Dale Earnhardt Jr. pays tribute to his dad

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Dale Earnhardt spent part of Thursday scrolling through social media and seeing fan tributes to his late father, who died on this date 15 years ago in a final-lap crash of the Daytona 500.

He never tires of seeing how so many still care so much about his old man.

"It really warms my heart," Junior said.

Then in classic Earnhardt Family fashion, he delivered his own kind of memorial, winning one of the Can/Am Duel 150s, a 60-lap, 150-mile qualifying race here on Thursday night. It wasn't just fun in its own right, but positions him well as a favorite for the top prize, Sunday's Daytona 500.

It was the family's 51st victory in some kind of race at this legendary track (34 from Senior, 17 from Junior), including three in the 500. It's part of the bittersweet tapestry this place provides – the site of his father's tragic wreck into the outer wall of Turn 4 is also the track where Dale Jr. performs his best.

The date and the place weren't lost on him.

"It's real special," Earnhardt said. "I was thinking about that. I try not to make too big a deal. I've told all you guys how much I like people to remember dad, talk about dad. You see a lot of people mention him. … It's pretty cool. "I was daydreaming a little bit," he continued. "I'm guilty of daydreaming a little bit about winning this race tonight because of the day. That was special to me. Glad nothing bad happened, that we didn't tear our car up, because that would have been embarrassing on a day like this."

It would have been more than embarrassing because the daydream was based on a dream car, one that's perfectly suited for superspeedways.

In this particular car, nicknamed Amelia, Earnhardt won a pre-500 duel last year, then at Talladega in May and then back here at Daytona in July. He added two other top-three finishes at superspeedways in it during 2015. That's about as dominant as you can be.

[Video: Kurt Busch vs. Waze]

Everyone here knows Junior enters Sunday brimming with confidence. It may not be the exact date of his father's passing, but taking the big one would be the biggest way to pay tribute.

"The car is awesome," Earnhardt said. "I don't really get too confident; I don't want to get overly confident in what I'm doing. But the car really does everything I ask it to do."

"When you have a car that you know can do the things that this car can do, you're willing to take those gambles and risks to pull out and pass and not worry about getting shuffled to the back because you feel like the car is really capable of doing what you're going to ask it to do every time you make a move," he continued. "It's just a fun car to drive. Really special car."

Earnhardt is 41 now and with the retirement of Jeff Gordon and an injury to Tony Stewart, is suddenly one of NASCAR's elder statesmen. He and Matt Kenseth came in together, a full season in 2000. Everyone else follows.

Junior may never be his dad and he may sheepishly deflect praise to his car, but the truth is he continues to develop, a late-career surge that shows his ability do more than just rally a massive fan base.

From 2008-2012 he went through a four-year, 143-start winless streak that left him rattled. He's won seven times, though, over the last couple seasons, proving he's better than ever. Especially at superspeedways such as this 2.5-mile track.

Once NASCAR changed the body of the cars a few years back to get away from what had become two-by-two drafting, Earnhardt and a few others have thrived.

So it isn't just having a fast car.

"When you had to tandem draft, you basically had to team up," Earnhardt said. "Imagine going to a wrestling event and it was just all tag-team matches. That wouldn't be any fun.

"The idea of driving a racecar, at every other racetrack we go to, you're single-minded, you're selfish and you're a jerk. You're a jerk on restarts, you're a jerk every time you're battling for position, you're not doing anybody any favors out there, you're not trying to help anybody. That's racing. That's the way it's always been, right?

"When we started this tandem stuff … it felt so unnatural to run second by having to draft a guy that was going to win the race. That was the oddest thing to wrap my brain around. Man, we're going to run a race today and I might have to settle for second intentionally."

They'll be none of that on Sunday. His father's legacy, his father's death, hangs over everything in NASCAR, but never more than at this place for this race.

Junior will once again arrive as the most popular driver, the sentimental and fan favorite.

He loves how everyone still celebrates his father. He also knows how and what Earnhardts were born to celebrate.

"I know how good it is," Junior said.

Sunday's coming.