But if there was a real key to Dale Earnhardt's greatness on NASCAR's biggest race tracks -- aside from the innate driving ability hidden behind those dark sunglasses, of course -- it may have been found less in his perceived ability to visualize the aerodynamic forces swirling around him, and more in his knack for helping to build vehicles that could rise above them. Performance on restrictor-plate tracks is as much a part of Earnhardt lore as the color of his car or the sometimes menacing quality of his nature, which makes it such a cruel irony that it took him 20 years to win the Daytona 500. That quest in the Great American Race belied a level of plate track excellence that was apparent in everything Earnhardt touched, from his longtime association with Richard Childress, to his own race team, to the organization he left behind -- as evidenced by Austin Dillon clinching the top starting spot for the biggest NASCAR event of the year. Richard Childress's Racing's blitz of this Speedweeks, which has seen a number of vehicles owned by or affiliated with RCR at the top of the speed chart, goes back to an ethos instilled within the organization during Earnhardt's glory days. More...