Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Victory Is Not Start of Dominant Run for NASCAR Star

Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended a 143-race winless streak at the Michigan International Speedway on Sunday at the Quicken Loans 400.

Earnhardt won in dominant fashion, speeding to the front of the pack after starting 17th. He led for 95 of the 200 laps en route to his 19th career victory.

He edged out Tony Stewart for the win, but the closing laps were hardly filled with suspense with Earnhardt clearly the better driver for the day.

It's nice to see one of NASCAR's royalty finally get a win after what seems like a decade of tough finishes and sub-par results, but this win isn't going to lead to anything special for Earnhardt.

There's no way around the fact that the 37-year-old is good at what he does, but he has made his career off of his name more than his skills behind the wheel.

Wins don't tell the whole story in NASCAR, as evident in Earnhardt reaching The Chase for the Sprint Cup last season despite his winless record. The inability to win doesn't make a driver a poor one, but it certainly helps their case.

Here's the moral of this story: Even a blind squirrel finds a nut. Earnhardt was long overdue to cross the finish line first, but he's not going to go on a run that sees him put together a string of victories in his quest to return to The Chase.

He's finished the last six races in the top eight, but he hasn't been able to grab the coveted checkered flag until today. His current streak of success is impressive, but it's far from what should be deemed dominant in NASCAR.

It's not out of the question that Earnhardt can come out next week and win his second consecutive race, but his winless streak is reminiscent of others that we have seen in sports.

The Boston Red Sox always hung around, but were unable to win the World Series title that the entire organization so vigorously sought until 2004. Earnhardt's winless streak wasn't the same type of curse-like failure, but it's similar.

Surely he'll gain some confidence from this win, but NASCAR is less about confidence and momentum than it is about skill. There's so much room for driver error and mechanical failures that it wouldn't come as a shock if Earnhardt went without a win for his next 50 races.

Make sure you key in on Earnhardt during his next race, but be cautiously optimistic in regards to his chance for victory.