DALE'S DAYTONA LEGACY IN WAKE OF EARNHARDT'S DEATH, NASCAR IMPROVES SAFETY.

Byline: Tim Haddock Staff Writer

Almost a year has passed since Dale Earnhardt was killed on the final lap of the Daytona 500.

In that year, NASCAR has grieved and healed.

It has found ways to remember the seven-time Winston Cup champion with memorials and dedications.

It has implemented safety measures, such as requiring drivers to wear head-and-neck restraints and uniformly install seat belts and safety straps, to help prevent tragedies like the one that took Earnhardt's life from happening again.

Most recently, it has hired full-time safety analysts and medical liaisons to work every race, a practice that has been used by other racing series but not NASCAR until now.

Today will mark the first running of the Daytona 500 since Earnhardt's death. Even though Winston Cup drivers have returned to Daytona once already _ for the Pepsi 400 in July won by Earnhardt's son, Dale Jr. _ this year's Daytona 500 nonetheless will be an emotional race.

``Every race is different without Dale,'' said Ken Schrader, driver of the No. 36 M&M's Pontiac. ``I've been working with him for 17 years. We didn't lose a seven-time champ, we lost a good friend.''

In the aftermath of Daytona, drivers on the series had to continue racing. There was little time to comprehend losing one of the series' best drivers, perhaps the sports' biggest star, and undoubtedly its most recognizable personality. Drivers and teams kept moving forward. Time for reflection was reserved for later, even though Earnhardt's shadow was cast at every race.

``I don't think anyone ever got over it,'' said Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 97 Sharpie/Rubbermaid Ford for Roush Racing. ``We all had to compete the next weekend and he would have wanted it that way. We all moved on right away from it.''

The one driver who has had to bear the greatest burden of emerging from Earnhardt's shadow is Kevin Harvick. The 26-year-old from Bakersfield was thrown into the fire of Winston Cup racing, taking over the GM Goodwrench team after the Daytona crash.

Harvick was prepared to make the jump from the Busch Grand National Division to Winston Cup last year. But his promotion was supposed to be gradual. Harvick was going to run seven Cup races in the No. 30 AOL Chevy for Richard Childress Racing. Instead, he ended up racing every race but Daytona. He also raced the entire Busch schedule, achieving his goal of winning the series championship.

``Basically, I got two years of experience in one,'' Harvick said. ``With the circumstances surrounding Dale and Daytona, obviously the microscope was on. And obviously when you succeed in Winston Cup racing, the microscope is on you. That is something Richard has told me from day one. `Winston Cup racing,' he said, `I don't know how to explain it; it's just something you have to experience.' ''

Success came quickly for Harvick. He won his first Winston Cup race on his third attempt, at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He added a second victory at Chicagoland Speedway and earned rookie-of-the-year honors.

But Harvick described racing on the Winston Cup Series as being ``a prisoner in your own little world.'' The demands of fans, sponsors and his owner and team members were overwhelming.

``We didn't ask, we didn't want, we still don't want to be put in this position,'' Harvick said. ``Somehow Richard had to do something to keep everything he had at RCR and had to keep going. Everybody understands we're trying to keep everything going.''

Harvick will be racing in his first Daytona 500. This also will be the first Daytona 500 in 24 years without Dale Earnhardt as one of the drivers.

``You just got to put as much of it in the back of your mind as you can,'' Harvick said, ``but obviously there's no way. There's no way you can put it all away.''

Undoubtedly, one of Earnhardt's legacies is that he forced the hand of NASCAR to take responsibility for the safety of its drivers.

NASCAR has mandated head-and-neck restraints on helmets and required seat belts and safety straps be installed as directed by the manufacturers. NASCAR also is investigating improving soft-wall technology at tracks and installing black box data recorders in cars.

``I think all the safety changes they have made are in the right direction, whether it's the head-and-neck restraints or the type of seat we use,'' said Ryan Newman, rookie driver of the No. 12 Alltel Ford for Penske Racing. ``It's been a slow process, but it's been a learning process for everyone. The technology is out there for us to do better things every day.''

Earnhardt, who wore an open-face helmet, all but removed the driver's- side seat in his stock car and raced while sitting on the floor board, was one of the loudest critics rallying against the safety measures his death has forced.

``He was so stubborn, he didn't think anything was going to happen to him,'' Schrader said.

But Daytona's legacy always will include being the last track where Dale Earnhardt raced.

``I don't think they'll ever be back to normal,'' Harvick said about races at Daytona. ``After Daytona, they'll be as much back to normal as it can get.''

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Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

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