Waltrip a winner -- and happy this time

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Finally, a win for Michael Waltrip to savor.

Waltrip, whose only other career win was marred when Dale Earnhardt died in the Daytona 500 last year, finished first again at NASCAR's most famous track Saturday night, beating Rusty Wallace in a race that finished under caution.

The win in the Pepsi 400 added yet another poignant chapter to the Earnhardt family's saga at the track. Waltrip was Earnhardt's good friend and employee -- he was like another son to the Intimidator -- and he always figured his boss would be there for his biggest successes.

But Earnhardt hit the wall in Turn 4 and died moments before Waltrip crossed the finish line 17 months ago, and Waltrip never got that big squeeze around the neck he was hoping for.

Time has healed some of that hurt, and Waltrip's second victory was as fitting a tribute to The Man in Black as anyone could imagine.

Just like Earnhardt did when he finally broke through at the Daytona 500 in 1998 -- and like Junior did last year in his emotional victory here -- Waltrip celebrated by spinning donuts in the infield.

Then he pulled into Victory Lane for a much more jubilant celebration than his last trip there. Back then, he kept waiting for Earnhardt to show up, but soon found out he never would. Waltrip became a forgotten man on that tragic day and waited patiently for another chance at victory.

He got it Saturday, leading 99 of the 160 laps on the 2 1/2-mile track, and holding off his teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., on a pair of late restarts that more-or-less decided the race.

"We led the whole last half of the race," Waltrip said. "I didn't want to see it get away from me. The key was the way the car handled."

For much of the end of the race, Earnhardt Jr. was right on Waltrip's tail, leading some to wonder whether Junior would protect his teammate, the way Waltrip did for him last year -- and the way many assumed the elder Earnhardt did for Waltrip in his final moments last February.

But with three laps remaining, Earnhardt Jr., cost himself the race when he tried to pass his friend and teammate and got hung out to dry.

"It was an awesome move," Wallace said. "His pop would have tried it the way he tried it."

But the decision didn't come easily. Earnhardt had a long debate with his crew chief -- team or self, team or self -- and ultimately decided he had to go to the win to be fair to his crew.

"You know, I was sitting there trying to decide what to do and it made me think of what my father would have done in that situation," Earnhardt said. "It's one of the times where it worked it for me because Daddy would have went for the win every time, no matter what, and that's how I made up my mind."

Moments after the failed attempt, Geoffrey Bodine and Ryan Newman wrecked and brought out the yellow flag. The final 2 1/2 laps were run under yellow. Thousands of fans protested, throwing reams of paper onto the backstretch, possibly believing NASCAR should have stopped the race to allow it to finish under green.

Waltrip said he was glad Earnhardt Jr. went for the victory instead of protecting him.

"I'm happy he did that, because nobody can say we rode around here in formation," he said. "I had the fastest car."

That's the way the Intimidator always wanted it to be at Daytona, the site of many of his best moments. He won 34 times here -- including twice in the Pepsi 400 -- and when he founded his race team, Dale Earnhardt Inc., he made dominance at Daytona a priority.

Indeed, nobody does it better at Daytona -- or Talladega, the other track where restrictor plates are put on the carburetors to limit speeds -- than Earnhardt and his proteges.

Counting Junior's stirring victory here last year, in the first race at Daytona since his dad's death, DEI cars have won five of the last seven races on restrictor-plate tracks.

Wallace enjoyed his best finish ever at Daytona. Winston Cup points leader Sterling Marlin raced near the front all day and finished third. But neither driver was trying to fool anyone -- nobody is very close to the DEI cars in restrictor-plate races.

"All I know is our guys are doing all they can," Marlin said. "It goes in cycles."

The finish under yellow was fitting for a race that was run in fits and starts.

The worst wreck of the night came with 16 laps left. It sent flames shooting out of Brett Bodine's car and sent many good cars, including Dale Jarrett, out of the race.

This start of the race was downright strange.

Three yellow flags came out over the first 17 laps -- the first on lap 2 when Elliott Sadler spun out Tony Stewart on the backstretch, forcing Stewart's crew to take the car into Victory Lane for an extended attempt to repair the damaged Pontiac.

Johnny Benson spun out on the eighth lap and broke two ribs.

On the 17th lap, Steve Park got underneath Mike Wallace and spun him out. All the cars pitted and Todd Bodine was involved in a three-car accident on pit road that sent his tire changer, Bill Curwood, to the infield care center with injuries to his right leg.

Kurt Busch was also involved in that accident. He was penalized twice -- once for illegal passing under caution, then again for cussing out NASCAR officials over the radio. The infractions cost him four laps.

Some guessed the rough start came because the drivers didn't get any chance to draft in practice, which was rained out all week. The lack of practice forced teams to turn to their notes from the Daytona 500 in February as their only reference point for how things would go on NASCAR's most famous track.

Around that time, Jeff Gordon punctured his left rear tire and lost track position. The defending Winston Cup champ spent the rest of the race trying to regain the lap he lost when he pitted, and still remains in search of his first victory of the season.