Dale Earnhardt Jr. is set to take the green flag for the Coke Zero 400 on Saturday evening at Daytona International Speedway. The fan favorite has yet to capture a Sprint Cup series victory in 2016. Dale Jr. sits 12th in the Sprint Cup Series points standings. If the Chase started today he’d be in, but the fans of the Hendrick Motorsports racer will not rest until they see him capture that much-needed win.
Daytona International Speedway might just be what the doctor ordered for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Super speedways are where the seasoned driver seems to shine, yet 2016 has been somewhat of a challenge at these venues. The drafting expert placed his hot-rod in the third starting position for the first race of 2016. Expectations were high until Dale Jr. got his #88 Nationwide machine loose and crashed out of contention. At Talladega, the other restrictor-plate track on the circuit, he once again lost control of his car. The Las Vegas favorite crashed on lap 51 and finished in dead last, his worst finish in the 2016 season.
Reason 1: Statistics at Daytona
NASCAR enthusiasts and especially Dale Jr. fanatics might not need to worry about those set-backs when the checkered flag waves. The speedy racer has accumulated more restrictor plate race wins, than any NASCAR driver over the last decade. Furthermore, Dale Jr. not only led the most laps at this contest last summer, but won the event with the race’s most dominating performance.
The son of who most consider to be the greatest drafting driver of all-time Dale Earnhardt Sr., Dale Jr. has learned a thing or two from his daddy. Dale Jr. won his first Daytona race in the Pepsi 400 in July of 2001. He led 116 of the 160 circuits turned. He repeated that performance at the Daytona 500 in 2004 when he out-raced Tony Stewart for the victory.
Dale Jr. didn’t stop there. After settling into a mediocre groove that lasted a lot longer than fans would care to remember, the comeback kid won the Daytona 500 again in 2014. Furthermore, to add to his restrictor plate resume, he backed that up with one more in July of 2015. In all, Dale Jr. has four wins, and 13 top five’s. Four of those top five’s have been runner-ups. He also has another 19 top tens in the 33 contests hes raced in the Sprint Cup Series at Daytona.
Reason 2: Statistics at Talladega
The other restrictor plate venue on NASCAR’s Sprint Cup circuit is Talladega Speedway. The 2.666 mile oval is the largest track the drivers face in the season. Top speeds at this event reach well over 200 miles per hour and drafting in packs is similar to Daytona. It’s fair to say the two tracks are the closest matches on the NASCAR circuit.
Dale Jr. has made no qualms about Talladega Super Speedway being his home-town track. Although the NASCAR stud was born in North Carolina, the massive track in Alabama is where he has truly shined. The racing prodigy started winning here all the way back in the 2001 season. Junior won there in the Fall race in October of that year.
Nobody could predict what would happen next. For the next the races that spanned from the spring of 2002 to the spring of 2003, Dale Jr. never lost. To top off a great start to his career at Talladega, he added another victory in October of 2003. Sandwiched in between the third and fourth wins were two second place efforts.
For the next 20 races at the historic track, he failed to find his way to victory lane. Just when his home town fans thought they might never see their beloved racer win there again, he took the checkered flag in October of 2015. Dale Jr. has a total of six wins, 12 top five’s and 16 top ten’s.
Reason Three: Hendrick Motorsports:
Hendrick Motorsports took on Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2008 after his Dale Earnhardt Inc. was displaced. Dale Jr. had a tumultuous break-up from his family owned racing company that pitted son versus mother-in-law.. The move started a slow and steady climb back to the top for the struggling racer.
In addition to hooking up with a great owner, Junior gained some of the sport’s top racers as teammates. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon would now surround him on Sundays as teammates and not just fellow competitors.
The knowledge gained by sharing information from the six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson was priceless. The experience gained from watching NASCAR future Hall of Fame driver Jeff Gordon made all the difference.
After a few years of settling in the results were starting to show. The revamped racer not only got back to his competitive ways on the super speedways but started to become a force on the small ovals. Restoring a drivers confidence can make all the difference and this seems to be the case with Dale Jr. Since joining with Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, the #88 car’s speedster has qualified for the Chase in six different seasons. Before the move to the racing juggernaut he had only qualified twice, once in 2004 and again in 2006.
The odds-making gurus in Las Vegas seem to agree with my article. As of Wednesday, June 28th they have him as the favorite to drive on a claim his fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup win at Daytona. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a board topping 6/1 favorite.
