Waltrip being 14th with 6 to go and finishing 2nd is still amazing to me. I love that he got to celebrate his 500 win with Jr since he couldn't in February. I love how Chocolate was the first guy to meet Dale

I cried so hard watching that finish back then. It was amazing and extremely emotional. His engine was very, very strong back then at plate races. I think on a recent Jr download they talked about how insanely powerful the engine that DEI had built for him was and it showed that night for sure.

I was on the verge of tears and then Benny Parsons and how excited he was for Jrs win tipped me over to some falling tears. 😆

To this day I can't watch this finish without tears. So special....so perfect

I was there at that race. It was the first Daytona race that me and my Dad went to. 22 years later, me and Dad still go down to the Daytona summer race.

"Dale Earnhardt Jr, using lessons learned from his father to go from 6th to 1st and Score the Victory in the Pepsi 400!!!!"- Greatest Call ever by Alan Bestwick Also, I just love how the Gen 4's sounded on the Superspeedways back then. Hopefully NASCAR will someday bring back that iconic X-pipe sound for the Next-gens on superspeedways

The fact that people are claiming that NASCAR "rigged it" for Dale Jr. is disgusting imho. Why would Johnny Benson, Dave Blaney, & Ken Schrader want to give up a shot at the win plus sure Michael Waltrip had the faster car, but he did the same thing Junior did for him, and helped him win. Even Sadler moved up to block Labonte from making a move. No it was not rigged, it was deserved. Junior worked hard for that win.

Iconic car scheme get goosebumps watching this 23 years later

helped heal the wounds alittle bit after that awful tragedy. i still tear up as well watching this. what a race and what a way to celebrate. i think it helped june bug close the wound a little bit as well. #3forDale

The 6th to 1st quote always gives me goosebumps

Excellence is a virtue and Demise has it. Yet another number 1 hit

I was standing in a fireworks store listening to the radio with tears streaming down my face. Just like everyone else in the store.

Another fantastic video. The tears are rolling. I remember this like yesterday.

Still crazy seeing the packed stands with all the camera flashes going off

I heard someone say this. Before Dale ain’t dead he’s just a few laps ahead

Just discovered your channel, love it! I actually remember watching many of these old races from the 70's80's and 90's and I am glad that a younger person like yourself appreciates them as well. For me, the late 70's, the 80's and the early 90's is my favorite era for auto racing of all kinds. F1 races were interesting, Cart was at the top of it's game, we had group C and those incredible CAN-AM cars, Nascar was still full those really fun country boys and rednecks. Thanks for finding and posting these, looking forward to more!

Love the videos you make, you ever thought about looking into other motorsports around the world F1, MotoGP, WEC etc

22 years later race is still great

Peak NASCAR right here

I was going to Disney World that day the race happened, very aware at 6 that one of my favorite drivers had passed away. We passed the track on 95 and got to the hotel halfway through the race and I watched the final half of the race. I still remember it vividly and how happy I was to see Earnhardt back on top and I never forget that night nor this race. When I got older, I bought a diecast of his car for that race and it sits on my desk

Night races and any night sporting game back in the day were always cool because of all the camera flashes.

At 7:33, Dave Marcis did an incredible driving by anticipating the skid,,,,, back on track like nothing. WOW

My first year in nascar, was the greatest night in racing with the best calling it

Would love to see you do the 2010 Aarons 499 from Talladega. Just incredible. I don't think i've seen a better superspeedway race

This race was for me the best. It's a 4th of July tradition to watch this. It's my favorite Dale Jr win

He poured one out for his pops! im gonna cry

My favourite Pepsi 400 of all time. Apart from 1997.

All these years later, I have to admit... idk what DEI did to that car, but in some way it was juiced up lmao I mean, nothing in the state of Florida was turning as good as the 8 was that day. But to this day, I can't watch that finish without getting emotional. '01 was the first summer I had in high school. The first time I watched almost every NASCAR race of the season (never had cable/satellite before then). And I saw both races at Daytona, flag-to-flag. You could feel Daytona Beach from here in Maryland that night. This race solidified Dale Jr. being a fan favorite and NASCAR's most popular driver for 16 straight seasons.

Today's the day where every NASCAR youtube covers this topic. Just like most of them did last year.

I always get goosebumps watching this race PS: Happy 4th of July 🇺🇸

I remember recording this race on vhs back in the day! Only problem is, i dont have vhs player anymore but i still have the tape lol

Dale jr will always be the 2001 Pepsi 400 winner

Some folks talk about how the race was rigged and the cars just let Jr pass on the outside in Turn 3-4 for the win. For like 9 years since I was 13, I was like “Dale Earnhardt’s ghost pushed Jr to the lead on the outside to help him win the race”. It may sound silly to some and I’m talking crazy, but it kinda make sense if you really think about it.

Jeff Gordon unfortunately finished 37th.

It was definitely emotional.

Why can't we get a spoiler half the size on the plate package and a wicker bill? I think that might make it more interesting. but todays drivers will still wad up half the field for 2 points.

Question. After Dale Sr passed, did his pit crew move on to help Jr?

Interesting that Sterling leads lap 3.

Have you started getting ready for mosport?

What's always burned me was Jimmy Spencer going on live TV saying this race was rigged. I understand the point but to do it in the wake of what was a truly heart repairing moment for Jr, Mikey and a lot of other people was very unprofessional and honestly about as chickenshit as could be. I mean even if u feel that way. Don't be an ass about it. He was just mad he couldn't do what Jr did. Lol 😆

Riged race. Might as well have been WWE