“The first time we ever met to talk about racing we talked about how much Martinsville meant and how bad we wanted to win there. He saw what the history of that track means, not just to Hendrick Motorsports but for Dale, who’s a huge historian of the sport. He knows what Martinsville is and the grandfather clock is one of the sport’s most iconic trophies. He’d seen his heroes win there."
Steve Letarte
Editor’s note: This is the 18th 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. - During his NASCAR Cup Series career, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was synonymous with superspeedway, drafting supremacy.
After all, 10 of his 26 wins came at either Daytona International Speedway or Talladega Superspeedway.
But he has always had an affection for grassroots, short track racing brimming just under the surface, a fact since brought to the forefront on his podcast and in his involvement with the CARS Tour and the documentary series, "Lost Speedways."
By 2014, he'd long ago won at some of NASCAR's classic smaller venues like Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond Raceway. However, as his career entered its twilight years, one box remained unchecked. One that is so synonymous with Hendrick Motorsports.
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| RACE FACTS | |
|---|---|
| Date: | Oct. 26, 2014 |
| Venue: | Martinsville Speedway |
| Winner: | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| Hendrick Motorsports win: | No. 230 |
| Laps led by winner: | 79 |
| Starting position of winner: | 23rd |
| Top 10: | 1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.; 2. Jeff Gordon; 3. Ryan Newman; 4. Tony Stewart; 5. Joey Logano; 6. Matt Kenseth; 7. Clint Bowyer; 8. Denny Hamlin; 9. AJ Allmendinger; 10. David Ragan |
| Did you know? | Hendrick Motorsports' 29 victories at Martinsville Speedway are the most by any team. |
That of course, is Martinsville Speedway, the site of Hendrick Motorsports' first victory in 1984 (Geoff Bodine) and 28 others since. Not to mention, his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., picked up six victories at the 0.526-mile paperclip in his career.
“I think he knew how much that race meant to his dad. His dad had a lot of success there,” Larry McReynolds, former crew chief for Earnhardt Sr. and current Fox NASCAR analyst, pointed out. “Also with Dale Earnhardt Jr., even if you watch and listen to him today, he’s all about the short tracks and there’s not a more famous short track than Bristol (Motor Speedway) and Martinsville on our schedule."
It wasn't that Earnhardt Jr. hadn't been good there. Coming into the fall race in 2014, he'd piled up 17 top-10 showings in 29 starts at Martinsville. That included 12 top fives. two runner-up finishes and a third place earlier that season. Earnhardt Jr.'s career average finish of 13.5 is his second best among all race tracks.
In addition to his own career beginning to wind down - he'd retire from Cup Series racing after the 2017 season - so too was his partnership with crew chief Steve Letarte. Before the 2014 season, Letarte announced he'd be moving on to broadcasting at the end of the year where he still serves as an analyst on NBC.
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With just four races remaining in the '14 season, the sense of urgency to win one more time was mounting on both parties. Letarte had already been a part of two wins at Martinsville, sitting atop the box as Jeff Gordon swept both events in 2005.
And he knew too well how important a win was to his driver.
“The first time we ever met to talk about racing we talked about how much Martinsville meant and how bad we wanted to win there," Letarte said. "He saw what the history of that track means, not just to Hendrick Motorsports but for Dale, who’s a huge historian of the sport. He knows what Martinsville is and the grandfather clock is one of the sport’s most iconic trophies. He’d seen his heroes win there.
“There’s just something about a blue-collar, short-track driver that everyone loves.”
As it turned out, Letarte was presented with the opportunity to put Earnhardt Jr. in the perfect position to finally check that box.
But first, the team had to overcome a mediocre qualifying performance with the No. 88 rolling off 23rd. With two cautions in the first 20 laps however, it was apparent from the start that strategy opportunities would be presented early and often.
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Also, Earnhardt Jr. had a car much faster than his qualifying effort indicated. By lap 50, he was up to 14th place. Just 37 laps later, he cracked the top 10. He continued the march into the top five and hovered there throughout the day.
The battle for the victory began to take shape with 64 laps to go. Brad Keselowski experienced a mechanical issue and stacked the field up behind him, eventually collecting Kasey Kahne, Danica Patrick, Martin Truex Jr., Casey Mears and Carl Edwards in a massive crash. The red flag waved.
Earnhardt Jr. restarted third when the race went back to green and used the inside lane to get around teammate Jeff Gordon for second. With 47 laps to go, he gave Clint Bowyer a bump and finished off a pass for the lead.
From there, the 88 seemed poised to cruise into the sunset. But with 12 laps to go, Kyle Larson and Marcos Ambrose got together and slid into the wall, bringing out the 15th caution and another red flag.
Letarte had a decision to make: Forego track position and bring Earnhardt Jr. in for tires or forego tires and leave Earnhardt Jr. on the race track and in the lead.
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For his part, Letarte said it really wasn't much of a decision at all. When the cars fired up again, Earnhardt Jr. pulled onto pit road.
“I knew what he was good at and he knew what I was good at and he was not good at defending,” Letarte said. “Now, at a superspeedway like Talladega or Daytona, he’s one of the best defenders of all time. But he was way better on offense than defense at other tracks. For me that day, there was a lot of doubt if it was the right call but there was no doubt it was the right call for us.”
Tony Stewart, David Ragan and Ricky Stenhouse Jr, however, did not pit. Bowyer also beat Earnhardt Jr. off of pit road.
The good news? In fifth, Earnhardt Jr. was able to fire off from the coveted inside row.
He quickly used that preferred lane to his advantage on the restart, pushing Ragan and Stenhouse Jr. three wide on the back stretch with five laps to go to get to second. That left only Stewart, who couldn't overcome the tire deficit as Earnhardt Jr. slipped past one lap later. From there, Earnhardt Jr. was able to hold off a hard-charging Gordon, who also made quick work of Stewart, at bay to the end.
"We've tried to win here for so many years and this place is so special to me, I've wanted to win here so bad," a breathless Earnhardt Jr. said in victory lane that day. "It's a real emotional win. This team on pit road was great and Steve and the guys just did a good job all day. They gave me a great shot at it there with the call at the end to take tires. I just ... I can't believe we won here. it means so much to all of us."
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And on that day, it also meant so much to the entire organization. Earnhardt Jr.'s triumph came on the 10th anniversary, just two days from the day, of a tragic accident involving a Hendrick Motorsports plane, which was headed to a race at Martinsville Speedway. All 10 people onboard perished, including owner Rick Hendrick's son Ricky, brother John and nieces Kimberly and Jennifer.
Jimmie Johnson went to victory lane that day in 2004, a win that quickly became an afterthought in the light of unspeakable catastrophe. But Earnhardt Jr.'s victory a decade later was one of several that have helped weave a tapestry of unforgettable moments at the Virginia short track.
Earnhardt Jr. didn't arrive at Hendrick Motorsports until 2008 but like most of the rest of the competitors in the NASCAR garage in 2004, had friends that lost their lives in the crash as well. So, on top of knocking off one of his own NASCAR bucket list items, the chance to register such a meaningful win in the organization's history left him emotional for more reasons than one.
"Wanted to support Hendrick Motorsports during that time," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Everybody in the garage at that time was wearing Hendrick hats. The whole sport came together. I lost my daddy a long time ago and I know how hard that is, I can't imagine losing the magnitude of people that Rick lost. My heart goes out to him this weekend.
"This honors them. Just real proud to be able to win at Martinsville in a Hendrick car. They always win here."