He may be NASCAR’s most popular driver, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t exactly been a shining star on track at Hendrick Motorsports. Since joining the organization, Earnhardt has won a single points paying race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, that coming in 2008 For most of his 4 year tenure at the NASCAR powerhouse, Earnhardt has been the follower, the forgotten stepchild, while his teammates have won races and championships.
Suddenly though, Earnhardt has become the leader of the pack. So far this season Earnhardt has three top five finishes while his teammates have been barely a blip on the NASCAR radar.
Jimmie Johnson is the closest to Earnhardt having scored two top five finishes. Johnson is currently 10th in points. Jeff Gordon has just one top ten finish and is 21st in the standings, while the newest member of the Hendrick team, Kasey Kahne, has yet to a score a top ten finish and is buried in 31st in points. MORE>>>
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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