Dale Earnhardt Jr. scores emotional win at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 26: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 National Guard Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 26, 2014 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jonathan Moore/Getty Images)
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MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 26:  Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 National Guard Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 26, 2014 in Martinsville, Virginia.  (Photo by Jonathan Moore/Getty Images)
MARTINSVILLE, VA – OCTOBER 26: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 National Guard Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 26, 2014 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jonathan Moore/Getty Images)

MARTINSVILLE VA. – Seven days after perhaps the most disappointing day of his career, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was able to celebrate a career first. Earnhardt held off his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon Sunday at Martinsville Speedway to score his first win at NASCAR’s smallest track.

A week prior, Earnhardt was eliminated from championship contention at Talladega Superspeedway; Sunday Earnhardt was overjoyed as he celebrated in victory lane.

“We’ve been trying to win here for so many years,” Earnhardt said. “And this place is so special to me. I’ve wanted to win here so bad. We brought the good cars. I’m out of breath from celebrating more than driving….”

“It’s a real emotional win,” Earnhardt said.MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. 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.