The win the world of NASCAR has been waiting for...
The win NASCAR wanted...
The win NASCAR needed...
Dale Earnhardt Jr has finally ended his winless streak!
In a year of lacklustre racing including average races at the newly repaved Pocono and Michigan, NASCAR needed a new headline, something to change the subject, and the sports most popular driver has given them just that.
The win shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, after all the 88 team has been consistant all year. The only surprise is that they have been consistantly good and with the Sprint Cup season being so long consistancy is no bad thing.
Take Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson, neither of whom have had solid, consistant years so far. Race wins... Yes... Consistancy... No... This is why Dale Jr is now second in points, not race wins but consistancy.
Will we have to wait another four years for the 88 to win again? Well I for one hope not, but equally I think not, as long as he can maintain the consistancy.
The first hurdle for the 88 to overcome is carrying the confidence and the form into the next oval race regardless of what happens at this weeks Sonoma (Sears Point to me) road course race. The road courses are the wild card races in the schedule where anything can and probably will happen. Again a solid, consistant day will do for the 88 this weekend and the heat can be turned up again when the ovals return after that.
Is Dale Jr in with a shot at the title? As I said he is second in the points standings, but its too early to tell. After what hapened last season we will have to wait until after the first two Chase races are in the books to have that conversation.
All I can say at this time is well done to the 88 team. They deserved the win regardless of what you might think of the driver, the surname on the car or what has happened over the past few years...
And to Dale Jr...
With the racing the way it is at the moment, as the sports "poster boy" NASCAR needs you now more than ever...
Don't go too far...
