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NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Five Most Significant Wins

By Mike Hutton

May 3, 2015; Talladega, AL, USA; Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrates his victory in the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
May 3, 2015; Talladega, AL, USA; Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrates his victory in the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Number 1: Daytona International Speedway, July 2001

Significance: First win at Daytona, emotion of the series returning to the track for the first time since Dale Sr.’s death

Was there really any doubt about which win would be number 1?

At the series’ first visit back to the track that had tragically taken his father’s life just four-and-a-half months earlier, many first wondered how Dale Jr. would handle the event. Would he be overcome with emotion and unable to concentrate, or would he be determined to honor his late-father’s memory with a strong run?

Fortunately, the answer was quickly obvious.

While Sterling Marlin led a Dodge contingent and won the pole position and Dale qualified 13th and led 116 of the event’s 160 laps, passing six cars after a restart with just 5 laps remaining and using DEI teammate Michael Waltrip as a drafting partner to do so. The finish was quite ironic in that Dale Jr. was first and Michael second, just the opposite of where they had finished in February.

Unfortunately, the dominance shown by Dale Jr. that day, especially in the closing laps, led some to assert that the outcome was “fixed” due to the emotional nature of the race and how Daytona will never be the same to a whole lot of people ever again. Did Dale Jr. have a “special plate” given to him? Did race officials “look the other way” if the car was perhaps cheated-up and not say anything?

Crazy, ridiculous stuff, for sure.

Fortunately, all allegations of this type never materialized into formal complaints, and the story sort of died a natural death.

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The impact of this win was not only significant for Dale Jr., but was a remarkable moment in Sprint Cup series history as well.

The untimely death of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. in February, 2001 was one of those moments that NASCAR fans will always be able to answer, “where were you when….” to for the rest of their lives.

This win is in the same category.

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