NASCAR Heads to Michigan with Dale Earnhardt Jr on a Roll

Quicken Loans 400

By Richard Tix

NASCAR heads to Brooklyn, Michigan for its 15th race of the 2014. Fans will wined there way, up and down, through the rolling green lands of the Irish Hills on there way to Michigan International Speedway. NASCAR will get back to racing with four turns for the Quicken Loans 400 on Sunday, and as fans make there way through the beautiful surrounding areas on the way to the track I can't help but think of Dale Earnhardt's career path being the same.

Jr received this photo of he and his dad that
 he had never seen before.

When you take a step back and look at it, overall he has had a pretty great career. He has had a lot of up's and down's throughout his lifetime in NASCAR which don't always have to do with his race results. But as we get to NASCAR Dale Jr is on one of those high points, where you can see nothing but perfect green grass and a small country road. 

Dale Jr started the 2014 season with plenty of questions about a number that his father made infamous. The 3 was back, and other than Richard Childress and Austin Dillon, Jr was in the media cross-hairs. What is obvious to everyone, is that Sr meant a whole lot to Jr and every year that goes bad fans get to see more and more of that.

Finally, the talk ended and racing began and in that sense the season couldn't have started any better. Jr won the Daytona 500 for the first time since 2004 and didn't look back as the season went on. Dale Jr has had very few bumps in the road this season (other than putting himself in the grass at Texas) but of any driver in the Sprint Cup Series he could be the one to tell you about the ups, downs, and tough luck of racing.

After posting a win, 6 top 5's, and 8 top 10's in NASCAR's first 13 races of the season Jr was in the position of tough luck again at Pocono. After what became the last race restart of the day on lap 17, Jr was trying to catch up to race leader Brad Keselowski. BK had the car to beat all day at Pocono and it looked like he would cruise to a win. Then a gift came for Jr, a piece of trash got stuck on BK's grill and his temp's started to run hot.

Dale Jr stuck around, clinging onto BK hoping to make a move. Then it happened, BK got off the pace and Jr finally did something that he has had happen to him all too often when he had the car to beat, he passed BK for the lead. Dale may not have had the best car, but opportunity presents itself to those who put themselves in position to take advantage. 

Jr went onto win his second race of the 2014 season just as NASCAR heads into Michigan International Speedway. Now, most people will say this is his track, but fact is MIS is just like a lot of his career, up and down. Most fans remember MIS as the track that Jr finally broke out of his win less streak in 2012, but I would bet Jr has stuck in his head his 36th and 37th place finishes of last year. 

That's what I think is more important as NASCAR heads to MIS. Not that Jr has had a good track record at MIS (which in general I think is a false statement, he only has 10 top 10's in 29 career races and only 4 in his last 10 starts) but that he has it in the back of his head how bad last year was in Michigan when expectations were so high. This year expectations on the whole season can be thrown out the window. Its Steve Letarte's last season as Crew Chief and he and Dale Jr can just let loose. With two wins on the season he is locked into the Chase already so he and Steve can put it all on the line. When it comes to speed at MIS the #88 team should find it so all they need to do is play the correct strategy. Dale is coming into MIS on a high of confidence and a determination to improve on last year's lack luster results. Confidence is a great thing in NASCAR as is team chemistry, and Dale Earnhardt Jr will have both as he rolls into the Irish Hills past little farm houses and churches on every corner. This could just be the first time Dale Earnhardt Jr wins back to back races in his 519 Cup race career.