Earnhardt hoping for Darlington breakthrough in his final season
DARLINGTON, S.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. is preparing for the end of his NASCAR career and understands it likely won’t finish the way he hoped when he returned from injury this season.
Earnhardt, the most popular driver in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, is 22nd in points and far outside the playoffs. Given the way his season’s gone, Earnhardt accepts he’d need a miraculous finish to chase a title before he’s done as a fulltime racer.
“I mean, it will either work out for us or it won’t,” Earnhardt said. “I have been in this situation before and I have certainly come to terms with how my season has went. Am I happy about it? No. Am I satisfied? No. What we are as a team (is) trying to steer ourselves in the right direction positively.”
That starts Sunday night at the Southern 500. It’s a track Earnhardt is fond of — and which now has a luxury suite section, “Earnhardt Towers,” dedicated to himself and his late father — even though he’s without a victory at the track “Too Tough To Tame” since first coming here as an Xfinity driver in 1998. His best finish was a second in the Southern 500 to Kevin Harvick in 2014.
“It’s really rewarding when you get it right. And if you don’t get it right it’s a long weekend really for anybody outside the top three,” Earnhardt said.
Those most likely to get it right Sunday night are defending Darlington champion and series points leader Martin Truex Jr., Bristol winner Kyle Busch, who won here in 2008; and Jimmie Johnson, a threetime winner this year seeking his first Darlington win since 2012.
Harvick won the pole Saturday, holding off Truex in second and Kyle Busch in third. Earnhardt will start his final Darlington race in 22nd. Don’t expect racers on or near the cut line — Chase Elliott, Matt Kenseth and Jamie McMurray are the final three in the 16team playoffs without a win — to take too many risks since Darlington and Richmond are so dependent on fresh, new tires.
“There’s not going to be any
amazing (pit) calls here,” McMurray said.
It was only a year ago, Earnhardt came to Darlington as an injured racer, updating the world on his progress at dealing with symptoms and vowing to come back. He had a final test last December that showed he had recovered and NASCAR gave Earnhardt the green light to return. In April Earnhardt announced his retirement at the end of what he anticipated would be a final championship try.