Dale Earnhardt Jr. seeking to recapture Talladega mojo

There was a time when Dale Earnhardt Jr. ruled Talladega Superspeedway like his own personal fiefdom. In a seven-race span on the track where his status as NASCAR’s most popular driver is most prevalent, he went to victory lane five times -- including four times in a row.

It was a run of domination that simply isn’t supposed to happen at Talladega or at its companion venue, Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR’s pair of restrictor-plate tracks. On these tracks, the playing field is leveled by restricting airflow to the engine, giving no driver a distinct horsepower advantage over another.

If racing at Talladega is about strategy and is the equivalent to a game of chess, then Earnhardt from 2001-04 was the chess master. If the way drivers line up nose-to-tail and push each other around sometimes resembles a zigzagging snake, then Earnhardt was the head controlling the body. Wherever he went, everyone else followed.

His success, combined with his father’s Talladega-record 10 wins, raised expectations to almost unreasonable heights. If Earnhardt’s car was in one piece, fans began thinking victory was inevitable and were crushed when it didn’t happen. And sometimes he even won with a battered Chevrolet.

“I feel like it’s a real disappointment for a lot of people when we don’t finish well and if we are not up in the battle trying at the end,” Earnhardt said. “If we are not in that group crossing the finish line that is up front, I feel that disappointment from all the supporters of our team; more so here and at Daytona than other racetracks for sure.”

In recent years, however, Earnhardt’s ardent legion of supporters have grown accustomed to that disappointment. Since October 2004, their driver hasn’t paid a visit to the Talladega winner’s circle. Earnhardt’s restrictor-plate domination has given way to 11 different winners in the past 15 races on NASCAR’s most imposing track.

Whereas in past years the trailing driver had the advantage and could maneuver without a drafting partner, the leader can now stunt the momentum behind them and maintain position thanks to various rule changes that have sapped drivers’ ability to pass.

“The way these cars draft, they could be a lot more funner,” Earnhardt said. “The cars around 2004, 2005, 2006, they raced a little better in my opinion as far as the show and what the drivers were doing and what we were able to do and capable of doing inside the cars. The cars today are kind of stuck beside each other and you can’t get away from each other and it’s a little bit more difficult.”

Besides helping end Earnhardt’s Talladega reign, the current rules package has done something else as well. Instead of a couple drivers circled prerace as favorites, just about all of the 43 starters in Sunday’s Geico 500 harbor hopes of winning. No longer can a select few dominate at Talladega. Many a recent race has been won by a driver with a small to midsize team lacking the resources of premium organizations.

But the evolution from Earnhardt’s domination to the widespread parity that currently exists may be making way for another era. In the past two restrictor-plate races, Team Penske has sent each of its drivers to victory lane. Brad Keselowski won last fall at Talladega, while Joey Logano won the season-opening Daytona 500.

Has Penske discovered a secret to assure success at Daytona and Talladega? Something perhaps with its Ford engines or maybe aerodynamically where its cars are better in the draft?

“They have great cars and they are great drivers, I think that is where it lies,” Earnhardt said. “I don’t really think that they have performance or equipment wise I don’t think they have an advantage over the rest of the field.

“I didn’t think Joey was all that great at Daytona or standing out above the rest, he just made everything work when it needed to work.”

So if the Penske cars aren’t superior, does that mean Earnhardt’s Talladega drought could end Sunday?

“I feel pretty good about our car really to be honest with you,” he said. “We are right up there. We have good speed.”