Bud Shootout win dedicated to Joey Arnold
It didn't take long for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win his first race for Hendrick Motorsports. He won the Bud Shootout on Saturday night, a 70-lap exhibition race for pole winners from 2007 and previous Shootout winners.
While the win doesn't count in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, it does show that Earnhardt Jr. and his new team at Hendrick Motorsports are going to be tough to beat especially at Daytona International Speedway.
Tony Eury Jr., Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief, said he wanted to dedicate the win to the team's set-up man, Joey Arnold.
"His kid was 5 years old and had terminal disease of some kind and died last Tuesday," Eury said to the media in a news conference after the race. Eury said he learned of the news when the team returned to their shop in North Carolina after testing at California Speedway last week.
"I walked in there coming back from the California test, I said 'Joey, what are you doing here?' His kid had died the day before," Eury said. "He said 'This is my best chance to win the Daytona 500 and I want to be a part of it.'"
Eury said he was impressed by the dedication Arnold showed so he dedicated the team's win in the Shootout to him.
"You put yourself in a position where something like that happens; it is unbelievable that there is that much dedication and that much want to win these races," Eury said. "A lot of people don't realize how big these races are. I mean there are a lot of families out here that don't get to come week to week and a lot of time...people say this sport makes a lot of money. The way I look at it, you get paid to not have a life sometimes.
"When things like that happen, it hits me emotionally and I am so thankful that I have people that dedicated behind me and I go out here and perform for them."
Comments
I am a member of the support group Mr Arnold and his wife bolong to, my daughter passed from HPE when I was 6 months pregnat. I heard this story and could not stop crying. Its employers like this that make it all worth while, all the extra hours and hard work well worth it, its people like Joey and Shira that make me realize there are angels with us.
I personally want to thank you for dedicating the win to mr arnold.
You definately have a new fan now.
Posted by: Branfdie Wehrly | February 12, 2008 4:22 PM