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2008 Daytona 500: Earnhardt Jr.'s Race To Lose

by Josh Cagliani
02/16/2008

And the favorite is... Dale Earnhardt Jr.

If anyone thought Junior made a mistake by moving from his dad’s team to Hendrick Motorsports, they may need to rethink that position.

Junior will be the man to beat when the Daytona 500 rolls around on Sunday.

After a disappointing season last year in which he failed to make the Chase, Junior moves over to a team that has won seven championships on NASCAR’s biggest stage. That’s seven more championships than his previous owner has.

Junior will be joining Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears in a Hendrick stable that won 18 of the 36 races in 2007 and had the top two finishers in the final standings.

When the green flag waves on Sunday, Junior will be undefeated as a driver for HMS.

He won the Budweiser Shootout last Saturday in dominating fashion. He led 47 of the 70 laps in the race and looked unstoppable.

In the first qualifying race on Thursday, he led 25 of the 60 laps after dropping to the back of the field because of an engine change the day before. By the 18th lap he was leading the race and showing his strength. His pass of Ryan Newman with less than 10 laps to go, without any help, just adds to the likelihood of him winning the race on Sunday. By finishing first in the qualifying race, Junior will start third behind Johnson in the Daytona 500.

It’s obvious that Junior’s dad, the late Dale Earnhardt, taught him how to race on restrictor-plate tracks. Earnhardt Sr., arguably the most gifted restrictor-plate racer ever, has 11 wins in restrictor-plate races.

Junior is no slouch himself, compiling seven wins in restrictor-plate races. Tony Stewart went as far as saying Junior was as good as his dad at restrictor-plate racing, if not better. That means a lot coming from the guy many say is the best all-around driver in the sport.

While at Dale Earnhardt Inc., his former team, Junior was always a force to be reckoned with at Daytona. He won the summer Daytona race after his dad’s death in the 2001 Daytona 500, and he followed that up by winning the 2004 Daytona 500. In the same race his father died in, he finished second behind his teammate Michael Waltrip.

Despite all of that success, Junior decided to leave the company his father founded. It’s a well known fact that Junior and his stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt, didn’t see eye-to-eye when it came to running his father’s business, and that ultimately led to his move to HMS.

Junior knows how to win, and it’s hard to dispute it. He is a two-time Nationwide Series champion and has won 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup races. Even though he has never won a championship, he has finished in the top six in the points standing three times. The move to HMS will get him past that barrier and give him his best opportunity to win a championship.

He hasn’t won since the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway in May of 2006. That is exactly the reason why he should be favored to win the Daytona 500. He will be more determined than he’s ever been.

Standing in his way will be 42 other drivers. The biggest competition may come from his own teammates: Gordon and Johnson. They have won the Daytona 500 four times combined.

The other big threat will come from Joe Gibbs Racing. Tony Stewart finished second in both the Budweiser Shootout and the second qualifying race. Denny Hamlin, Stewart’s teammate, finished just ahead of Stewart in the same qualifying race. Both have proven to have a strong car and will be a factor in the race. Kyle Busch, who was replaced by Junior at HMS, will join Stewart and Hamlin to lead the Toyota cars.

Now that Junior is in the best equipment in the business, there is no reason that he won’t contend for the championship or the Daytona 500. So come Sunday, don’t be surprised to see him in victory lane for his second Daytona 500 win.