On Friday January 21, 2022 Dale Earnhard Jr. got to celebrate his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The induction makes sense for the NASCAR legend who was voted Most Popular Diver of the Year 15 consecutive seasons from 2003 to 2017. In his 19 year career competing in the NASCAR Cup Series, Earnhardt Jr. won 26 races, which puts him tied for 31st all-time. He also had 260 top ten finishes, and qualified in the pole position 15 times. He is a two-time Daytona 500 winner having won his first in 2004, and then again in 2014. His best season came in 2003 where he finished 3rd in the final standings. Dale has also competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series where he compiled 24 wins, 94 top ten finishes, and qualified in the pole position 10 times. He was the Xfinity Champion in 1998 and 1999. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the son of the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. who was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his racing debut in 1999, and started full-time racing in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2000. He won his first race at the DirecTV 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in the 2000 season. His win set a NASCAR record for fastest driver to win his first race, having done it in just his 12th career race. The previous record was held by his father Dale Sr. Earnhardt Jr. won the 2000 The Winston race becoming the first rookie ever to win the race. He finished runner-up to Matt Kenseth for the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year.
In 2003, Earnhardt Jr. won the NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver award for the first time. Dale Jr. would go on to win the Most Popular Driver award for 15 consecutive seasons. In 2004, Earnhardt Jr. won his first Daytona 500. He won the Daytona 500 again in 2014. Earnhardt Jr. won the Budweiser Shootout in 2003 and 2008. He also had won four consecutive races at Talladega Superspeedway from 2001-2003. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final race victory in the NASCAR Cup Series came at the 2015 Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Earnhardt Jr. retired from the NASCAR Cup Series in 2017, and his last race was the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He won 26 races in his NASCAR Cup Series career.
In addition to his time in the NASCAR Cup Series, Earnhardt Jr. simultaneously competed in the Xfinity Series. Over a 25-year stretch, He compiled 24 wins with 94 top ten finishes and qualified for the pole position 10 times. He was the Xfinity champion in 1998 and 1999. His last race win came in 2016 at the Toyota Care 250, and his last race came in 2021 at the Go Bowling 250.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Hall of Fame induction carries special significance as he joins his late father Dale Earnhardt Sr. as father/son inductees. Other father/son inductees include Lee Petty and his sons Richard and Maurice, Buck and Buddy Baker, Bobby and Davey Allison, Ned and Dale Jarrett, and Bill France Sr. and Bill France Jr. That’s quite the list.
For more visit Talking Points Sports.
