Any of the sting Dale Earnhardt Jr. felt after being eliminated from Chase contention was no doubt eased a bit after Sunday’s somewhat unexpected victory at Martinsville Speedway. NASCAR’s most popular driver had never won at NASCAR’s smallest track in 30 starts; his best finish was second, twice, the last one coming in 2011. Sunday however, he led 79 of the 500 laps including the last three to win his fourth race of the season and the 24th of his career.
“We love winning races,” said Earnhardt, Jr. “Winning races is the best thing.”
“I’ve wanted that grandfather clock ever since I was a little boy and I got it today,” he added. “My team, we all came together and made it happen. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Sunday night Earnhardt was able to celebrate that first win. 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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