Daytona 500 Stepping Stone

Could 2014 be the Year for Dale Earnhardt Jr?

By Richard Tix

Richard Petty a 7 time NASCAR Champion and a 7 time Daytona 500 winner. Cale Yarborough a 3 time NASCAR Champion and 4 time Daytona 500 winner. Dale Earnhardt a 7 time NASCAR Champion and the 1998 Daytona 500 winner. Dale Earnhardt Jr....

This is where the story still is waiting to be told. In NASCAR, many times right after talking about how many NASCAR Championships a driver has we look at how many times a driver has won the Daytona 500. This we do know about Dale Earnhardt Jr, he will finish his career with at least two Daytona 500 wins (2004 and 2014). But will he ever win a NASCAR Championship?

Last time he won the Daytona 500 in 2004 he went on to win 5 more races in the season, but ended up finishing 5th in the standings (First year of the Chase Playoff and he had a few rough races during the Chase. Two 33rd place finishes actually). By far his best season was 2004 though, with career high's in wins (6), top 5's (16), and his second best in top 10's (21). He also lead the most laps he has in one single season in his career (1,131).

That's a bunch of stats to get to a point, but what I am getting at here is that confidence has always played a huge role in Dale Earnhardt Jr's success. By winning the 2014 Daytona 500 he may have just found that confidence again.

So, Jr Nation, if you were ever going to get excited about Jr having a shot at a Championship this is the year. After the win on Sunday it was amazing to see just how much it meant to Jr. As usual, he gave all the credit to his team over and over again. But he looked like a kid in a candy store after this win. "I'm going to try to keep myself in control. to be in shape for tomorrow. But I'm going to have a few beers" Dale said during his post race press conference. 

It looked like a weight was lifted right off of his shoulders. Jr said in his conference, "Confidence is a good thing. It's half the battle. Hopefully we can seize the moment." With the new points format installed for the 2014 season it was a huge weight lifted. Now it isn't 100%, but with the new system in place Jr is almost locked into the Chase already (Yes, 16 more drivers could win, but realistically even if they do Jr should keep enough points to get in).

Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr know this, and now as Steve said "we can be even more aggressive then we already would be week by week. We can take huge risks knowing we might be locked in." The combination of Dale Earnhardt having tons of confidence and a Crew Chief knowing that there team can take huge gambles during the regular season to try and win again might just be what they need to finally win a Championship.

Confidence and getting momentum in NASCAR is always key. Just ask Tony Stewart when he made a huge Chase run and won a Championship in 2011. Getting on a roll is a trend you want to be on the right side of. This Daytona 500 win just might be the spark that Jr needs to take the final step towards a NASCAR Championship. It could be the stepping stone to one day saying, Dale Earnhardt Jr the 2014 Sprint Cup Champion and two time Daytona 500 winner. Heck, maybe its a roll he will take for a couple of years and we could be saying even bigger numbers after his name.

What do you think #JrNation and Twitter? Could Jr contend this season? Will he ever win a Championships? How many wins will he get in 2014? Also, check out the newest Pit Road (Daytona Review and Power Rankings).