 Ben WalkerSimpson Race ProductsChevrolet
41306 Todd SouzaCentral Coast CabinetsChevrolet
424206 Ed BelecArvada ExcavatingChevrolet




 
The First event from the next week was the USAR Hooters ProCup season opener. No changes were made from the original timeline.


Naturally Fresh Foods 200

USA International Speedway: Lakeland, FL



The field took the green and it was pole sitter, Mario Gosselin and Brian Vickers who led them charging into turn one. They continued to battle side by side for the first 2 laps until the inside line proved to be the faster and Gosselin pulled ahead. Jeremy Bowser was able to latch on to Gosselin’s bumper and pull past Vickers as well and before the end of lap 10, Bill Plemons Jr. was also able to work his way past Vickers and into third. While this battle played out, Tom Pistone had a tire go down early and had to make a pit stop only to the pits again on lap ten, this time the team went under the hood of his Ford. The next lap, he would be joined by Scott York making an unscheduled pit stop too.



On lap 16, Jeremy Bowser made a bid for the lead on the high side of track. Bill Plemons followed him; shuffling Mario Gosselin back to third.



Just as the leaders started lapping some of the back running cars, on lap 21 the yellow came out when Michael York and Keith Woody got together and both cars spun. During the yellow, Neil Browder hit pit road and the crew popped the hood, however, they did get him back on the track. When the field took the green again, the top was Jeremy Bowser, Bill Plemons Jr., Mario Gosselin, Steven Christian, Brian Vickers, Jeff Agnew, Hal Goodson, Shane Huffman, Jay Fogleman, Regan Smith. On the lap 24 restart, Bowser and Plemons were able to open a gap and two laps later, Plemons drove around Bowser to grab the lead. Behind them, Christian managed to get past Gosselin and started to run down Bowser. On lap 36, Christian overtook Bowser and only had Plemons left in front of him. Just after that Goodson, who had slipped back to 11th, slowed with a flat right front tire. Joe Harrison Jr., locked up the tires as he checked up for Goodson and Harrison spun bringing out the caution.



Bill Plemons Jr. in the Hooters number 15 Ford led the field back to green on lap 42;

followed by Jeremy Bowser, who was awarded his spot back since the yellow came out before Christian was able to complete a lap in front of him, Steven, Christian’s Lucas Oil 16 car, Mario Gosselin, and Brian Vickers. The rest of top ten were Jeff Agnew, Shane Huffman, Jay Fogleman, Mardy Lindley, and Regan Smith. On lap 45, Hal Goodson was issued the black flag for pitting while pit road was closed to change his flat tire. The next lap, Lindley was able to get by Fogleman. Meanwhile, deeper in the running order, Bobby Gill had driven his way from 24th to inside the 15 by lap 50. On lap 52, Lindley picked off another one, getting by Huffman, while Christian moved into second passing Bowser. The next lap Shane Sieg came down to the pits to get a burnt spark plug wire changed. By lap 60, Kertus Davis had clawed his way to the top 10, replacing a fading Jay Fogleman.



The third yellow of the night came out because Brent Sherman tagged the pit retaining wall on lap 63. His mishap happened as the leaders were lapping him and Jeremy Bowser wound up sustaining some right front damage as well. Many of the leaders used this opportunity to stop for tires, fuel, and adjustments. Steven Christian, Mario Gosselin, Shane Huffman, Regan Smith, Dell Murphy, Jason Sarvis, Jabe Jones, Keith Woody, and Jon Kerley stayed out making them the top 9 on the restart. Brian Vickers was the first off pit road and therefore, rounded out the new top 10 ad they came to the green on lap 69. Kevin Sasser would take the wrong lane on the restart as a lap back car and tied up Gosselin on the restart. He was issued the black flag the next lap. This allowed Christian to open up a sizable lead.



Six laps after the green came out, the race went back to caution as Joe Harrison Jr., made contact with the outside wall. He managed to collect Brian Vickers and Bill Mowery. Don Satterfield spun taking evasive action and tagged inside wall. Also sustaining serious damage were David Pletcher and early leader Bill Plemons Jr. Clean up took several laps but, the action resumed on lap 84 with Steven Christian and Mario Gosselin at the front, while Bobby Gill was now just outside of the top 5 in sixth. Gill would continue his march to the front taking 5th from Jabe Jones in 2 laps. Jones would fade further back as Jeff Agnew and Mardy Lindley cleared Jones’s 09 car before lap 90. Within the next 7 laps Gill and Agnew dispatched Jason Sarvis as well; putting them 4th. 4th, 6th.

On lap 98, Regan Smith would be Gill and Agnew’s next victim.



Lap 100, the halfway point, saw the yellow appear again, this time of was for Dan Johnson getting into Stacy Puryear and spinning in out. Puryear is able to get turned back around with only minimal cosmetic damage on the rear of the car. During the yellow, Steven Christian, Mario Gosselin, Regan Smith, and Jason Sarvis were among those that pitted.



On the lap 106 restart, Bobby Gill, Jeff Agnew, Mardy Lindley, Jon Kerley, and Shane Huffman led the field to green. Kertus Davis, Derrick Kelley, Lee Tissot, Mart Nesbitt, and Mike Laughlin Jr. made up the second half of the top 10. Unfortunately, the race was only green for two laps before Fred Query lost the handle of his Chevy and backed it into the wall. After the clean up, the race was still led by Gill, Agnew, and Lindley. Huffman had gotten around Kerley for 4th. Davis, Kelley, Tissot, Nesbitt, and Laughlin Jr. remained in positions 6-10 when the green flew again on lap 117. By lap 120, Huffman worked his way past Lindley for 3rd. The rest of the top ten hadn’t changed but, Jerry Bowser had climbed his back to 11th. Behind him Dell Murphy, Steven Christian, Regan Smith, and Toby Robertson rounded out top 15.



