Junior: 'Sometimes the hero is built up to be torn down'

Can you believe it's been 5 years?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is reliving hell. His eyes, crystal blue and rimmed in red, are swollen, damp. He peers downward. Eye contact somehow makes emotional divulgence more difficult.

He is reminiscing about his legendary father, going to the innermost core of NASCAR's darkest hour.

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