NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Five Most Significant Wins
By Mike Hutton
Number 5: Talladega Superspeedway, October 2001
Significance: First of 6 Talladega wins to date, starting to establish his strength on restrictor-plate tracks
While this race is sometimes remembered for it’s wild last-lap crash in which Bobby Labonte got upside down and pinballed off of most of the field down the backstretch, it was Dale Jr. who captured the most important headline that day – the win. This race also began a streak of four consecutive Talladega wins (and 5 of 7… he finished 2nd in the other two) for Junior, and coming on the heels of his win at Daytona in July, began the run that established his restrictor-plate prowess.
Dale led a race-high 67 laps en-route to the win, in a race that saw him capture the “No Bull 5” million-dollar bonus one year after his late father did it in the same race. Following post-race inspection, Earnhardt was docked 25 points by NASCAR for having a rear spoiler that had been shortened.
Next: #4 - Michigan, June 2012