HAMPTON, GA. — The tributes for the late Dale Earnhardt continued Sunday, though none supplied by Atlanta Motor Speedway matched rookie Kevin Harvick driving Earnhardt's car to victory.
On the third lap of the Cracker Barrel 500, fans saluted the 43-car field by holding up three fingers a salute to Earnhardt's car number. At the same time, track officials released 7,000 balloons from the infield in honor of Earnhardt's seven Winston Cup championships.
After the race, when Harvick nipped Jeff Gordon by .006 seconds, the winner slowly drove a lap around the track in the opposite direction, holding his left hand out the window of his car with three fingers outstretched.
"I think it was a great thing to do," Fred Roberts, a fan from Statesboro, Ga., said of the pre-race tribute. "They could not do enough to honor that man. I'm not an Earnhardt fan. I pull for Ford, but he'll be sorely missed. He was a great man."
Outside the track, fans were allowed to sign the No. 3 souvenir trailer, scribbling tributes to the man who died in an accident on the last lap of this year's Daytona 500.
Earlier in the weekend, the track named a section of grandstands for Earnhardt.
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More HANS talk: Former driver and current Fox TV analyst Darrell Waltrip continued to push for NASCAR to make the HANS device short for the Head and Neck Support mandatory. During a taped segment on Fox's pre-race show, Waltrip wore the device while sitting in the car of his brother, Michael.
During the segment, Darrell Waltrip said his head had plenty of flexibility and lateral movement, and he was able to get out of the car without removing the device.
"Drivers wouldn't wear a uniform if they didn't have to," he said. "They'd say, 'This thing's not comfortable. I'm going to wear a T-shirt."'
Drivers in the CART and IRL series are required to wear the device, and the American Speed Association will make them mandatory next season.
Some drivers have complained that the device would inhibit their ability to get out of their cars in an emergency. On Sunday, Matt Kenseth's engine blew, causing a brief oil fire as the car slid sideways into the wall in Turn 3. When the car rolled off the banking, Kenseth had very little trouble getting out while wearing the device.
He was treated and released at the infield care center.
Busch Series driver Elton Sawyer had a similar experience with the HANS device Saturday after his hard crash in the Aaron's 312.
"I'm a little sore in my chest area, but if I didn't have that device my head would have been holding the steering wheel," Sawyer said. "I wasn't as comfortable getting in and out of the car, but I worked hard on my headrest so that I could. I actually got out of the car with it on."
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More Roush trouble: The struggles of Roush Racing continued Sunday, with Kenseth, Mark Martin and Jeff Burton all having engine problems.
Only rookie Kurt Busch ran without problems, finishing 10th, one lap down.
"We were just getting in position where we could halfway run there and the next stop was going to be even better," Martin said. "By the time we got to the next stop and got four tires and one adjustment, we were fixing to probably have a chance to sneak up into the top 10 in points and finish. I'm disappointed."
Martin and Burton, among the preseason favorites for the championship, now are 25th and 38th in the point standings.
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International TV: NASCAR announced the international distribution of its TV coverage will reach four continents. More than 60 countries will televise NASCAR events in 2001.
"Having the NASCAR Winston Cup Series broadcast around the globe each week will bring significant added value to all our teams, tracks and their sponsors," said Paul Brooks, vice president of broadcasting for NASCAR.
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