It doesn't seem that long ago.
It still doesn't seem right.
"He was bigger than life,'' said a fan named Doug Micha on that morning after, parked outside Gate 8.
He was gazing at the wall of tribute that was already growing there. Fans had covered the fence with flowers and photos and messages.
I wrote then about one of the tributes. It was an American Kennel Club certificate, the registration of a dog named "Master Earnhardt of Daytona.''
The dog was a black Rottweiler.
"Oh, wow,'' Gordon responded. "There's nothing more fitting - as long as that Rottweiler had a soft side to him."
The day after Earnhardt was killed, many drivers issued statements. Kyle Petty called Dale "the last cowboy." Johnny Benson said, "Our sport will go on, but I don't think it will ever be the same."
As the 2006 Speed Weeks begin to unfold in Daytona, much will be said and written about how NASCAR still misses Earnhardt.
Think about how much Earnhardt has missed.
He missed seeing a car he owned, driven by his close friend Michael Waltrip, go on to win that 2001 Daytona 500 - by .124 of a second ahead of his son, Dale Junior.
Indeed, Michael Waltrip would win three more races in a DEI car and parlay those wins with his class-clown antics to become a fan favorite and now to become the lead driver for Toyota's entry into Nextel Cup next season.
Geez, Toyota in NASCAR. What would Dale think?
He has missed seeing his son become a success, on and off the track, assuming an iconic role that sometimes Little E wears uncomfortably.
Earnhardt has missed seeing Gordon assume the role as NASCAR's signature driver. As much grief as Earnhardt used to give Gordon, I'd like to think it was some "tough love" to prepare him for the position he's in.
And don't you know that Dale would love to get under the bumper of Kurt Busch and, as Earnhardt would put it, "rattle his cage.'' And how much we'd love to see that.
He missed being a part of NASCAR's Madison Avenue boom. Earnhardt was one of the first drivers to do commercials, and was a natural. But if you can't surf through channels and not see Greg Biffle selling sandwiches, imagine how much Earnhardt could do - and make - in endorsements.
He missed saying goodbye and farewell to friends and competitors, like Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte, and especially his close friend and rival, Rusty Wallace, headed now to the TV booth. In an interview, Wallace once told me, "I've never seen nothing in this sport like him and I were.''
We "never saw nothing" in this sport like Earnhardt, the last cowboy, nor will we again. Five years later, we're reminded that even in death, he's bigger than life
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We "never saw nothing" in this sport like Earnhardt, the last cowboy, nor will we again. Five years later, we're reminded that even in death, he's bigger than life.
10. Football fans are forced to wait all season for the Super Bowl ... the NASCAR season starts with the Daytona 500.
9. Daytona 500 has never had a wardrobe malfunction.
8. Remember the big riot when Dale Earnhardt won the Daytona 500? Me neither.
7. Burnouts in the grass cooler than spiking football in the grass.
6. NASCAR: The ultimate "contact sport."
5. Pit stops more fun to watch than water breaks.
4. NASCAR's ever-changing rule book offers added layer of suspense to the race.
3. Taking the checkered flag a better ending than running out the clock.
2. No one watches the Daytona 500 "for the commercials."
1. There's no such thing as halftime in a NASCAR race.
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