Say what you want about Dale Earnhardt, Jr. but he is one of the best restrictor plate racers in all of NASCAR and one of the NASCAR betting favorites to win the 2012 Daytona 500.
Dale Jr. is coming off an impressive rebound season in which he finished 7th in the final standings. It was an impressive comeback after he fell back in the standings in 2009 and 2010. Earnhardt and his Rick Hendrick team believe that they are poised for a run to Sprint Cup Glory in 2012.
It all begins at the Daytona 500, however, and Dale Jr. has emulated his late great father Dale in being one of the most impressive and dominant restrictor plate drivers on the NASCAR circuit. Dale Jr. won the 2001 mid-summer race at Daytona which was one of the most memorable events in NASCAR history as it was just 5 months after his father was killed on that track in a last lap crash into the wall. Dale Jr. was also the winner of the 2004 Daytona 500 and finished 2nd in the “Great American Race” in 2010. Dale Jr. has a total of 7 career wins at superspeedways and has 28 top ten finishes at such tracks.
Earnhardt’s career was considered to be in question in 2010 when he fell off the map to finish 21st in total points as he was coming off a 2009 season in which he was 25th in the final standings. Last year was Earnhardt’s 4th with Hendrick Racing, where his father reached superstar Hall of Fame status. But Rick Hendrick does not field race teams that are meant to finish in the middle of the standings as he has dominant champion drivers such as Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon in his powerhouse stable of drivers and so last year he paired Dale Jr. with crew chief Steve Letarte and the results were impressive.
It has been a tough career for Dale Jr. as he has faced the stigma of being the son of the famous number 3 who broke into the NASCAR circuit as a member of family owned Earnhardt Racing. He eventually had to leave the organization due to a falling out with his step mother and has yet to win a Sprint Cup Championship. But Dale Jr. has impressed even his critics with his class and willingness to rise from the back of the pack and he is a definite threat to win this year’s Daytona 500.