Earlier tonight, Dale Earnahrdt Jr. won for the first time since 2008 and this may be one of the biggest races he has ever won. It had been 85 points races since "Little E" had won a NASCAR race. The drought is officially over. In somewhat dominating fashion, he was able to lead the pack and win the Subway Jalapeno 250.
Driving the famed #3 Wrangler Chevrolet, Earnhardt won at the famed Daytona International Speedway. He wanted to honor his father, Dale Sr., who died in a wreck at the very same race track in 2001. This was his first win since Michigan in 2008, and first Nationwide Series win since Michigan in 2006.
Earnhardt was happy to win the race, but really didn't show his excitement that many people expected.He mentioned in an interview after the race, "I was just relieved. Victory Lane's like when you're a little kid and you've got a tree house or you and your buddies got a clubhouse in the woods. That's what Victory Lane is to me, and I like going there. You miss it really bad, but you know it's there and you can get back there again if you try really hard. It's not gone, but it's very difficult to get into. Every time I win, I just soak it up like a sponge."
Shortly thereafter, Earnhardt continued in his interview and said, perhaps, the best quote all night. He stated, "I was so worried that I wasn't going to win, because nothing but winning was good enough. If you didn't win, what a waste of time. I worked hard to try to win it, not only for Daddy, I am proud of him going into the Hall of Fame, and he would be proud of this, I'm sure. Just all his fans. He had so many great fans. Not just mine. This is for his fans. Hopefully, they enjoyed this."
Junior agreed to drive the famed #3 Wrangler Chevrolet earlier this year in hopes of promoting his father's legacy after he was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in May. His father is known as one of the greatest drivers ever and is sharing the all time record for most championships with Richard Petty. Both drivers have seven championships each. Dale Earnhardt Sr was known as an intimidating force on the NASCAR scene and compiled many love and hate relationships with not just fans, but drivers, analysts, and writers. However, Earnhardt died on February 18, 2001 in a wreck with Ken Schrader. His legacy has lived on in his son and many fans had hoped that Junior would become the great driver that his father was. He has not really lived up to expectations and has not won a single championship in the Sprint Cup Series. He is a good driver, but he could really never live in his father's shadow.
This is the last time that Junior will drive the #3 car. I wouldn't necessarily say that the number deserves to be retired, but the number should only be driven selectively throughout each season. And if somehow, the number is retired, Richard Petty's #43 should be retired, too. I consider Petty the best driver of all-time, winning seven championships and 200 races. I feel that many people consider Earnhardt the better driver, but in reality he isn't. I'm not taking anything away from Senior - he was a very good driver and deserves all the respect he warrants in the sport.
Earnhardt took the lead with 26 laps to go during pit stops. His fans stood on their feet and some have possibly never screamed so hard in their lives. Earnhardt probably has the biggest fan base in NASCAR, and after not winning since 2008, most were overly anticipating tonight's race.
Some people thought, including Junior, that he would not win the race after Paul Menard blew a tire with four laps to go in the race. Getting drafting help from youngster, Joey Logano, Earnhardt helped equalize the field and hold on to win the race. He was relieved to finally bring the #3 back to victory lane.
Earnhardt's helper for the night, Logano, finished 2nd in the race and felt that if he passed Earnhardt for the win, many fans would hate him forever. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brad Keselowski, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the Top 5. The winner in this race last year, Clint Bowyer, finished in 6th. Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Brian Ickler, and Steve Arpin were the other drivers in the next four spots.
This can very well be one of Junior's most popular wins ever. Many fans had waited a long time to finally see the #3 win again. It is also perhaps the most popular win in NASCAR's three top divisions this year.
I, for one, was not a big fan of Senior's style of racing, but I appreciated the fact that he contributed to NASCAR in more ways than one. He was a true legend of this sport and deserves praise for all that he had accomplished. NASCAR, financially, has missed Dale Sr since his death, as he added many seats to each race. Throughout the United States, fans still support Senior with weird things like the #3 tattoo, or something simple like tee shirts and jackets.
I'm happy that Dale Jr won tonight, as it meant a lot to not only himself, but his fans and NASCAR. This was a very impressive win and couldn't have come at a better track. I applaude him, as it is a very difficult race to win. I wouldn't say he deserved to win the race or that it was "fixed", but he had the best car all night and he should have won irregardless. I also consider tonight's race the most exciting of the year and it will forever live in inphamy. Congratulations, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
