The 2001 24 Hours of Daytona will forever hold a special place in the millions of NASCAR fans spread across the globe. It was the last race that the legendary Dale Earnhardt Sr. completed before he passed away in a crash during the following Daytona 500. This is the story of how he got to make his career’s final endurance racing start.
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It all began in 2000 with a daring final-lap pass that Andy Pilgrim made to win the Petit Le Mans for Corvette Racing. The move was later coined as the ‘Pilgrim Pass’ and remains an iconic maneuver. Earnhardt was one of the many who couldn’t believe their eyes when Pilgrim made it and won the race. It led him to write the driver a personal letter.
The message was for Pilgrim to join Earnhardt as a teammate to race in the 24 Hours of Daytona. A part of his letter goes, “That last lap looked like something we do at Bristol. If I can adapt to these high-downforce Corvettes like you’ve adapted to rubbing fenders, we should be able to skin some snakes come February. Best wishes. I look forward to seeing you here on October 17.”
Two weeks later, it became official that Pilgrim would join Earnhardt and his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., to take on the 2001 24 Hours of Daytona. Kelly Collins became a part of their group as well. The race was Earnhardt’s only start with Corvette Racing and he passed away 13 days later. But this was not before he wrote Pilgrim another heartfelt letter.
Earnhardt’s second letter to Andy Pilgrim
The second letter came on February 5, 2001. He’d written how the experience of racing with Pilgrim and Collins was the most fun that he and his son had felt in their combined careers. He also said, “We can never repay you for everything you’ve done for us. Hopefully, we’ll be able to come up with a way to settle the debt somehow.”
One can’t help but shed tears at how cruel a turn fate took. “Andy, I was a huge fan of yours as a driver after the Petite LeMans,” he added. “After getting to know you through our conversations and testing and finally the race, I’m a huge fan of yours as a person. I’m proud to say that I consider you one of my best friends, and I’m confident we’ll remain so for many years to come.”
It is one of the biggest tragedies in motorsports that Earnhardt did not get to see his desire to race more alongside Pilgrim fulfilled. Pilgrim currently works as an advocate for traffic safety and is a board member of the National Corvette Museum, where the letters that Earnhardt wrote him can be found.
