Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hoping To Find His Old Talladega Magic

In 2004, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in the thick of a championship battle when he cussed in a Talladega Victory Lane interview and was subsequently fined by NASCAR.

It seems hard to believe that in today’s NASCAR, a simple curse word could result in a 25-point penalty – especially with a title race on the line. Certainly, much time has passed since then.

So why do we mention that 2004 Talladega race?

Because as hard as it may be to believe, that’s the last time Earnhardt Jr. won at ‘Dega, the capital of Junior Nation where the Earnhardt family has long ruled.

Though Earnhardt Jr. has won five times at Talladega, it’s been 11 races since his last victory - a stretch during which has only three top-10s here.

Earnhardt Jr. once went seven straight Talladega races with a top-two finish, including four straight wins. Is this the weekend he recaptures his Talladega magic?

“I always like coming here,” he said after qualifying sixth. “It’s a fun track, and we’ve got a pretty good car. We normally bring a pretty good one here. I’ve had a couple chances at being in the mix there in the last few, and we’ve just had some things happen. Hopefully we’ll have the opportunity to make it right this time.”

Earnhardt Jr. has led laps in all but two of his 21 career Talladega races, and has long been known as a master of restrictor-plate racing. But he said after Martinsville that the racing has changed since the introduction of the COT, and said he needs to figure out how to get out front at the end.

His basic philosophy on restrictor-plate racing hasn’t changed, though.

“When you’re running along in the middle part of the race and you want to change lanes, there’s a checklist you run through that happens really quick,” he said. “You’re looking in the mirror, you make sure the coast is clear. That checklist is gone at the end of the race with 10 to go.

“You make moves depending upon your instincts – and sometimes, your instincts aren’t always right.”

Earnhardt Jr. is hoping Talladega continues the momentum from his strong Martinsville run and carries through for the final three races – Texas, Phoenix and Homestead.

“We ran good at Texas the last time we were there,” he said. “Phoenix is something we need to work on. We tested at Homestead with Goodyear, so hopefully that’ll help me get there and do a little bit better. We had a good car there last year until I drove in the fence about three times. It could end on some good notes here.”

At this point, after a disappointing season, is Earnhardt Jr. ready for the offseason?

“Not really,” he said. “Gets kind of boring sitting around in December. Everybody assumes you’ve got a lot of free time, so they want to put you to work doing something you’d rather not be doing. If I can keep driving cars all winter, that’d be fine with me.”