Daytona 500 2014: Full Results and Why Dale Earnhardt Jr. Is Headed for Big Year

Holding on to his lead after a green-white-checkered finish, Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed his second Daytona 500 win and just his second Sprint Series victory since the start of the 2009 season. 

ESPN helped capture the moment: 

Earnhardt is an 11-time recipient of NASCAR's most popular driver award, and his win was a hit with fans. It was also well deserved after a thrilling and hard-fought race.

Despite a weather delay that lasted far longer than the race, the epic race is the main takeaway. The drivers weren't holding anything back.

Brad Keselowski, who finished third on the day, highlighted that fact in the following quote, tweeted by Fox Sports 1's Kaitlyn Vincie:

Have a look at the full results and then I'll explain why Earnhardt's win points toward a big 2014 and perhaps his first Sprint Series championship. 

Yahoo! Sports' Jay Busbee knows Earnhardt Jr. raced on another level on Sunday and called it a "virtuoso performance."

Finish	Driver	Laps	Start
1	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	200	9
2	Denny Hamlin	200	4
3	Brad Keselowski	200	33
4	Jeff Gordon	200	6
5	Jimmie Johnson	200	32
6	Matt Kenseth	200	3
7	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	200	34
8	Greg Biffle	200	25
9	Austin Dillon	200	1
10	Casey Mears	200	28
11	Joey Logano	200	35
12	Landon Cassill	200	18
13	Kevin Harvick	200	38
14	Jamie McMurray	200	22
15	Bobby Labonte	200	26
16	Reed Sorenson	200	39
17	Carl Edwards	200	30
18	Marcos Ambrose	200	7
19	Kyle Busch	200	37
20	Terry Labonte	200	24
21	Kurt Busch	199	8
22	Ryan Newman	199	19
23	Alex Bowman	198	29
24	Josh Wise	196	11
25	Brian Scott	196	12
26	AJ Allmendinger	194	15
27	Justin Allgaier	193	40
28	Cole Whitt	193	23
29	Parker Kligerman	193	41
30	Brian Vickers	192	31
31	Kasey Kahne	192	5
32	Paul Menard	184	10
33	Trevor Bayne	183	14
34	David Ragan	176	43
35	Tony Stewart	174	21
36	David Gilliland	171	17
37	Michael Annett	Chevrolet	161
38	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	160
39	Aric Almirola	Ford	146
40	Danica Patrick	Chevrolet	145
41	Michael Waltrip	Toyota	144
42	Clint Bowyer	Toyota	127
43	Martin Truex Jr.	Chevrolet	30

Earnhardt's lack of on-track success has been well-documented. Everything he does is well-documented. 

Still, over the last three seasons, he has been a much more mature and consistent driver. Last season, he finished fifth in the standings, which was his highest finish since 2003, when he finished third in a strong start to his career. 

Given his past three seasons, we can be confident that Earnhardt will have a solid points outing and will be involved in the Chase should he be able to race a full season. 

But there hasn't been much of a reason to suggest he should be counted on as a serious Chase factor. His recent upward trend has lacked wins. He had just one over the four previous seasons. 

Earnhardt's developing maturity involves patience and a vision of the big picture, but he hasn't been racing with the killer instinct needed to take checkered flags. 

He showed that will to win on Sunday, and he held off a field that was racing harder than it likely will all season. He led the most laps on the day at 54, but there were numerous lead changes and late restarts. Only a determined and aggressive driver was going to win this race. 

This is a great sign for his continued development. 

Of course, there are more factors pointing toward Earnhardt's success this season. 

Let's start with the fact that he is a member of the Hendrick Motorsports team. It is the current dynasty in NASCAR, and after a fairly dominant Daytona 500 from the team, the dynasty looks to be continuing.

Terry Renna/Associated Press

This gives Earnhardt and his teammates an amazing foundation for success, which shouldn't have been doubted heading into Sunday. 

What adds to the promise of Earnhardt's season, though, is the fact that he looked to have the strongest car of his teammates. 

That wasn't the case last year, when Earnhardt had to settle for second as he watched teammate Jimmie Johnson take the Daytona 500. 

Obviously, this doesn't mean Earnhardt will have the strongest car of his teammates week in and week out, but it is a great sign that his team is ready to give him the ride to take the checkered more often than in the past. 

His team, as Sunoco Racing helps highlight, appears to be excited by the possibilities:

It's far too early in the season to confidently pick a driver to take the Sprint Cup title this year, but as long as Earnhardt Jr. is able to race the full season, he will finish in the top three in the Sprint Cup standings.