Dale Earnhardt Jr. visited victory lane at Darlington Raceway for the Hendrick Motorsports 200th win celebration but the last time he drove his own car into any victory lane is approaching four years in June. Jimmie Johnson has amassed more than 20 wins since Dale Jr. last won a race and Johnson's win in Darlington may be enough to get the No. 88 team off the schnide.
In fact, since Dale Jr. joined Hendrick Motorsports he has only won one race, the Father's Day race at Michigan June 15, 2008. Being a well-respected NASCAR Sprint Cup driver is one thing but being unable to win a race in four years is beginning to make Rick Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. look like a failed project.
Earnhardt's best season came in 2004 when he won six races but since that incredible season, he has failed to win more than one race in a single season. Despite the years of failure, Earnhardt is still by far the most popular driver on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit.
This season could be different for the resurgent Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Jr. is third in the points after a less than stellar 17th-place finish at Darlington Raceway. Next on the agenda for Dale Jr. and the No. 88 team is the Sprint All-Star race but the Coca Cola 600 is a perfect opportunity for the team to take a shot at the top spot in the points.
Dale Jr. has never won the race but his father and Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have dominated the race in the past. Another track that could be good for Dale Jr. is Pocono in a few weeks and then the track he last won a race, Michigan International Speedway.
Does Dale Jr. have to win before the NASCAR Chase begins? No but we have noticed the driver that gets hot in the Chase is the driver who wins the title. Dale Jr. needs to break his winless streak by September or this will be another long and lonely winter for the most popular driver in NASCAR.
The combination of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve LeTarte is beginning to take the form of a championship team and despite Dale Jr.'s errors in judgments in the past, this season is taking on the look of a championship season. Don't be surprised if Dale Earnhardt Jr. is standing on top when the checkered flag falls on the last race of the season in Homestead.









