Dale Earnhardt Jr. needs Talladega win to remain in Chase playoff

Buried in points after back-to-back subpar finishes, Dale Earnhardt Jr. fully understands he’s in a must-win position Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway if he’s to advance in the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff.

But while Talladega, a restrictor-plate track, isn’t regarded favorably by many within the garage due to its propensity for instigating multi-car wrecks due to a driver’s inability to separate from the pack, Earnhardt holds the opposite viewpoint.

“When we come to all the plate tracks we feel confident we can do well and feel confident in the car,” Earnhardt said Friday. “The confidence that you have in the car is really where it all stems from.

“When you don’t believe in the car, you make different decisions. You might not go in a direction you would typically go because you don’t believe the car is capable of making that move without causing you to lose spots, right? When you feel like you have a dominant car like we’ve had over the last several years, you definitely make some moves with confidence and you come into the race with confidence. Until we see anything different, we’ll be confident.”

Earnhardt is a six-time Talladega winner, including the spring event this year when he led a race-high 67 laps and the final 27 circuits, and his family has a rich history on the Alabama speedway. His father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., won a track-best 10 races and is considered one of the greatest at navigating the nuances of restrictor-plate racing.

Earnhardt Sr., who was killed when he crashed on the white flag lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, recorded his final Cup Series victory in the 2000 fall Talladega race. That race saw Earnhardt mount a memorable charge from 18th to the lead over the final five laps, a rally aided by Kenny Wallace acting as Earnhardt’s drafting partner.

“It was a hell of a comeback,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “And it’s great for Kenny Wallace. He seems to really enjoy being a part of that story; and he’s such a great guy and he had a lot of respect for dad.”

Earnhardt Jr. will need to conjure some family Talladega magic Sunday if wants to remain eligible for the championship. He is 31 points behind Martin Truex Jr. for the eighth and final transfer position to qualify for the Chase’s third round. That deficit is virtually insurmountable, meaning Earnhardt will in all likelihood need to win, which earns a driver automatic advancement.

His strategy entering the CampingWorld.com 500 is to follow the same game plan he employed in May. Because passing was difficult, Earnhardt made it a point to stay up front where he could control the draft and stymie any attempts to maneuver around him.

“I need to be in the lead with 30 or 20 to go to have a really, really good shot at it,” Earnhardt said. “If not, it’s going to be a bit more difficult task to get that lead. It’s just really difficult to pass the leader. And he’s probably going to be a strong car if he’s got the lead. So, it will be tough to get around him. They’ll be trying to do everything they can to hold it.

“I’d love to lead the last 30 straight. So, we’ll see how it goes.”