Home Sweet Home Alabama: Junior Dominates, Scores Emotional Talladega Victory

Dale Jr visits Talladega victory lane for the first time since 2004 (Google Images)

Dale Earnhardt was undoubtedly one of the best racers stock car racing will ever see. He would've turned 64 years old this past Wednesday, April 29th and at that age it's hard to imagine the Intimidator would still be behind the wheel (at least on a full-time basis anyway). Had his life and career not ended so suddenly in February 2001, who knows how many more races and championships he could have added to his already impressive totals of 76 victories and seven Winston Cup titles.

Earnhardt was successful everywhere he drove, but he was especially good at the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega. He scored 21 victories at Daytona, from qualifying races to the 40th installment of the Great American Race in 1998. He also won ten events at Talladega, including his final career victory on October 15, 2000 in the Winston 500.

To this day, Talladega is still known as Earnhardt Country, with fans turning out in droves to see the heir apparent, Dale Earnhardt Jr compete for victories like his father did. Legend has it that the elder Earnhardt was so unbeatable at 'Dega and Daytona because he could see the air coming off the car in front of him. While that may or may not be true, it appears that his son inherited that same gift because he has five wins and eight wins at these tracks respectively. But while Junior won his second Daytona 500 last season and his Daytona 500 qualifying race this year, success at Talladega has eluded him lately. Going into Sunday's race, his last win at the Alabama track came in October 2004 and he only had 11 top 20 finishes in the 20  races since then. Not a bad average, but for someone who won every race Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway from October 2001 to April 2003, finished second in the next two events and scored a fifth win in the next race, you'd expect a little more consistency from the driver once known as the Pied Piper.

Junior maintained he had the fastest car during Speedweeks this year and with a third place finish in the Daytona 500 after winning his Duel 150 qualifying race, there was little reason t doubt him. But would that success transfer over to Talladega? Could Junior score a win on the weekend of his father's birthday?



Fueling issues start a fire in Ryan Newman's pit box (Google Images)

It was an all Hendrick front row with Jeff Gordon scoring the pole (surprise!) flanked by teammate Kasey Kahne. Ryan Blaney started third in the famous Wood Brothers No. 21 car and next to him was Junior's No. 88. The race started smoothly, but it didn't take long for things to get hectic.

On lap 20, Brian Scott's No. 33 Chevy lost a motor exiting the tri oval, heading towards turn one. Scott was running at the back of the field, so none of the leaders were collected. However, Michael Waltrip wasn't so lucky. He hit the snail trail of oil left by Scott's car and couldn't slow down enough, sending his No. 55 Camry head on into Scott's Chevy and ending any chance the 2003 Talladega winner had of winning second race there.

The race was dominated by Hendrick powered cars, which meant it was smooth sailing for the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers and Stewart-Haas Racing drivers. However, the Chevrolets in the Richard Childress Racing camp had a much rougher go of it.

After a huge fire engulfed Brendan Gaughan's pit box and sent two of his crew members to the hospital after last week's XFINITY Series race in Richmond, a fire in Ryan Newman's box provided a scary sequel and highlighted a problem that RCR is clearly having with either the nozzles of their fuel cans or the fuel intakes on their race cars. It is imperative that the head of the gas cans form a tight seal against the fuel intakes on each car because if they don't it can cause a fuel leak. And if that fuel comes into contact with one of the hot lug nuts that come off those old tires during a pit stop, it can lead to a gigantic fireball and a very dangerous situation for any pit crew within spitting distance.

RCR's misfortunes would continue when on lap 159 Austin Dillon would lose a motor in a big way. He was just past the start finish line when his engine imploded and the No. 3 Chevy caught fire. Spotter Andy Houston made a heads up call and told his driver to stop by the entrance gate where the fire truck and track safety crews could get to Dillon as quickly as possible. It might have been the weekend after Dale Earnhardt's birthday, but the car that bears his famous No. 3 would not have the same luck he had at Talladega.

But meanwhile, at the front of the field, his son was having a field day. Junior was putting on a clinic, leading a race high 67 laps. His HMS teammates Jimmie Johnson and Gordon led a total of 50 and 47 laps respectively. Many people thought Earnhardt Jr's past success at plate tracks was because of his former team's dominance on superspeedways. Dale Earnhardt Incorporated was the team to beat at Daytona an Talladega in the early 2000's. However, DEI's last plate win was also Junior's last plate win in a DEI car; that Talladega victory in 2004. Since moving to Hendrick Motor

Dale Jr salutes the fans and his father by holding up three fingers after
his win Sunday (Google Images)

sports in 2008, Junior has won a couple Bud Shootouts, a couple of Budweiser Duel races, last year's Daytona 500 and a big time victory in a retro Wrangler No. 3 car in the July XFINITY race at Daytona in 2010. Clearly it wasn't just the equipment that led him to victory lane, but the consistency he had in the No. 8 wasn't there in the No. 88.

This was one of Jr's best shots to win at 'Dega in a while and it wasn't going to be easy. The big one that started with Trevor Bayne's small wiggle on lap 48 made sure that the action. The wreck collected some good cars; his Roush teammates Greg Biffle and Ricky Stenhouse Jr, as well as Danica Patrick, Joey Logano, David Ragan and Kevin Harvick among others.

But through all the carnage, mechanical issues, and trash on his grille, Junior led the pack around the track that was once his personal playground for the final 27 circuits and claimed the win in Sunday's Geico 500. His motor was hot because the garbage on the nose of his car caused his water and oil temperatures to skyrocket so he didn't do burnouts. Instead, NASCAR's most popular driver did what he did when he won the 500 last year. Instead, he performed what former driver Alan Kulwicki dubbed as the "Polish Victory Lap." Junior turned his car around to face the fans, drove backwards down the frontstretch, waved out the window and saluted the fans and his father by holding up three fingers. It was clear to see that this win meant a great deal and he was overcome with emotion in victory lane. It's always refreshing to see Dale Jr win for just that reason; he's always excited and appreciative of each and every win, especially his victories the last few seasons.

This weekend, it's time for the Sprint Cup Series drivers to drop on the deck and flop like a fish as they hit Kansas Speedway for the SpongeBob Squarepants 400. The race will kick off Mother's Day weekend on Saturday May 9th at 7:30 pm/et on Fox Sports 1. Will Junior be able to win back to back races or would he be better off taking a class at Mrs. Puff's Boating School? Tune in Saturday night to find out.