The memories that linger of Earnhardt, 24 years after his death in the 2001 Daytona 500, and of the penny given to him by a 6-year-old girl ahead of his 1998 Daytona 500 victory, are priceless to those who were there for one of NASCAR’s seminal moments.
Cease production of the penny, let collector’s gobble up what's left of the 1 cent coin, and there will still be one eternally glued to Dale Earnhardt’s old Chevrolet, the luckiest piece of loose change in NASCAR history.
Whether it was the penny, the racing Gods finally on their side, or maybe Earnhardt was just that damn good, he finally won the Daytona 500.
At that point, Earnhardt, even with his seven NASCAR championships, was a victim of bad luck, missed opportunities and close calls that stamped him 0 for 19 in NASCAR’s biggest race.
“I know,” Earnhardt crew chief Larry McReynolds said this week, when asked if he heard of the penny’s impending demise, “the ’98 lucky penny.”.
