"Knowing Dale Earnhardt Jr. like I know him and watching him grow up, his personality and his attitude is whoever he drove for, he just wanted to please them. He wanted them to be proud of him. He wanted to win races for himself but he wanted to win races to make his dad proud of him. Then, when he went to Hendrick Motorsports, he wanted to make Rick Hendrick proud. He wanted to win and he knew he’d be under a microscope because of who he is."
Larry McReynolds
Editor’s note: This is the 22nd in a 40-part series highlighting 40 of the greatest wins in the history of Hendrick Motorsports to finish its 40th anniversary season. A new installment will be released each day from Nov. 22, 2024 through New Year’s Eve. Votes were taken from Hendrick Motorsports employees as well as representatives of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Racing Insights with all unanimous selections being ushered in automatically. The remaining wins were deliberated and decided upon by a small panel.
CONCORD, N.C. - Winless streaks are a rough part of motorsports.
But that doesn't mean drivers are immune to them.
To set the stage in 2008, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was taking a risk. Beginning that season, the Kannapolis, North Carolina, native would step away from Dale Earnhardt Incorporated's iconic No. 8 machine to drive the No. 88 entry full time for Hendrick Motorsports. Tony Eury Jr. would also be making the jump with Earnhardt from DEI to Rick Hendrick's team.
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Coming off a one win season in 2006 and a winless campaign in 2007, it seemed as if a change needed to be made. Larry McReynolds, crew chief for Dale Earnhardt in 1997 and 1998, echoed this notion in a phone interview with HendrickMotorsports.com.
"Knowing Dale Earnhardt Jr. like I know him and watching him grow up, his personality and his attitude is whoever he drove for, he just wanted to please them," McReynolds said. "He wanted them to be proud of him. He wanted to win races for himself, but he wanted to win races to make his dad proud of him. Then, when he went to Hendrick Motorsports, he wanted to make Rick Hendrick proud. He wanted to win and he knew he’d be under a microscope because of who he is."
| RACE FACTS | |
|---|---|
| Date: | June 15, 2008 |
| Venue: | Michigan International Speedway |
| Winner: | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| Hendrick Motorsports win: | No. 169 |
| Laps led by winner: | 14 |
| Starting position of winner: | 3rd |
| Top 10: | 1. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2. Kasey Kahne, 3. Matt Kenseth, 4. Brian Vickers, 5. Tony Stewart, 6. Jimmie Johnson, 7. Carl Edwards, 8. David Ragan, 9. Elliott Sadler, 10. Jamie McMurrary |
| Did you know? | The No. 88 team sat third in the points standings before making the call to stitch their fuel. If the move would have failed, Earnhardt's position in the points could have taken a drastic hit. |
All that said, winning was the goal for 2008.
Coming into Michigan International Speedway's first of two races in 2008, Earnhardt Jr. had gotten off to a solid start though his first 14 races with Hendrick Motorsports. Six top-five results and 10 top-10 finishes put the team third in points. But on this Sunday afternoon, Earnhardt Jr.'s team lacked the raw speed needed to make a run at the race victory.
Enter the strategy play.
Late in the race, Eury Jr. chose to leave his driver on the racetrack for the final run to the finish. However, conflicting radio messages in regard to prioritizing track position over fuel arose. Over the radio, Earnhardt Jr. expressed his confusion. The team had started the run roughly two laps short of the magic number.
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But with single-digit laps remaining on the scoreboard, the team had made their bed, counting on their driver to save the necessary fuel.
With six laps remaining, David Ragan pitted from the lead, promoting Earnhardt Jr. to the second spot, in hot pursuit of Jamie McMurray. The issue was that McMurray's No. 26 (allegedly) had enough fuel to reach the finish and pressure the No. 88 into running out of gas.
Desperate to hang on to a chance a victory, Earnhardt Jr. made his way around McMurray and was in the lead when a caution halted the race with four circuits remaining. Under the yellow, the No. 88 entry remained on the racing surface while McMurray dove to pit road for more fuel. On the ensuing restart, Earnhardt. Jr. held the point position over future teammate Kasey Kahne until the yellow came out on the final lap.
Eury Jr.'s gamble had paid off as his driver coasted across the finish line to collect his first career victory at Hendrick Motorsports.
Michigan would continue to be a friendly place for Earnhardt Jr. throughout his career. After this win, he would go into another drought, one he would end at Michigan in 2011.
Steve Letarte, who would later serve as a crew chief for Earnhardt Jr. as well as a broadcast partner at NBC, said that Earnhardt Jr.'s ability to be precise with repetition was a major factor in his success at the two-mile, D-shaped oval.
“It’s a big, wide and sweeping race track and Dale is as good as they come at being very repetitive with his driver inputs,” Letarte explained. “That’s why he’s good at Bristol. Michigan is a really high speed and he’s so good at running the top and he’s very repetitive with his inputs in a precise manner. He’s able to do what the car needs lap after lap after lap.”
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But that moment in 2008, in front of a packed house of roaring fans, ushered in the beginning of a new era. Fans were quick to cast doubt over Earnhardt Jr.'s decision to leave his family run team to join a rival organization. McReynolds summed up the situation well.
“Who would’ve ever thought that Dale Earnhardt Jr would leave DEI, an organization with his name on it, a winning organization that his dad had helped build," McReynolds said. "But I think over time, you could see things deteriorating there. I think Junior saw that the place was on a highway to nowhere. And then he gets an opportunity to go drive for one of the most successful organizations in the history of NASCAR."