TALLADEGA TO DECIDE EARNHARDT’S FATE
Strong track record in plate races gives driver confidence
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Chase for the Sprint Cup survival comes down to Talladega Superspeedway.
The good news is throughout his career he has been a savant of the aerodynamics-dependent form of restrictor-plate racing that dictates competition on the 2.66-mile track. The bad news is the long trains of cars traversing the high banks of the rural Alabama track, with drivers forming and breaking alliances and attempting to avoid inevitable mass wrecks, often equalize the field, yielding unusual winners.
There’s no doubt the Hendrick Motorsports driver is talented in the regimen, but his recent success — winning at Talladega this spring and at its sister track, Daytona International Speedway, this summer — is no indicator of a season-saving victory Sunday.
“I wouldn’t rather be going anywhere else than Talladega for the next race if we need a win,” Earnhardt said after finishing 21st Sunday at Kansas Speedway. “That is a good opportunity for us. Even over Daytona, I think we can go to Talladega and do the job.
“There is a little more room there to be aggressive and make the moves you need to make. I got the car. That car won the 125 (qualifying race at Daytona), ran third in the (Daytona) 500 and won Talladega and won Daytona (in the summer). That is a goodenough car.”
A win streak on 1.5-mile tracks or short tracks is something to foster hope. It’s more predictable, more repeatable.
Winning three plate races in one season, no matter the quality of the car or the driver, might be too much to ask for, even for a driver who has claimed 10 of his 25 career victories at Talladega and Daytona. He has never won three of four plate races in a single season.
“We have a car that can win there,” Earnhardt said. “We will go there and try to do the job. It’s all we can do.”
“I wouldn’t rather be going anywhere else than Talladega.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.