Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins Most Popular Driver, again
For the fourth time since joining the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series in 2000, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won the title of Most Popular Driver. I would much rather see him win a championship, but he is pretty proud that he is well liked by the NASCAR fans. It really isn’t hard to tell that he is a fan favorite, one only needs to watch the race broadcasts and listen to the fan reactions when he is introduced during driver introductions. He is generally the driver with the most applause no matter what track they are at.
Many people had some pretty high expectations of Dale Jr. when he moved up to the elite NASCAR series after winning back to back Busch Series championships and those same people feel that he hasn’t lived up to that hype. Well, just because he hasn’t won a championship doesn’t mean hasn’t had success. Afterall, he has 17 wins and has finished in the Top 10 in points four times, including 2 third place finishes.
I fully expect Dale Jr and the #8 Budweiser team to continue to build on the success they had this year since being reunited with his cousin Tony Eury Jr. as crew chief. I fully expect more wins and possibly a championships win come in the next few years.
