Auto Racing

'Dega slump: Junior's struggles at superspeedway odd

By Bran Strickland
Sports Editor

10-03-2008

More puzzling than Dale Earnhardt's lack of victories recently is his lack of wins at Talladega in the past few years. Photo: Reed Hoffmann/Associated Press/File

TALLADEGA — A lot was made about Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s recently-broken winless streak.

The drought lasted 76 races and was finally broken on Father's Day at Michigan International Speedway.

But Junior is also in the midst of another slump — this one, perhaps, of far greater magnitude with respect to his accomplishments.

Not since the 2004 October race has Earnhardt turned right into victory lane at the completion of a Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway. At the moment, it has taken Earnhardt longer to get back into victory lane than it took him to get there the first time.

And it's not as though the drought has come at any old stop on the circuit. It's at a place that holds a special place in his heart.

"I don't think everyone gets that sensation going into the race, but to me it's a pretty important place just 'cause my family's done so well there," he said. "And the way the fans treat us there, make it exciting, make it a place you look forward to."

That has been the case for Earnhardt more often than not at Talladega's. Starting after his last win at the 2.66-mile tri-oval, Earnhardt has had a miserable — by his standards — string of finishes.

He's had two Top 10s, but two finishes of 40th and two more outside the Top 20.

All before that though, he was money. Well, money before this economy.

In his debut, Earnhardt finished a career-worst 42nd, but then started to rise. With consecutive 14th- and eighth-place finishes, he started a run in the 2001 October race of seven races where he either won or finished second, gathering five wins along the way.

"I mean, I probably left that racetrack just as angry as anybody else," Earnhardt said. "I mean, it doesn't always give you what you want."

A win now would certainly help his standing in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings. Earnhardt is eighth, with six races remaining in the season. He says the team pretty much has a go-for-broke attitude, but that they can't really take any more chances than they're already taking.

"I think you just have to try to win the race," he said. "You just have to go out there and try to win it. The only way to really gain points on anybody right now, for anybody who's outside of the top five in points, is to be first when the checkered flag falls."

The reason for his recent problems at Talladega are unknown, and it's tough to blame them on any one certain thing.

After leaving Dale Earnhardt, Inc. — the company his father started — he came on board with Hendrick Motorsports, thought by some to have a death grip on the keys to victory at Talladega. Hendrick has won four of the past five races at Talladega Superspeedway and seven of the past nine.

With that equipment at his disposal, Junior responded with a 10th-place finish.

During that Hendrick run, the Car of Tomorrow was introduced to the track. Earnhardt had controlled things with the Car of Yesterday, or the Monte Carlo, and says that the two cars do react differently on the high banks. Especially in the most important part to Talladega — the draft.

"It drafts a little bit differently," he said. "You can do things a little bit differently with the way the car's bumpers match up. You can draft a little bit harder with each other through the corner, all the way around the racetrack.

"We're still kind of understanding the nuances of the car, how to make it work, what it likes the best."

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