Dale Jr. proved that he could win a race again. The win marked Earnhardt’s 19th career victory.
The long-sought victory came just after the four-year anniversary of his last first-place finish.
June 15, 2008 was the last time he had tasted victory. Ironically enough the last victory was Michigan.
With this win Earnhardt snaps his 143-race winless streak, the sixth longest in Sprint Cup history among  drivers.
Nascar’s most popular driver was nearly mobbed by the hundreds of fans trying to obtain an autograph or a picture of the driver.
If your favorite driver is Earnhardt, my congrats are to you and hope that you will see your driver in Victory Lane more often.
When I was younger, my family would gather around on Sunday to watch our favorite drivers compete for the win.
When one of our favorites won the race that pretty much gave us bragging rights until the next week when they raced again. At my house someone was usually  celebrating a victory with their favorite drivers for the week.
And I say that because there were four of us watching the race each week. My father’s driver was Jeff Gordon, an established dominant driver who was among the elite. So I heard and saw a lot about him. Let’s face it, he is a very talented driver, love him or hate him, especially in the mid-to-late ‘90s. My mother’s favorite driver was Dale Jarrett, again an established driver with an impressive resume. Even my little sister had a favorite driver, Dale Earnhardt Sr. Now, I’m not sure if she was just on “The Intimidator” bandwagon or if he was really her favorite but regardless that is the most recognized name in Nascar. So, yeah I got to hear and see that guy win alot too.
And there was me. And my favorite driver I picked out in 1990 because I liked his car. As I grew older and understood Nascar I still never had another favorite driver. Now being an analyst and commentator for Nascar, he is still my guy. I just don’t think I will have a favorite ever again.
Kyle Petty. Yeah, I said it. That is and was my driver. If you follow Nascar then you know that was not a name you saw in Victory Lane very often. So the weekly bragging rights seldom went to me.
But I stuck with him. I wasn’t going to bail out just because he had not won a race since 1995. He was my guy. Win or lose, I was going to be a Kyle Petty fan. To me  it wasn’t about what driver won the most. I mean, yes, of course, I wanted to see my driver. Who doesn’t want to see their driver dominate?
The thing about Nascar is it’s anybody's race. Anything can happen at any point and time during the race. So there is no real “power house.” Everyone’s car is  standardized to the same specs and modifications.
And like any sport there is going to be some luck involved with it. A gamble. Will I have enough fuel to make it? Will my tires hold up? Is the guy behind going to wreck me?
You see, Nascar has pretty well allowed the driver to do a little bit of “rubbing.” And, folks, if Robert Duvall ever taught me anything, it was “rubbing is racing.”
I (and about 90 percent of all Nascar fans) would be lying if I said that I didn’t want to see at least one bad wreck in the race. Granted the driver is OK and not hurt, of course.
I was lucky enough to attend a race in 1998 at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was an experience to remember. Anytime anything happened, I had to quickly jump up on my seat because I was too short to see anything. And if you know me or if you have ever even seen me then you know not a lot has changed I am still short. But that is besides the point.
I was eager to see how my driver fared in the race. Well, he finished 12th which was ok. I watched him getting out of his car and sit by his pit stall. All I could imagine was him seeing me and coming over to give me an autograph. Obviously it never happen but I did get to see my favorite driver in action.
My driver was never accused of being a cheat. Never accused of driving to dirty. He was never unaminously hated like some other “rainbow warrior.”
He was always what you expected. Himself. Nascar fans all know that he is not his father, Richard “The King” Petty.  Just ask any Dale Jr. To fill the shoes of  a legend like Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt Sr, is an almost impossible feat.
But my whole point is stick with your driver. Don’t change your opinion based on if he is winning or not. If you have a favorite driver, make sure it’s not all on how much he wins, or what his last name is.
Represent your driver through the wins and losses. All you true Jr fans, congratulations. I’m glad you stuck around. All the fans that bailed, shame on you. So pick your new driver every other week because they are who is winning.
But as for me, I am going to stick with the only driver I have ever stuck with. The same guy for 22 years, Kyle Petty, because you never know he could race again and luck out and win. And if he ever does, you can rest assured I will be bragging on my driver. And unlike most people, I will have the privilege of saying that I was committed to that driver and never left the wagon. So for the Jr fans  new or old enjoy it, or at least enjoy it this week, because next week there might be a new winner. And someone's new favorite driver will rise amongst the winless opponents. But as I said before, this guy will be Petty for another 20 years.