Countdown to Daytona: Junior's Winning Streak

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is flying strong under his new colors, scoring his second high-profile victory of the Sprint cup season for his new team, Hendrick Motorsports. He won the first of the two qualifying races held today to lock in the Daytona 500 starting order. As the two race leaders have already been determined by lap times, this means Junebug will be starting from 3rd place. His victory follows close on the heels of his awesome win at the Budweiser Shootout last Saturday, and marks a serious comeback from a lackluster final season with DEI. If Junior won the Daytona 500 on Sunday, not only would he be driving to victory lane on the 10th anniversary of his late father’s Daytona 500 victory; he’d also be the first driver to win the Shootout, a qualifying race, and the 500 all in a row. In light of all that, I kind of can’t help rooting for him—we’ll see how he does on Sunday!