It doesn't feel like Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s first Daytona 500 victory was ten years ago. Nor does it feel as the third-generation NASCAR star is going to be turning 40 years old this October but both statements are true.
Other facts that are true about Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s second Daytona 500 victory last night are it was his first win in fifty-five races, dating back to Michigan in June 2012. It is Earnhardt, Jr.'s first points-paying restrictor plate race win since Talladega in October 2004, when he was driving the #8 red Budweiser Chevrolet, a number-color-sponsor combination that was as arguably as well known in NASCAR as his father's black #3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet.
Ten years ago, Jimmie Johnson had yet to win a championship, Brad Keselowski was still a few weeks away from making his Truck series debut, Toyota had just entered the Truck series and Rockingham had a place on the schedule. A lot has changed in a decade.
For ten years it seemed everyone would look at Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as what could have been. He surely had the talent as was seen with back-to-back then-Busch Series championships, winning the All-Star Race as a rookie to winning six wins in 2004 including a Daytona 500 victory. After that career year though in 2004, everything seemed to be going down hill. He struggle with crew chief changes in 2005, winning only one race and not making the Chase, recovered slightly in 2006 but the divide between him and his stepmother Teresa became the headline and ultimately would lead to the downfall of the team his father founded, Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
The move to Hendrick Motorsports was going to be the springboard for Earnhardt, Jr. and that seemed highly likely as he start 2008 with wins in the shootout and duel. That wasn't the case though. He would win at Michigan that first season but wouldn't finish in the top ten in points until his fourth season with the team and after two seasons finishing outside the top twenty in points. He wouldn't win another race with the team until four years later, once again at Michigan.
The shadow casted over Earnhardt, Jr. was large from the beginning. His father's death turned the shadow into an expectation to pick up where he left off. Race wins were suppose to be a given for him. Championships would pile up. But the expectations were more than just on-track successes. It was to be his father. Intimidate, move guys out of the way, create enemies, drive the #3. The expectations were unreasonable.
If anything, the poor results were good for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. because it made people realize he was never going to be his father. The expectations to match seven titles, seventy-six victories, the nickname, the rivalries, the legacy were gone.
The expectations are now to be Dale Earnhardt, Jr. What does that really mean? I don't really know. Running consistently at the front. Driving clean. Working with teammates. Taking a poor qualifying run and turning it into a top ten.
The most startling fact to me from last night is Earnhardt, Jr. hasn't won multiple races in a season since 2004. In his first five seasons, he won fifteen races. In his next nine seasons, he has amassed five victories but Earnhardt, Jr. has been turning it around. Last year, he set a personal best for with twenty-two top ten finishes and had five runner-up finishes, including in the Daytona 500. He finished fifth in the standings, only one point back of Kyle Busch for fourth.
After watching last night, Earnhardt, Jr. appears to be a mixture of where he was ten years ago with a new sense of confidence. He appears to be happy driver, more than capable of running at the front of the field but now he seems to know exactly what he and his team has to do to reach the mountain top. Granted, the format has changed to where Earnhardt, Jr. is a sure lock for the Chase and he won't drive another meaningful race until Chicagoland on September 14 but expect Earnhardt, Jr. to pick up where he left off at the end of 2013. Constantly at the front and constantly in position to get victories.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
