Gatorade Duel 2012: Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Second-Place Finish a Good Sign

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has made it clear that he's happy with NASCAR's move back to pack racing for the Daytona 500.

On Thursday, during the first Gatorade Duel qualifying race, he proved it.

Earnhardt finished second during qualifying at Daytona International Speedway, proving he may have a shot at winning the second Daytona 500 of his career.

Since winning the Daytona 500 in 2004, Earnhardt enters Sunday's Daytona 500 with a losing streak of 129 races. To say he's hit a rut would be an understatement.

But many believe this is Earnhardt's best shot at winning in 2012. He's familiar with the track, has had success there and now gets to race his style of racing.

"I do feel like I have a better shot at winning in this current style of racing. I do feel more confident than I did coming down here and tandem drafting. I never felt really great about that. It is a completely different style of racing and it’s not what I enjoyed," Earnhardt said on Wednesday, via the Washington Post.

Earnhardt has a great shot at starting near the front after Thursday's first Gatorade Duel and has started off 2012 without a hitch. And he's feeling good.

For some reason, this time it seems different. Obviously Earnhardt is going to have a hard time getting past such drivers as Tony Stewart, last season's Sprint Cup champion who finished ahead of Earnhardt Thursday. But, he has his best chance in a long time to win, and he has to know that.

After years of mediocrity on the course, Earnhardt has a shot at making it all go away with his second career win at the Daytona 500.