The wait is over, and it’s time to go racing at Monadnock Speedway.
The Route 10 oval in Winchester will hold its first races of the season on Saturday night at 6 p.m. The grandstands open at 3:30 p.m. and will be at limited capacity.
The feature events will be the NHSTRA Modifieds, Pro 4 Modifieds, Late Model Sportsman, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks and Pure Stocks.
Pit gates open at 1 p.m., with practice starting at 3:30. Pit passes are $30 for NASCAR members and $35 for non-members. General admission tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors 65 and over and $5 for kids ages 11-18.
Due to state COVID-19 guidelines, the speedway urges fans to buy tickets in advance and wear facemasks. Tickets for Saturday’s event and the June 27 and July 4 events can be purchased at monadnockspeedway.com.
The start of the season was scheduled for May 2 but was delayed due to New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu’s stay-at-home orders.
THE CASE FOR JUNIOR: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the late Mike Stefanik were the two Modern Era nominees selected for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021. I’ve already made the case for Stefanik — a nine-time NASCAR touring series champion — in an earlier column, so that leaves Earnhardt’s resume to be analyzed.
Let’s state the obvious out front — Dale Earnhardt Jr. had massive shoes to fill.
It’s hard to follow your father’s footsteps in any field, let alone one where he was one of the greatest ever. That led to unreasonable expectations that Dale Jr. would match his father’s 76 race wins and seven Cup Series championships.
Coming off 13 wins and back-to-back Busch (now Xfinity) Series championships in 1998-99, it was hard not to tout Earnhardt Jr. as the second coming. Follow that with two wins his rookie Cup season in 2000, and the hype machine was in full swing.
And then came the 2001 Daytona 500. With his father blocking for him and DEI teammate Michael Waltrip, Junior finished second … but there was a price. Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a crash on the final lap.
All of a sudden, the weight of NASCAR fell on a 26-year-old’s shoulders. Almost every No. 3 bumper sticker now had a No. 8 alongside it. The torch had fallen into Dale Jr.’s hands, whether he was ready for it or not.
It took a little time, but he took the ball and ran with it. Commercials, merchandise, TV appearances … Dale Earnhardt Jr. was everywhere. No. 8 became the nation’s number.
From 2001-2007, he won 15 times, including six in a memorable 2004 campaign. Earnhardt Jr. finished third in the standings in 2003 and a disappointing fifth in 2004. Surely there were better years ahead.
And then the biggest switch since Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees happened. In 2007, Earnhardt Jr. announced he was leaving his father’s company to drive for Hendrick Motorsports — the NASCAR equivalent of going from the Red Sox to the Yankees. His father and Jeff Gordon were rivals, now Junior and Jeff would be teammates. Oh, and there was a number switch to 88.
In 2008, Junior won one race. It was his last until 2012. It was NASCAR’s version of the Curse of the Bambino.
When Earnhardt Jr. finally took the checkered flag at Michigan, it was the biggest story in sports at the time. NASCAR was back in the headlines.
That’s why Earnhardt Jr. deserves to be a Hall of Famer. He became an icon in the sport and the fans and media stuck with him through four seasons that would kill the popularity of most athletes. Fifteen years in a row, he was voted NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver.
Four wins in 2014 and three the following year had the No. 88 team back on track.
And then the darkness came.
In 2016, Earnhardt Jr. suffered a concussion in a crash and was limited to only 18 races while fighting the symptoms. An important decision loomed.
He was cleared to return to action in 2017, but he decided that would be his final full-time season. That was it. NASCAR’s biggest star was walking away at age 42.
Twenty-six wins in NASCAR’s top series — a good total, but one that seems low given the lofty expectations. But he did win the Daytona 500 twice and had that string of Most Popular Driver awards.
That resume, combined with what he did for the sport’s popularity, makes Dale Earnhardt Jr. a no-brainer for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Some have said he’s only there because of his last name, but his last name is what made him insanely popular. Dale Smith would not be an icon. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was — and still is. I also think he is the best announcer in NASCAR, the equivalent of Tony Romo in the NFL.
Congratulations to Dale, Mike and Red Farmer — the Pioneer Era inductee.
Jason Remillard is a copy editor and page designer at the Recorder. He can be reached at jremillard@recorder.com and followed on Twitter @racinwithjason.