A TOUGH LOSS, BUT EARNHARDT IS GETTING USED TO IT.

Byline: Eddie Pells Associated Press 

He darted in, he darted out, he darted in again.

But not even Dale Earnhardt could intimidate Jeff Gordon on Sunday. Or beat him.

Trailing Gordon by inches with one lap left, everyone sat waiting for that final dramatic passing attempt as Earnhardt tried to defend his first Daytona 500 title.

It appeared to be time for yet another vintage Earnhardt moment: wait until the end and figure out a way - any way - to get to the front when it counts.

But with his foot all the way to the floor and Gordon setting the pace in front, there was no move to be made.

The car - limited by the restrictor plate used by all drivers at Daytona - had nothing left. And not even Earnhardt could make a race-winning move under those conditions.

``I couldn't really muster much on Jeff,'' Earnhardt said. ``His car was stronger . . . I just never could get to him. I never got a chance to get a bumper under him. It just wasn't meant to be, I reckon.''

Only after they crossed the finish line did Earnhardt catch Gordon, giving him a congratulatory bump as they lapped the track one more time.

``I think he was showing me how much fun he was having,'' Gordon said. ``He gave me a little doughnut, then he waved.''

But there was no celebration for Earnhardt, no using his car to carve circles in the grass, the way he did last year when he finally took the only major championship to elude him over his 25-year career.

And there was no repeat, a la John Elway, the Denver Broncos quarterback who won two straight Super Bowls and inspired Earnhardt.

Instead, it was a fifth second-place finish at Daytona, making him the all-time leader in that category, passing Cale Yarbrough.

``I have to thank Dale for a great race,'' said Gordon, giving the courteous tip of the hat rarely seen from his older, more surly competitor known as The Intimidator.

Gordon and Earnhardt took a wild, daring trip through the pack, moving from eighth and 10th place to knock teammates Rusty Wallace and Jeremy Mayfield out of the lead.

Then came the Gordon-Earnhardt showdown that has been seen all too rarely over the years. It was everything racing fans could have hoped for.

``I'd have to say they got their money's worth today,'' Earnhardt said.

Said Gordon: ``Even though we battled for a (points) championship in '95, we really didn't get to have many tight battles all the way to the finish. I really can't think of a better way to do it than here at the Daytona 500.''

Gordon set the pace over the final laps, slowing and speeding at the perfect time, keeping just the right amount of air between their cars to keep Earnhardt from using the draft to slingshot past him.

Earnhardt's best hope would have been to get a bump from teammate Mike Skinner, but Skinner was in fourth, pinned behind rookie Kenny Irwin.

Asked if he could have used Skinner's help, Earnhardt snapped.

``How do you take a car out from between us and get (Skinner) behind me?'' he said. ``It's not like he can say, `Hey I'm moving up,' and just drive over the other guy.''

With no help from behind, a savvy driver in front and no way of generating any more power from his own car, Earnhardt settled for second.

He figured that wasn't bad, considering that engine troubles had dropped him to the middle of the pack, almost an afterthought until the final, wild 10 laps of the race.

``It was pretty physical out there,'' he said. ``Just to survive that last five or 10 laps was a good thing, it was pretty awesome just to come home and finish. We were happy to get second.''

But as everyone has learned over the years - especially last year - he really would have preferred Victory Lane.