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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

2014 Driver Spotlight Review: Dale Earnhardt Jr

Dale Earnhardt Jr 2014 Review


By Richard Tix

2014 Preview

Season Grade: A-

"After the review of 2013, it is hard not to think that Jr has a shot to contend in 2014. In fact, these numbers probably make Jr Nation drool with the thought of him holding that Championship Trophy. It all starts at Daytona where Jr use to be dominate. In his last 5 starts at the Daytona 500 he has finished runner up 3 times, the other to he finished 24 (but won the Pole), and 27th"

That is how my preview of Jr ended before the season started. I had a feeling that Dale Jr would take his good run in the 2013 Chase and roll it over into a good run in 2014. On top of that we found out the news that his CC Steve Letarte would be leaving him for the booth in 2015. So this past season was going to be a fun ride for the #88 team.

Dale Jr's season started off with a bang winning the 2014 Daytona 500. He ran with that into the next two races and finished runner up in both. In the first 21 races Jr had 15 top 10's and 3 of his 4 wins. So the beginning of his 2014 season was everything Jr Nation could want and more. 

However, the last 15 races were not as smooth. In no way did he finish out 2014 poorly, but after such a hot start most fans expected more. He has just 5 top 10's in the last 15. He did notch his last win of 2014 at Martinsville. That win would have been even bigger if the beginning of his Chase hadn't had so many poor finishes, as it would have locked him into the final race at Miami.

So we leave 2014 behind as the Dale Earnhardt Jr and Steve Letarte era ends. How will Jr's future go without Steve at the helm? That will be a major story line heading into 2015 and might also show up on Jr's season preview.




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