Dale Earnhardt Jr. is in a position that is rare for him. As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series prepares to awaken from a week off and head to Martinsville Speedway, NASCAR’s most popular driver leads the Sprint Cup point standings thanks in large part to three top five finishes in the first five races of the 2013 season.
His second place finish in the last race at Auto Club Speedway vaulted him into the NASCAR Sprint Cup points lead for the first time since August of last year. It marks the first time that the series’ most popular driver has led the points in consecutive seasons.
But Earnhardt has never won at Martinsville; he’s been hot and cold at NASCAR’s smallest track. In this race last year Earnhardt finished third. But in the fall event he came home 21.
Tuesday Earnhardt met with the media and talked about heading to Martinsville this weekend, among other subjects. 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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