Dale Earnhardt Jr. (right) won the Daytona 500 to start his march into the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Credit: Autostock

Injury couldn't keep Dale Jr. out of the Chase

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Race to the Chase has two separate chapters: Before Fire and After Fire.

The third-generation superstar opened the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup season like a house afire, winning the Daytona 500 and streaking to 10 top-10 finishes -including victories at Atlanta and Richmond to go with five more top-fives--in the first 14 races.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. •   Driver Page •   2004 Stats •   Merchandise •   Article Archive •   Gillette Young Guns Challenge

Throwing out Las Vegas, where his car was so completely out to lunch that he parked it early and went home 35th, it was an electrifying start to the season.

He lost the point lead he had taken after Martinsville by finishing 21st at Michigan in June, but he was still in the hunt behind Jimmie Johnson. Then his season nearly went up in smoke - literally.

Earnhardt crashed a Chevrolet Corvette while practicing for a sports car race at Sonoma and suffered burns on his neck, arms and legs.

The resulting recovery - he called on Martin Truex Jr. to race for him after starting the car at both New Hampshire and Pocono - caused him to drop to third in the points behind Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

The recovery period plus an average finish of 26th at Chicagoland, New Hampshire, Pocono and Indy saw him lose 365 points between Dover and the second Pocono event.

However, he recovered with a fifth-place run at Watkins Glen and his fourth victory of the season at Bristol, sandwiched around another 21st-place showing at Michigan.

At Bristol, he reverted to the form of early in the season, leading 295 of the 500 laps.

One night earlier, he won the Busch Series race and became the first driver to sweep both Bristol events in the same weekend. For the season, he had four victories, 12 top-fives and 15 top-10s.

Daytona 500: At a track where his father was the undisputed master, he won his first Daytona 500, tracking down Tony Stewart in the late going. It was a fitting start to a blazing early season.

Subway 400 at Rockingham: Couldn't quite get to the lead, but finished a respectable fifth.

UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas: If there's a way to hide in the desert, Earnhardt wished he could have found it. A truly evil race car forced him to park the car and escape with a 35th-place finish. He gave the point lead to Matt Kenseth.

Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta: Take that, Las Vegas. After a week of butt-kicking back at the shop, Earnhardt and Co. rebounded from his worst performance of the young season with one of his best. He beat rookie phenom Kasey Kahne to the flag by more than 4 seconds for his second victory in four races.

Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington: Darlington is always tough, and a top-10 here is a good thing to take with you. Earnhardt was 10th, giving him top-10s in four of five races.

Food City 500 at Bristol: Survival is key at Bristol, and Earnhardt walked away 11th. Not a bad points day, especially after leading a lap.

Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at Texas: His fourth top-five in seven races further gave notice to the rest of the field that Junior was in the hunt for real.

Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville: Despite losing late to Rusty Wallace and a fast-closing Bobby Labonte, Earnhardt banked his fifth top-five and retook the point lead from Matt Kenseth.

Aaron's 499 at Talladega: After a classic DEI performance on a restrictor-plate track, in which he led the most laps, Earnhardt settled for second behind Jeff Gordon.

Auto Club 500 at California: Must be the desert or the Left Coast, because he ran 19th and finished one lap down.

Chevy American Revolution 400 at Richmond: If going west seems to hurt him, coming back east is a balm for Earnhardt. He cruised to victory No. 3 on the year over Jimmie Johnson, leading the most laps.

Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's: If you can't win, finish as best you can. He came home sixth in the series' longest race.

MBNA 400 at Dover: Losing out on a late pit stop, he finished third, which is more than Johnson, Ryan Newman and Kenseth could say after this furball. He failed to lead a lap, but he went home with most of the major pieces still attached to his car.

Pocono 500: Didn't lead again, but logged another top-10 finish in sixth. The tally through 14 races stood at three victories, eight top-fives and 10 top-10s.

DHL 400 at Michigan: Despite his quick start, a 21st-place run here cost him the point lead when Johnson won the race.

Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma: Jeff Gordon was Superman here, and Earnhardt soldiered home 11th. A solid day overall.

Pepsi 400 at Daytona: The DEI game plan fell apart when Michael Waltrip fell out, and Earnhardt got freight-trained by the Hendrick duo of Gordon and Johnson. He was third, and he led a lap.

Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland: Tropicana must remind Earnhardt of the desert. He ran 22nd.

Siemens 300 at New Hampshire: In his first race after sustaining his burns, Earnhardt started the car and raced the first 65 laps before handing it over to Truex. The youngster raced to 31st.

Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono: Again, Earnhardt handed off to Truex and limped off with a 25th, seven laps down.

Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis: He was the last car on the lead lap in 27th, still recovering from his burns.

Sirius at the Glen: Another top-five (fifth) cut his deficit to Johnson to 128 points.

GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan: Something about MIS spells 21st to Earnhardt. That's where he finished.

Sharpie 500 at Bristol: Not even his dad could have done better than Junior did, leading 295 of the 500 laps. It was his fourth victory of the season and it served to notify the rest of the Chasers that the kid is completely recovered. With the victory, he clinched his spot in the Chase, along with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

Pop Secret 500 at California: Everything was fine until a flat left rear caused him to spin on lap 219. He pitted too early, earning a penalty, then got caught speeding on the way out for another one. Just like that, he was two laps down. Then, Ken Schrader blew up in front of him on lap 233 and it was skate city, into the wall and out of the race. He wound up 34th.

Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond: As bad as California was for Earnhardt, Richmond provided a salve for his wounds. He was second behind race winner Jeremy Mayfield and enters the Chase on a "hot" streak.