"(Winning this race) last year was pretty special. I was so happy to win, and then the crew told me to stop on the front stretch, that they had something to give me. Then I see Joey (Meier, DEI team pilot) running toward me with that big American flag. I grabbed it and took off for a lap. It was big flag - and once I got going, the wind was trying to rip that thing right out of my hand. YOU try to drive with one hand and carry that thing around like that! Since that day, my uncle Danny (Earnhardt, front tire carrier) has put that same American flag up on our pit box every race day. It's something that the whole team looks for each week."
        Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Dover race preview)

Sept. 22: MBNA All-American Heroes 400, Dover Int'l Speedway, Dover, De.
TV: 12:30 p.m. NBC; RADIO: 12:30 p.m. MRN

Dale Jr. at Dover
Winston Cup starts: 5; best start: 3 (Sept. 2001); best finish: 1 (Sept. 2001)
This race last year: Start: 3; finish: 1

Dale Jr. donated $75,000 of his winnings from this race last year to the Speedway Children's Charities, to be directed toward children that were impacted by the terrorist attacks. (From Dale Jr. race preview)

Weekend schedule:
Sept. 20: Bud Pole qualifying, 2 p.m. TNT
Sept. 21: NWCS Happy Hour, Noon, TNT
Sept. 21: NBS MBNA All-American Heroes 200, 1 p.m. TNT/MRN

*All times eastern

"I'm pretty happy with that (his finish) - almost a top ten after starting at the back. We had a good car. Based on our lap times most of the day, a top-five car. But, we started so far back and then had a few poor pit stops that there just weren't enough laps to catch everyone. We run well here on long runs, but our qualifying package just doesn't seem to work worth a damn. In the past two weeks, I feel like I've passed a thousand cars." (From Loudon race report)

Sept. 15: Dale Jr. and the Bud team finished 11th at Loudon.
Laps led: 0; Started: 37th

2002 Winston Cup stats
    Starts: 27
    Wins: 1
    Top 5s: 7
    Top 10s: 10
    Current points standing: 14th (-500 from leader)

Loudon high point: Dale Jr. & the Brew Crew finally got the Golden Benny after a hard charge at Richmond. If B.P. had overlooked that, he would have heard about it I'm sure.
Loudon low point: That ugly "R" word. Curses, foiled again! I'm not the only one who thinks that if the race had run its full course, one of the DEI guys could have won the thing.

If you have a high and low point from the weekend you'd like to share,
drop me an e-mail.

Sept. 26: Jade Gurss will be signing copies of "Driver #8" in Topeka, KS; 5 until 7 p.m. at the Barnes and Noble bookstore on Wanamaker Road.

Sept. 27: Dale Jr. will be signing autographs at the Kansas City, Mo., Cabela's store (right next door to KS Speedway), 6 - 8:30 p.m. Info: 913-328-0322

Oct. 3: First Annual Sterling Marlin Race for Charity, benefitting The Hope House in Columbia, Tennessee. The benefit, scheduled for from 4-6:00 p.m. at Columbia State's Billy Webster Gym, includes a NASCAR/celebrity lineup of great drivers, including Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Michael Waltrip, Steve Park, as well as Columbia's own Sterling Marlin. Only 400 admission tickets will be sold at $25 each. These tickets will be good only for autographs for the four drivers. There will also be 100 tickets sold at $75 each, which will include the autograph, as well as a photo with the drivers. Tickets went on sale on Friday, September 13. They will be available at by calling The Sterling Marlin Fan Club at 931-363-0433.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on the cover of The Sporting News, which hits newsstands Wednesday, Sept. 18. The title of the story is "In his own groove." The focus is how Junior's driving style differs from his dad's. The story was written by Roger Kuznia and includes observations from Junior, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip and Benny Parsons, among others. To order an 11 x 14 keepsake cover, for $35, they can contact The Sporting News at 800-443-1886, ext. 608.

Fan of the Week
Fan photos and stories about their favorite driver can be found at the newsletter's Home site. Tell me why you should be Fan of the Week (think 'How bad have you got it?'). Every newsletter will feature a different fan. Or submit your story and/or photo and you might just see it here as part of a Fan of the Week feature.

NEW!
Speak Out
Beginning this week, I've replaced the Voices feature with Speak Out, where I'll name a current hot topic in NASCAR and you can speak your mind on it.
This week: Fans in the garage. Should they be allowed or should they be banned? Speak Out

Did Jr's win at Dover last year help you heal from Sept. 11? Cast your vote here. The final results will be posted here next week. If you have an idea for a poll question, please e-mail me. It should be noted this week that I'm out of poll questions, so please put your thinking caps on!

Last week's poll
Where will Dale Jr. claim his next victory? It was a tie: 42% of voters said Jr. will win his next race at Dover, while another 42% said he'll take Dega by storm. The remaining votes went to Loudon and Atlanta. Thanks to all who voted!

Trivia question
Congrats to Shannon of Oregon who was the first to correctly answer last week's question: Dale Jr.'s starting position for his BGN debut at Daytona was where? 3

This week's trivia
Dale Jr. won his first Busch Series pole here, and finished 2nd in that race behind which fellow Cup driver? If you know the answer and are the first to reply, you'll see your name here in the next newsletter. (Please include your location.) Submit answer

Challenge
As expected, readers came through when asked to caption another photo. To read the winning caption with the photo, click here. (NOTE: A new window will pop up.)

This week's challenge
Tell me in 20 words or less why Dale Jr. is the most popular driver. Some of the best replies will be in the next issue.

Another rainy day
There have been a lot of rainy weekends this season, but one thing is clear: If we want to see a race, we're gonna see one. Kudos go out to NASCAR for doing everything possible to make sure fans see as much racing as possible. Racing on Mondays is no fun. Neither is watching it.

The DEI guys didn't fare too bad. I think that if the race had run it's full length, we might have had one of those DEI-striped cars in Victory Lane. Congrats to Ryan Newman though. It was nice to see a new face there and just as nice to see the raw emotion felt by his dad.

I received a special request from a subscriber, and I'm sharing it with you now: I am trying to help these 2 children by asking fans of NASCAR drivers if they could periodically drop by their sites and sign their guestbooks to just let them know that NASCAR fans care and support them through their tough days. Colton Meyers is fighting an incurable eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa.This disease is robbing this precious young man of his sight and to date there is no cure for this. His mother is striving each and every day to make his life as enjoyable as possible and praying for a cure and working for research to find a cure for this terrible disease. Colton is a big fan and an adorable little 5 year old. You can visit his page over at Caringbridge.

And a little girl named Jessica, 15 years old, is fighting an eye disease called Optic Nerve Hypoplasia which is slowing robbing her of her eyesight. She is a huge Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan and thinks he is just the best! You can view her page also at Caring Bridge.

Both of these kids would love to hear from you all here and for you all to share your stories and pics from races. They both are such sweet and loving kids. Thank you all for all that you do for the different charities you all help to support.

Til next time, go Junior!
Jackie

Look below for submission information.

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