Dale Earnhardt Jr knew the importance in winning at the Martinsville Speedway. Not only for himself but most especially for his team Hendrick Motorsports and its owner Rick Hendrick.
That is why when Earnhardt met Rick in the victory lane, he knew that the boss was overwhelmed with emotions for his win.
Hendrick Motorsports started and won their first career victory in the same track. But amidst that happy thought, the track also has its own share of sad memories.
It was 10 years ago when a plane crash happened in which the passengers were on their way to the race. The people lost during that fateful accidents were Hendrick's son, brother, twin nieces, the team general manger, head engine builder, a key sponsor representative, two Hendrick pilots and a pilot for Tony Stewart.
This is Rick's story. That is why when he saw Earnhardt ahead of the rest, all he could do was hug him. Earnhardt said "I could feel how important it was to him and his embrace when he hugged me. There's a genuine hug and there's a hug. His was the real deal. This is the 10th anniversary. It's more difficult. The 10th anniversary sort of has you reflecting and remembering."
It is also just right that it was Earnhardt who carried the Hendrick banner on this hard day as he also lost his father, Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, in a fatal accident on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.
He said "Losing my dad was difficult. I can't even imagine that loss that he went through, his family went through, the whole organization, all those people at one time. I was so proud to be able ... win this race on this challenging weekend for the company. They're very hurt and it's a heavy heart that they carry all weekend, but they want to win the race."
Although Earnhardt was eliminated for Chase last week, he still pulled himself together to give the best race that he can possibly give. Team mate, Jeff Gordon, had to settle for second best during the race.
Gordon said "I will say that it makes me feel a little bit better about finishing second that it was second to somebody that's not in the Chase. Had that been somebody in the Chase, it would have been hard to swallow."
