LONG POND - The handwritten scrawl, magic marker on hot pink paper, spoke to the presence hovering over NASCAR's Winston Cup Series four months after the death of Dale Earnhardt. That sign in a souvenir tent advertised a model sport utility vehicle, purportedly a limited edition, done up in Earnhardt graphics. '$75. 1 of $5,004,' it read. Somehow, the second dollar sign seemed Freudian. Stroll the booths at Pocono International Raceway, and it soon becomes apparent that there are plenty of people who are not above merchandising the death of a popular driver. At one stand, beanie race cars sold for $5, except for an Earnhardt example, which went for $7. Next door, 1/24th-scale models of the Winston Cup cars generally cost $30. An Earnhardt car model was stickered at $250. Earnhardt T-shirts• $25. Jeff Gordon T-shirts• $20. Not always, but often, Earnhardt memorabilia costs more. Sometimes, considerably more. The Earnhardt story has lingered legitimately in the forefront since February partly because of conflicting accounts of the state of his restraint harness following his fatal accident in the Daytona 500 and partly because of the legal proceedings over public dissemination of his autopsy pictures. Constant reminders of another sort are the three-fingered, third-lap salutes to Earnhardt by race crowds and post-race tributes from victorious drivers, which have become a NASCAR staple. National Anthem singer Billy Ray Cyrus flashed three fingers Sunday. The mainstream media had postulated early on that the loss of Earnhardt could cripple NASCAR. But, just as the untimely death of Buddy Holly didn't, with all due respect to the song 'American Pie,' kill the music, Winston Cup racing has survived the loss of Earnhardt. Whether or not the Earnhardt vigil has become overly long and maudlin is a sensitive subject, but one that has come to be discussed more openly within the NASCAR ranks. Richard Petty, himself a racing legend of some note, produced shock waves earlier this month when he said, 'There's nobody important enough to stop everything. You might think about it, but you just go right on and do your thing. The press is keeping something alive that we just need to go ahead and bury. 'I hate to say it in a hard-hearted way, but the sun keeps coming up, and the sun keeps going down, and the world keeps on.' Petty added a comment some believe verged on Earnhardt blasphemy. 'He really didn't win that many races. He wasn't that dominant of a driver.' Petty, who had won 200 Winston Cup races, is one of the select few who could say that. Others who won more Cup races than Earnhardt's 76 victories were David Pearson (105), Bobby Allison (84), Darrell Waltrip (84) and Cale Yarborough (83). But Earnhardt is most revered for winning seven season Winston Cup Series championships. Petty also won seven season titles. With Petty having broached the subject of Earnhardt hangover, Gordon also said recently, in less terse words, that it was time for NASCAR and its fans to move on from the tragedy. It's past that time, really. Petty was correct in placing some blame on the media. The Pocono 500 race-day special section in the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader yesterday included a full page devoted to Earnhardt. The deceased driver is to racing media what Tiger Woods is to the golf writers, a layup story/photo subject guaranteed to draw readers regardless of the circumstances. Whether this is informing the public or pandering is open to debate. Inarguable is that Earnhardt haunts the current NASCAR drivers, being larger in death than they are in life. An exorcism that would be most welcome remains nowhere in sight. Sam Ross Jr. is a columnist for the Tribune-Review.

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