Earnhardt’s Test C5-R at Sebring
     On november 22-23 at Sebring International Raceway, Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. joined the entire GM Goodwrench Service Plus Corvette C5-R factory team for a three-day test in for the 2001 Rolex 24 at Daytona. Dale Jr. had been scheduled to test the new mount, but with the delayed running of Monday’s final 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series event at Atlanta, both father and son flew in for the test. Earnhardt Sr. spoke frankly, “We’re both green at this road racing; if we screw-up you can yell at us. The weight and braking on the Corvette is so much different than our Winston Cup cars. Shoot, Fellows (Ron, teammate and lead driver) jumps in a Cup car and makes it look easy at Watkins Glen. It won’t be that easy for us.” When asked who would do the night stints with teammate Andy Pilgrim at the Rolex 24, Dale, Sr. replied,  “If this thing’s got a 10-disc CD player in it, Jr. might stay up all-night driving it!” Little E was the first to get behind the wheel of the C5-R, running much of the afternoon’s laps. An oil leak from the experimental Emco 6-speed transaxle sidelined the pair for about 30 minutes, but when the repairs were complete, Dale Sr., turned some of the day’s fastest laps. The GM Goodwrench Service Plus team’s next outing is january 4-6 for the annual Rolex 24 test at Daytona International Speedway. – Greg Aleck