Over the next 13 laps, Gill had opened up lead on the field while, Nesbitt got around Tissot. Also on the move, was Jeremy Bowser, as he passed Laughlin Jr. and Tissot too. Jon Kerley had also faded outside of the top 10 during that stretch put Steven Christian’s Lucas Oil sponsored machine in the top 10 again. The yellow came back out again on lap 133 as Keith Woody spun and made contact with the wall.



The race went back to green on lap 139. However, it was short lived as the 81 of Scott Yorke got into the wall in on lap 145 bringing the yellow back out. Yorke lost it when he got into fluid put down by Jeremy Bowser who lost a motor. During that short green flag run, Steven Christian was able to dispatch Lee Tissot. The race went back to green just prior to lap 150.



Upon the restart, Jeff Agnew mounted a challenge for the lead as he and Gill were side by side on lap 155 and went around him on lap 157. Finally, things seemed to settle down for a longer green flag run. During that stretch, Steven Christian and Derek Kelley managed to claw their way into 4th and 5th place by lap 175. Meanwhile, Agnew, Gill and Ahane Huffman continued to nail down the top 3 spots. The rest of the top 10 were comprised of Mart Nesbitt, Kertus Davis, Lee Tissot, Jason Sarvis, and a fading Mardy Lindley. On lap 180, Regan Smith had worked his way to just outside the top 10 in 11th. The rest of the top twenty were Mario Gosselin, Mike Laughlin Jr., Dell Murphy, Jay Fogleman, Chad Mullins, Stacy Puryear, Jabe Jones, Dan Johnson, and Toby Robertson. Over the next few laps, Gill began to go to work on Agnew while they lapped a pack of cars that included Jon Kerley and David Pletcher. After they cleared the lap back traffic, Agnew left the inside open for Gill and he took full advantage grabbing the lead with 12 laps to go.



The yellow flag wasn’t done flying for the day as Chris Gordon spun and caught the inside wall along the back straight, bringing out the yellow on lap 194. The race went green for a three lap shootout and it was Steven Christian in the 4th spot that got the best jump and he went to the outside of Shane Huffman in turns 1 and 2 for 3rd. Within a lap, he cleared Huffman and began working on Agnew for 2nd. Bobby Gill maintained the lead to the checkers while Christian and Agnew were door to door at the stripe.



FinSt#DriverSponsor / OwnerCar
1245 Bobby GillFord
2673 Jeff AgnewTeam 7 MotorsportsChevrolet
3516 Steven ChristianIrmo Grading / Lucas OilChevrolet
4884 Shane HuffmanJohnsonville BratwurstFord
52721 Derrick KelleyDiscount Auto PartsChevrolet
61330 Mart NesbittBlue Cross-Blue Shield / InglesChevrolet
72611 Jason SarvisNaturally Fresh FoodsChevrolet
81900 Kertus DavisTwisterKarts.comChevrolet
9167 Mike Laughlin, Jr.Carolina Kit CarFord
10349 Chad MullisMullis Drilling ServiceFord
112555 Lee TissotCar Plus of Lenoir NCChevrolet
12148 Jay FoglemanPremier MotorsportsFord
131501 Mardy LindleyAloe-Lu-YaFord
142192 Stacy PuryearBlack's Tire ServiceChevrolet
15110 Mario GosselinCarter Grandle Casual FurnitureChevrolet
161122 Dell MurphyJackaroo SaucesChevrolet
173309 Jabe JonesChevrolet
18928 Regan SmithRLS Structures / Bob Huff ChevroletChevrolet
193644 Jon KerleySave Our Everglades SugarFord
202256 Daniel JohnsonHart Wall and PaverChevrolet
211223 Toby RobertsonTWR RacingChevrolet
221851 David L. PletcherMulbire MotorsportsChevrolet
2329179 R.D. SmithHot Rod MagazinePontiac
243786 Chris GordonNew Star EnvironmentalFord
253538 Kevin SasserSasser MotorsportsChevrolet
2628139 Shane SiegS & W MotorsportsFord
271045 Hal GoodsonChevrolet
28458 Jeremy BowserPERC ChassisFord
292383 Keith Woody, Jr.Basofil FiberChevrolet
304081 Scott YorkOakwell Inc. / AMSOIL Synthetic LubricantsChevrolet
313105 Freddie QueryTalmadge Motorsports / Motorsports ImageChevrolet
32378 Neil BrowderMark III Employee BenefitsChevrolet
33321 Don SatterfieldHawk Saw BladesChevrolet
34242 Brian VickersStewartWaterpumps.comChevrolet
35715 Bill Plemons, Jr.HootersFord
363033 Billy MoweryPrecision Tool & MoldChevrolet
373857 Joe HarrisonHarrison's AutomotiveChevrolet
383918 Brent ShermanSerta Matress CompanyFord
391708 John KinderMulti-Media GraphicsChevrolet
402019 Tommy PistoneBully Hill VineyardsFord
414106 Neil CoxChevrolet




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STARTING GRID FOR BUSCH SERIES ALLTEL 200 @ Rockingham, NC
ROW 1
Greg Biffle
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Ryan Newman
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ROW 2
Todd Bodine
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Kenny Wallace
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ROW 3
Jeff Green
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Ashton Lewis
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ROW 4
Bobby Hamilton Jr.
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Mike McLaughlin
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ROW 17
Blaise Alexander
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Clay Rogers
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ROW 18
Brad Baker
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Shane Hall
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ROW 19
P.J. Jones
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Sammy Sanders
NO PICTURE

ROW 20
Robbie Faggart
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Jason Rudd
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ROW 21
*Bill Hoff (Car was renumbered 93)
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*Sean Studer (car renumbered 86)
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