Earnhardt Jr.: Sometimes you have to be a jerk

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 National Guard-AnAmericanSalute/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet, waves to the crowd during driver introductions prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2012 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 National Guard-AnAmericanSalute/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet, waves to the crowd during driver introductions prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2012 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

NASCAR may have taken steps to curtail it, but let there be no doubt that that key to success at restrictor plates tracks involves working in tandem with someone else.

Kurt Busch provided a great example of that very notion Friday night at Daytona International Speedway when he won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race thanks in large part to a push coming to the finish line from defending series champion, Rickey Stenhouse Jr.

The tandem concept is also very familiar to Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt is enjoying a resurgence this season. After breaking a three year winless streak, Earnhardt won at Michigan and rolled into Daytona second in the series standings. Earnhardt was once an accomplished master of plate racing; he has five wins at Talladega including a season sweep in 2002. He also has two victories at Daytona, an emotional win in July 2001, and a Daytona 500 win in 2004. 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.