I could not believe it was happening as I watched Dale Earnhardt Junior roll across the start finish line at the Daytona Bud Shootout! I was screaming “hell Yea!” and promptly woke up my wife who had gone to bed an hour earlier. The wins drought is over and Welcome to Hendrick Motorsports!

The Losing Streak Is Over, Welcome To Hendrick

Dale Earnhardt Juniors last win was at the Crown Royal 400 at the Richmond International Raceway on May 6th 2006. That is a long time to go without a win and it is one of many reasons that Dale Junior left Earnhardt Incorporated.


What a way to start the new era of Dale Earnhardt Junior. He looked like the old Restrictor Plate Junior last night. This was the debut for Junior in the Hendrick colors and what a way to come into the family. Last night Dale Earnhardt Junior led 47 laps of the 70-lap Bud shootout showing the world that he was serious about winning.

As for teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson, how about welcoming your new teammate to the family by pushing him to victory ahead of the Toyota’s of Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin? There was an epic battle going on up front that had history making consequences. There you had the chance for the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates of Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin, to score their first win for their team under the Their new Toyota banner, and Dale Earnhardt Junior trying to win his first race with Rick Hendrick and the first win since 2006. To say that I was excited would be a great understatement.

Some Great Quotes

When asked about being pushed to victory by Johnson and Gordon:

“I wouldn’t have won it without their help,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Man that was fun, to get one right out of the box and take off the pressure of winning for Hendrick.” “It felt pretty good to be back like we’re supposed to be,” said Tony Eury Jr., Earnhardt’s cousin and crew chief.

Before Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch got into trouble during practice the other night there were two stories. The new car at Daytona for the first time, and the debut of Dale Earnhardt junior at Hendrick Motorsports. Here is what Dale Junior had to say about that.

“Tony and Kurt getting into it the other day, that sort of took us off the front page,” Earnhardt said. “I felt such a relief after that. I wasn’t happy for those guys being in that situation, but I felt like a load had lifted off my shoulders when I saw them walking to the NASCAR hauler.”

Here is what Juniors new teammate, Jeff Gordon, had to say about the win.

“I’m real happy for Junior,” Gordon said. “It’s awesome to have him at Hendrick Motorsports and real proud of those guys to do that in their first race out.”

When asked about this win possibly easing the burden of ending the losing streak and quieting the nay Sayers that are out there questioning Juniors driving abilities, Dale Earnhardt Junior had this to say.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I never felt like I had a monkey on my back. I’ve always raced with pressure. I’ve always raced and worked and lived in tumultuous situations and I just got used to it, I guess. And Tony Jr. working with me and side by side, we grew up through it.

“Even before we got to this level, life wasn’t easy. And there wasn’t ever a golden road, easy to travel. But it is what it is. There’s a lot of pressure, I think, for us, but we’ve always delivered and I hope we will continue.”

Tony Stewart, when asked about trying to get his first win for JGR under the Toyota Banner had this to say.

“I’m pretty happy. I mean, it’s hard to beat Dale Jr.,” he said. “I mean, he’s one of the best restrictor-plate drivers there’s ever been. He learned a lot from his dad, and I’m not sure he’s not better than his dad in all honesty.”

Tony had to settle for second place but you need to be watching him in the Daytona 500 because this was the Bud Shootout, Tony will be a whole different animal for the big race. We see now what those Toyota’s can do. Be afraid, be very afraid!

Last Lap People

To sum it all up I can say that if this is any indication of what the 50THrunning of the Daytona 500 is going to be like, we all better strap in because it is going to be a bumpy ride on February 17TH. The new car seemed a little loose and squirrelly in the tight pack at 180-200 MPH. There were times when just the slightest nudge would send a car into a spin. Lets not forget however that there were a lot of cars damaged during practice which meant that there were a lot of back up cars on the track last night.

It looks to me like the dominance of the Hendrick Motorsports teams is going to continue and I am damn proud that Dale Earnhardt Junior is now leading that charge. I wonder what the Gordon fans think about this? I am however a bit ticked off at my DVR system because the red flag made the race go long and it didn’t record the end. That was a victory lane celebration that I wanted to keep. Oh well, I guess that I need to learn to always record the following show in order to make sure that I got it all.

The Daytona 500 will run on February 17TH and air on Fox. Check your local listings for the channel number. Coverage starts at 3:30 P.M. eastern time. We have a good bit of racing to go though before the 500. There is Cup Qualifying today on Fox at 1 P.M. Eastern Time with live leader board coverage on Nascar.com

Then there are the Gatorade Duels at Daytona on Valentines Day. Coverage starts at 2 P.M. Eastern Time.

The Nascar Craftsman Truck Series will race The Chevy Silverado 250 at Daytona on Friday February the 15TH, coverage starts at 7:30 P.M. Eastern Time with pre-race coverage probably an hour before. All On the Speed Channel! These trucks put on one hell of a show at Daytona. Don’t miss this race!

Finally The Nationwide Series, formally known as the Busch Series, will run the Camping World 300 at noon on the 16TH. Coverage of that race will be on ESPN2. With all these races there are practice sessions and qualifying. Most of which will be televised somewhere. Check out Nascar.com for the full television schedule.

Stay safe out there on the road and keep the freight moving.

Never forget that without you, America Stops!

Post Script: as of this posting, Dayton qualifying was already underway and open wheel star, Jacques Villeneuve was not looking good. He was looking to qualify back in the fifties and would have to race his way in through the “Duels”. Not a good way to start.