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CNN Live At Daybreak

Daytona Delight

Aired February 16, 2004 - 06:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It was a dramatic and emotional ending to the great American race. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. found the speed he needed and paid a fitting tribute to his father who died at Daytona three years ago.
CNN's Steve Overmyer was track-side.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE OVERMYER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's said winning the Daytona 500 can make your career. It certainly completed Dale Earnhardt's career after he won on his 20th try. His son, Dale, Jr., earned his first Daytona 500 victory in just five.

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., 2004 DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION: It's just great, you know, to win the Daytona 500. It's the best race I've ever won, the greatest day of my life right now. We put an awful lot of work into this, man. I mean, we -- it seemed like I was down here every day in January testing one car or another, and it paid off.

OVERMYER: Passing in the Daytona 500 usually takes a drafting partner. When Dale, Jr. passed Tony Stewart with no help, he even wowed his competition.

TONY STEWART, FINISHED SECOND: You know, we just thought he was going to pull the pin. You know, without a big group of cars there, there wasn't a lot of cars pushing. So, you know, our pace wasn't quite as quick as we wanted, but he knew where to pass and when to do it. And, you know, you can only mirror drive so much.

EARNHARDT: The pack got real spread out, and I was getting worried that I was not going to have enough help at the end of the race, so I went ahead and made my moves as early as I could.

OVERMYER (on camera): NASCAR promised a season of change that would add more excitement to this sport. Well, the Nextel Cup Series began with a presidential audience, a race that featured 26 lead changes and finished with an Earnhardt in victory lane.

Steve Overmyer, CNN, Daytona Beach.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired February 16, 2004 - 06:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It was a dramatic and emotional ending to the great American race. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. found the speed he needed and paid a fitting tribute to his father who died at Daytona three years ago.
CNN's Steve Overmyer was track-side.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE OVERMYER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's said winning the Daytona 500 can make your career. It certainly completed Dale Earnhardt's career after he won on his 20th try. His son, Dale, Jr., earned his first Daytona 500 victory in just five.

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., 2004 DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION: It's just great, you know, to win the Daytona 500. It's the best race I've ever won, the greatest day of my life right now. We put an awful lot of work into this, man. I mean, we -- it seemed like I was down here every day in January testing one car or another, and it paid off.

OVERMYER: Passing in the Daytona 500 usually takes a drafting partner. When Dale, Jr. passed Tony Stewart with no help, he even wowed his competition.

TONY STEWART, FINISHED SECOND: You know, we just thought he was going to pull the pin. You know, without a big group of cars there, there wasn't a lot of cars pushing. So, you know, our pace wasn't quite as quick as we wanted, but he knew where to pass and when to do it. And, you know, you can only mirror drive so much.

EARNHARDT: The pack got real spread out, and I was getting worried that I was not going to have enough help at the end of the race, so I went ahead and made my moves as early as I could.

OVERMYER (on camera): NASCAR promised a season of change that would add more excitement to this sport. Well, the Nextel Cup Series began with a presidential audience, a race that featured 26 lead changes and finished with an Earnhardt in victory lane.

Steve Overmyer, CNN, Daytona Beach.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.