NASCAR: Why Dale Earnhardt Jr's Success Is the Best Thing for the Sport

NASCAR is widely popular in the United States, although it has seen its numbers drop a bit recently.

The television ratings and sponsorships are getting thinner as times get tougher, but one solution that would help put NASCAR back on the front page is right under our noses.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Love him or hate him, he carries a ton of fans, and his success would drive up business in NASCAR.

Despite struggles the last few seasons for the 88 team, Earnhardt Jr. won NASCAR's Most Popular Driver award for the eighth straight year.

Junior is one of the most popular drivers of all time, trailing only Bill Elliot (16) and Richard Petty (10) in the Most Popular Driver Award category.

Whatever causes him to be the most popular driver every year—whether it’s the allure of Dale Sr. or the fact that he is a southern boy—his success could infuse the sport and put it back into the public eye.

This is not to take away from Jimmie Johnson, but his title run has some casual fans turning away. NASCAR is all about alliances. When your driver keeps losing, people walk away.

Rick Hendrick, the owner of Hendrick Motorsports and Earnhardt Jr.’s 88 Chevy, is no dummy.

He knows stock car racing like few others.

Hendrick wants Earnhardt to succeed as much as anyone, because he knows the result will be more money in his pocket.

While Johnson’s success is great business for Hendrick, an Earnhardt Jr. championship would yield more money.

After all this was considered, Hendrick made some changes to his stable of crew chiefs to try to infuse more success into all of his teams.

He is trying to jump start the 88 team by putting them in the same shop with five-time defending Sprint Cup champion Johnson and pairing him with former Jeff Gordon crew chief Steve Letarte.

Gordon will now share a shop with Mark Martin, and he will have Alan Gustafson as his crew chief.

After three races this season, Dale Jr. sits at No. 10 in the Sprint Cup Series points standings and has registered two top-10s and a pole at the Daytona 500.

With everything Hendrick has supplied Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with, there will be no excuses for a lack of success this season.

The sport will be much better if Junior can find a way to get the 88 in victory lane and get the casual fans excited about NASCAR again.