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Heartbroken Dale Jr. fans gather for bittersweet last race

Michelle R. Martinelli

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Kaci Monyhan stopped professing her loyalty to Dale Earnhardt Jr. to lift her glasses and wipe the tears out of her eyes so they didn't fall on the JR Nation Appreci88ion t-shirt she bought Friday - the one with his face and his final paint scheme printed on it.

The Dunedin, Florida resident - like so many others in his fan base - has struggled with her emotions this weekend, knowing Earnhardt will run the last NASCAR Cup Series race of his career Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"I love Dale Jr. - I don't know what I'm going to do, but I brought waterproof makeup this weekend," she said as her eyes welled up again. She brushed her permanently blue-highlighted hair - Dale Jr. Nationwide blue - off her face, regaining her composure.

"It's devastating for us. I don't usually come to races here, but I wouldn't miss his last race for anything. Anything."

Kaci Monyhan stand in front of Earnhardt's merchandise trailer.

Kaci Monyhan stand in front of Earnhardt's merchandise trailer.

Sunday's Cup Series finale - the Ford Ecoboost 400 - was the final race for Earnhardt, who is retiring from full-time racing after two decades in NASCAR. The Hendrick Motorsports driver's devoted fans flocked to the 1.5-mile Florida track to watch his last race, where he finished 25th. Similar to the No. 88 Chevrolet driver this weekend, they're all over the emotional spectrum: Excited, crushed, overwhelmed and nostalgic.

The Earnhardt family has been a staple of NASCAR for decades - with Junior following the career path of his father, the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. - and some fans are still in disbelief and denial that this is the 14-time most popular driver's last race weekend.

"When Junior started, he was the cool kid with the backwards hat you looked up to," said Josh Shephard, a 31-year-old LaBelle, Florida resident. "I definitely think I'll end up crying like a little girl. It's definitely a big deal."

"He and his dad helped make the sport what it is."

Junior was just one race removed from his rookie Cup Series season when his father tragically died from injuries sustained during a horrific crash during the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

Rookie Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Sr. talk with Dale Jarrett during the week of the 2000 Daytona 500. (AP Photo/Bill Mitchell)

Rookie Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Sr. talk with Dale Jarrett during the week of the 2000 Daytona 500. (AP Photo/Bill Mitchell)

Without question, Junior was NASCAR's favorite son, and fans at Homestead agree that the extraordinarily massive size of JR Nation is in large part because of senior and the shared experience of his father's death.

"When you go through something like that, it changes you as a person," said Kathy Haas, 46, who traveled from Klamath Falls, Oregon to see Dale Jr.'s last race.

The first time NASCAR returned to Daytona International Speedway following Senior's passing - less than five months later - the sport needed Junior to win the 2001 Pepsi 400. He did, and fans' loyalty to the Earnhardt family intensified.

"It was surreal," said Patty Homan, a 46-year-old Stuart, Florida resident who's been regularly attending races at Daytona and Homestead for the last 20 years.

Clutching her bright red No. 8 seat cushion - honoring the car Dale Jr. drove for his first nine Cup seasons - she continued: "Fans were screaming. I've never seen anything like that at a track since. He's the most gracious racer there is, and you want him to win so bad."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. after the 2001 Pepsi 400. (AP Photo/Daytona Beach News-Journal, David Tucker)

Junior finished his career with 26 Cup Series victories, in addition to his 24 from the XFINITY Series, including championships in 1998 and 1999. Sunday's race was his 631st start.

While Dale Sr. set records with his seven Cup Series championships, Junior's influence on NASCAR is rooted in his unparalleled popularity, which has kept some fans engaged with the sport who might not have been otherwise.

"Everybody who's a NASCAR fans - whether you root for Junior or not - will be a little sad because it won't be the same," said 22-year-old Kevin Rutherford from Flower Mound, Texas. "He and his dad helped make the sport what it is. They had more impact on the sport than any other drivers."

"He's just a down-to-earth, tough, rugged, all-American boy that everyone likes."

Throughout the weekend at Homestead, members of JR Nation from around the country lined up by the dozens at his multiple merchandise trailers ready to buy shirts, hats, bags, flags, pins, stickers, coozies, pennants, socks, coins, ping pong balls and jackets that look like his Nationwide fire suit.

JR Nation fans at Earnhardt's merchandise trailer.

JR Nation fans at Earnhardt's merchandise trailer.

Between debating out loud what they want to buy, they repeat how they can't believe Sunday is his last race, sprinkling in memories and remember-whens.

"He's just a down-to-earth, tough, rugged, all-American boy that everyone likes," 31-year-old Miami resident Jennifer Casanova said while decked out in Earnhardt apparel as her mom, Linda Silver, stood next to her, holding a Dale Jr.-themed cooler.

But it's more than that. Earnhardt is simultaneously NASCAR's biggest name - it's not even close - and its nicest and most humble driver. Listening to him talk, it's easy to forget his nine-digit net worth because it's like having a conversation over a beer with your neighbor.

Fans like Haas follow him because he's likable outside of racing, and many said they won't abandon NASCAR when he retires.

"He doesn't talk or look like a millionaire or elitist," Monyhan said. "He's one of us, and we are JR Nation. He's one in a trillion, and his personality is awesome, and he's modest."

"I'm trying hard not to cry now," she continued. "His fans are instant friends of his. We know each other's hearts. I talked to so many fans of his last night, and we all feel the same way."

Earnhardt tips his hat to the roaring fans before the Ford EcoBoost 400. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)

Bobby McChee, a 63-year-old from Lincoln, Maine, said he's been going to races for 40 years, including when Earnhardt raced late-model cars in Myrtle Beach in the mid-1990s. He also remembers Junior's first Daytona 500 in 2000, and said if someone told him the driver would retire without a Cup Series championship, he never would have believed it.

"Junior would have done better if he was ruthless but he's not," McChee said. "He would have won more races if he was, but he stayed true to himself."

One last time

After being sidelined for the second half of the 2016 season with a concussion, Earnhardt has said he returned to the track so he could leave it on his own terms.

During his press conference at Homestead on Thursday, he sounded relieved to have made it through the first 35 races of 2017 without another head injury. He's ready for the next chapter of his life, and while it's hard to accept, many fans understand why he's walking away now.

"It's kind of surreal," said Brooksville, Florida resident Tonya Griffin. "I'm grateful he's been able to have a wonderful career and come back after last year, and enjoy it."

(Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports)

(Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports)

From the driver introductions to Earnhardt's classy exit off pit road to start Sunday's race, the fans in the grandstands roared for their favorite driver.

And when the race was over, they mobbed his car at the entrance to pit road. As Junior and his crew downed cans of Budweiser and Bud Light around the 88 car, fans periodically yelled his name and howled out cheers of support for their driver.

Some were beaming with pride and ear-to-ear smiles, others teared up and most were on their toes, reaching their hands as high as possible to get a photo over the crowd.

"It's sad, but I'm happy for him because he's going out the way he wants to," 34-year-old Houston resident Justin Dahl said. "After his medical challenges, you're just happy to see him run again. He didn't do as well as he wanted to, but he ran all the way to the end."

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