NASCAR at Talladega preview: Dale Earnhardt Jr. refuses to call Geico 500 a must-win

Walk around Talladega Superspeedway and the unmistakable sight of No. 88 flags, T-shirts, hats and copious forms of paraphernalia, ranging from coolers to shoe laces, belt buckles to tattoos, make it abundantly apparent that this is Earnhardt Country.

The adulation of Dale Earnhardt Jr. is everywhere. Evident by the fact he’s been named NASCAR’s most popular driver 14 times and by large volumes sells more merchandise than anyone else. But nowhere does the affection toward the 42-year-old run deeper and more passionately than at the Alabama raceway where he’s won six times and where his late father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., won a track-record 10 races.

“It seems like we have a ton of fans in this area,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “The first time I ever really went deer hunting was with my father in Alabama. Used to have a lot of friends down here … been coming here a long time and Dad won a lot of races here, we won some races, won four in a row.”

Earnhardt’s won 26 Cup Series races over his 18-year career, triumphs that have come on an array of tracks. Nowhere, though, is he better than at Talladega, where his ability to manage the nuances brought by the use of horsepower-sapping restrictor plates has made him a perennial contender when NASCAR’s premier division visits Talladega each spring and fall.

While some drivers eschew restrictor-plate racing due to its volatile and unpredictable nature that often leaves them at the mercy of those around them, Earnhardt isn’t in the camp. Neither was his father.

One reason why Earnhardt relishes each trip to Talladega is the unmatched, fervent support he receives from Junior Nation. Whenever the No. 88 Chevrolet moves into the lead, a roar emanates so loudly it can be heard over the engines. No one else comes close to generating a similar reaction when they do something positive on the track. And that encouragement is not only greatly appreciated, it’s a catalyst to spur greater effort.

“If you go to a race at Talladega your driver can literally, possibly take the lead at any moment in the race. You can’t say that anywhere else,” Earnhardt said. “With that comes a responsibility, I think, as a driver to try to make that happen because when you come off Turn 4 you can see a big difference in arms in the air and people excited about what just happened when you take the lead.

“You can’t create that anywhere else. And they want you to keep doing that all day long because they just want to celebrate all day. They want to have fun. When you get up there and mix it up it gives them what they want. I think that is why I like running here.”

On Sunday, Earnhardt will make his penultimate Talladega start, having announced back on April 25 that he will retire from full-time Cup Series competition at the end of the current year.

But thus far, his final season has been memorable for all the wrong reasons, in the form of bad luck, underperformance, or a lack of execution. These factors are the primary culprits for why Earnhardt has just a single top-10 finish, compared to five finishes of 30th or worse through nine races, which has left him buried in points, sitting 24th overall.

Amid the frustration, Earnhardt’s tried to stay positive. Preferring to focus on what’s gone right and that his Hendrick Motorsports team has a record of success suggesting it’s capable of a turnaround before earning a playoff berth becomes an unlikely possibility.

But while Earnhardt could still point his way into the postseason and refuses to concede that he’s now in must-win mode, realistically his route to the playoffs is by virtue of winning one of the remaining 17 regular season races. A win would virtually lock him into the 16-driver field, ensuring his final season will come with a shot at an elusive first series championship.

And nowhere are Earnhardt’s chances higher of doing so than Talladega.

“I just know what I need to do,” Earnhardt said. “I’ve said it in the past: You’ve got to run the last 50 laps mistake-free and the guy that does that will win the race. That means choosing the right line to move up and take the run. Every move and decision, every slight turn of the wheel has to be the right decision.”