Ranking Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Restrictor-Plate Wins
By Aaron Hale
2015 Geico 500
The king of Talladega finally made it back to victory lane in the 2015 running of the Geico 500. Prior to 2015 Earnhardt Jr.’s last visit to lane at Talladega was in the spring of 2004. Since his win in 2004 Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second twice but endured numerous finishes outside the top ten. Nine finishes were even outside the top 20 including both races in 2014.
While Earnhardt Jr. and his fans always knew he had what it took to win at Talladega this win proved it to everyone once again. Throughout the afternoon Hendrick Motorsports was clearly the class of the field. Earnhardt Jr. and teammate Jimmie Johnson combined to lead 117 of 188 laps including the final 27 by Dale Earnhardt Jr..
On the final lap a crash on the backstretch thinned out the field. Jimmie Johnson found himself defending his second place position from Denny Hamlin and a hard charging Paul Menard. All the battling for second place allowed Earnhardt Jr. stretch out his lead and resulted in his sixth win at Talladega.