Dale Jr: blaming Marlin for crash is ‘ridiculous’

Earnhardt and Marlin touched briefly as they fought over third place in the last-lap dash to the line - a move dismissed as a pure racing incident by NASCAR and many of the sport's leading drivers. But since the race, the Tennessee driver has received a number of death threats from 'fans' of Earnhardt. At Thursday's memorial service in Charlotte, Marlin was escorted into the church by an armed State Trooper amid fears of an attack on the driver.

"Any notion or any idea or any blame placed upon anyone, whether it be Sterling Marlin or anyone else is ridiculous and will not be tolerated," said Earnhardt, who finished second to team mate Michael Waltrip in Sunday's Daytona 500 in a car owned by Dale Sr. "I think it is completely incredible some of the things that I've heard or have been told about."

The 24-year-old Earnhardt says he will attempt to move on without his father and continue the family racing legacy that began with his grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, who died of a heart attack in 1973.

"One of the things this really teaches you most about is how selfish you are about things like this," Earnhardt said. "I miss my father. I've cried for him out of my own selfish pity for those emotions.

"I just try to maintain a good focus for the future and try to remember that he is in a better place - a place that we all want to be."

After finishing second in last Sunday's race, the younger Earnhardt rushed to Halifax Medical Centre in Daytona Beach, Florida where his father was pronounced dead on Sunday night. He spoke briefly to the media after that,
before grieving with his family.

Earnhardt's only public appearance was at the memorial service at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday before returning to racing on Friday.

He will practice and qualify for Sunday's Dura Lube 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race on Saturday at North Carolina Speedway.

"I want to thank all the fans and the NASCAR family for the respect they have shown over the past few days," Earnhardt said. "It's been quite a difficult time for the family. Everybody has treated this to the best of their ability and have done a real good job letting us get everything into perspective.

"It's been a tough time. I've had a lot of questions running around in my mind," he added. "My main focus is to maintain and progress with the vision my father had to the best of my abilities. We will try to carry on with the racing program and try to stick beside Teresa (Earnhardt's widow), the best we can."