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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – -Dale Earnhardt Jr. is Daytona’s favorite son, with a record at the 2.5-mile track to match it — four wins, including two Daytona 500 victories and two more in the annual summer race, the most among active drivers.
Earnhardt, in his final year of full-time competition, was leading the Daytona 500 earlier this year before getting clipped and wrecked, yielding a 37th-place finish.
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His 2017 results haven’t recovered. Still, history precedes him. That’s not lost on Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kurt Busch, who has identified the No. 88 Chevrolet as the favorite for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“This could possibly be Dale’s last time in a top Monster Energy Series car at Daytona,” Busch said Thursday. “It’s going to be a good battle. I guarantee he’s going to be elbows out, sleeves rolled out, going hard. He will be the car to beat this weekend.”
It’s high praise from the reigning Daytona 500 winner, especially in the midst of one of Earnhardt’s toughest season’s to date.
Earnhardt is 22nd in the points standings through 16 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races. Ten races remain until the 16-driver playoffs field is set. The 42-year-old likely needs a win to make the postseason field — what better, more appropriate place than Daytona?