Dale Earnhardt Jr. broke out the broom in Pocono, sweeping both NASCAR Sprint Cup races at the tricky triangle, and just like that, in case anyone forgot, he thrusted his name right into the forefront of the championship race. A season that started off with an all-day affair in Daytona that ended with Junior taking the checkered flag in the sport’s biggest race, has now culminated in the sport’s most popular driver having his best ever chance at that elusive title that his legendary father won seven times.
Recently it was a huge deal when Junior won a Sprint Cup race. Not anymore. This past Sunday marked his third win of the season and put him in a three-way tie with Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski for the top seed in the Chase with just five races remaining until NASCAR’s version of the playoffs. In the Pocono mountains, fans still celebrated with the kind of vigor not seen for anyone else in the sport, but not because seeing Junior in victory lane is rare in 2014, but because he is a legitimate contender for the first time in quite a while. At least for the first time since Rick Hendrick brought him over in 2007 from the team his father established.
When Dale Jr. signed on to drive the #88 National Guard Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, it was a huge story. Perhaps the biggest story since Dale Earnhardt Sr. passed away while driving in the 2002 Daytona 500. But after winning the ’08 Bud Shootout in his first race with the team, Junior’s struggles began. His only points-paying win that year was a fuel mileage race at Michigan. He would not win in 2009 or 2010, finishing 25th and 21st in the points standings in those years respectively. He still had legions of fans that were with him no matter what, but there were a bunch of critics who piled on and starting pulling out the “he’s only in Sprint Cup because of his last name” card. There were whispers that Junior had trouble telling his cousin and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. what was wrong with his car at times. Out went Eury Jr, in came Lance McGrew. Out went Lance McGrew and in came Steve Letarte for the 2011 season. Even though the team still did not win any races he qualified for the Chase and finished seventh. Junior and Letarte began to mesh and for the first time ever with Hendrick, Dale did not feel like the weight of the NASCAR world was on his shoulders.
“(Rick) had every right in the world to replace me with another driver and nobody would have said a thing about it,” Junior said after the GoBowling.com 400. “We weren’t running good enough and it would have made perfect sense to everybody if he had went that route.”
Now, Junior is not only having one of his best seasons ever, but as he approaches 40, it seems like he is the happiest he’s ever been. He is dating Amy Reimann, who he has not been shy about bringing out onto pit road for races after she initially stayed on the infield RV. He is tweeting almost every day including hilarious photos of what he buys at the grocery store and empty beer refridgerators after victory celebrations. After Sunday’s win, Earnhardt actually went as far as to say that Reimann is now #2 on his list of priorities behind his beloved Washington Redskins. That kind of comment may put most men in the doghouse, but it brought tears to Reimann’s eyes in the media center, as she realized how much more open Junior has been about his personal life with her involved and how hard it was for him to admit that someone has won his heart.
Junior Nation is a pretty large contingent of fans. The driver is beloved by at least 80% of the fanbase at every track he goes to. As the Chase for the Sprint Cup draws closer, the most popular driver will not need any additional fans on the already crowded bandwagon. But everyone who has even a small part in NASCAR and auto racing will be rooting for him. Junior needs this. NASCAR needs this. It is his time.
(Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
Speed For Thought 