This year, Dale Earnhardt Jr. received an early Christmas present from his former rival and friend Kevin Harvick. The gift in question was the Ford sensation’s used steering wheel from the final Talladega race of his career.
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Needless to say, Earnhardt Jr. was elated at the pleasant surprise. The two-time Xfinity Series champion, who has had a dominant run at the madhouse that Talladega Superspeedway is, took to social media to express his mirth.
Junior wrote, “Got home and opened a box in the mail from @KevinHarvick. It’s his race-used wheel from@TALLADEGA this year. How damn cool is this? I guess several folks got a wheel from Kevin this year. I was thankful to be one of them.”
Got home and opened a box in the mail from @KevinHarvick. It’s his race used wheel from @TALLADEGA this year. How damn cool is this? I guess several folks got a wheel from Kevin this year. I was thankful to be one of them. pic.twitter.com/keKe51ZVPE
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) December 20, 2023
The Earnhardts are synonymous with victories at Talladega Superspeedway. Junior and his legendary father Dale Earnhardt Senior have won a combined 16 times at the 2.66-mile plate track situated in Alabama. While the intimidator had 10 wins there, his son holds six wins at the infamous superspeedway.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s winning streak at Talladega Superspeedway
Back in the day, Earnhardt Jr. drove for his dad’s company Dale Earnhardt Inc., as he marked the beginning of his four straight ‘Dega wins. During the 2001 Talladega race, Dale Jr. led 67 laps, holding Tony Stewart and Jeff Burton for the victory.
Talladega has always been known for a track that witnesses the lead change hands several times. But on April 21, 2002, only Dale Jarrett was able to take the lead away from Junior over the final 58 laps, but that was just for two laps. He led a race-high 133 laps to secure his second consecutive win at Talladega.
Heading back to ‘Dega in October of 2002, Junior came out strong as he cleared Tony Stewart and held on to the lead for the final 39 laps. However, that wasn’t the end of his winning streak. The former DEI driver backed that win with another in 2003 when he battled Matt Kenseth over the ultimate laps to bag his fourth consecutive Talladega victory.
Interestingly, Junior came back to the victory lane in 2004, leading 78 laps and holding off an array of seasoned drivers like Harvick, Jarrett, and Stewart. The 2014 Cup Series champion led the field with just 4 to go, but Junior capitalized on the draft assistance that he received from Ricky Rudd and made an impressive run from fourth to the top of the grid with barely 3 laps to the checkered flag.
After over a decade, the JR Motorsports owner lifted the trophy again at Talladega Superspeedway in 2015, days after what would have been his late father’s 64th birthday. He led 67 laps as he had to race his teammate Jimmie Johnson for his last victory at the infamous NASCAR oval.
