The Daytona 500 is the Super Bowl of NASCAR, and crowd favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. is ready to start the season off with a huge win there.

Does Dale Earnhardt Jr. Have a Realistic Chance to Win the Daytona 500?

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After finishing seventh last year in the Sprint Cup Series Standings, Junior will look to build off the team’s strong season and catapult them into a spot where they will become championship contenders.

That will all start with a stellar performance at the Daytona 500.

With the February 26 date approaching fast, it will be crucial for Earnhardt Jr. to not only finish strong in this race, but contend for the win. It would be great to see Junior take the checkered flag, but the fact that he would be fighting for a win is something to build off of going forward.

Junior's 2011 Daytona 500 Pole
Earnhardt Jr. told officials at the Daytona testing session earlier this year about his excitement for getting back on the track:

Winning the 500 is the biggest race of the year. It's the greatest feeling. When it comes to winning single events, you can't beat it. The effort is quadruple when it comes to how much goes into the engines, just for that race and the bodies on the cars, just for that race. I've been asking Steve (Letarte) when we were going to test, when we're going to go the racetrack just to be doing something instead of sitting around at home.

The greatest part of the Daytona 500 is almost anyone driving a fast car can win the race. Just ask last year’s winner, Trevor Bayne. With that said, a racer can be the most dominant car on the track all day and not win this race because of the drafting and runs that cars can get now.

A win would shake his winless streak that is now over 100 consecutive races and release him from that burden, but having a strong enough car to win and staying out of trouble to finish in the top five may be more valuable for a team that is trying to avoid the highs and the lows.

The key for Junior this year will be consistency.

With a strong Hendrick motorsports team and a wonderful crew Chief in Steve Letarte, this could be the year we see Earnhardt finish in the top 5 of the Daytona 500 and carry that consistency to a few wins and maybe even a Cup Series Title.

No better place to start the journey then Daytona.  

 

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