RELATED: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s complete history at Dover
For his final full-time season as a driver, NASCAR.com will offer an analytical preview on Dale Earnhardt Jr. ahead of every remaining Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.
Race: Apache Warrior 400 Presented by Lucas Oil at Dover International Speedway
Date: Sunday, Oct. 1, 2 p.m. ET (NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Previous five results at Dover: 11th, 32nd, third, 14th, 17th
Notable: Earnhardt has just one win at Dover, and that came 16 years ago. In 34 starts at the ‘Monster Mile,’ he has 12 top 10 and seven top fives. He finished second in 2013 after starting that fall race on the pole.
Memorable: Earnhardt’s only win at Dover is one of the most memorable in NASCAR history. The Sept. 23, 2001 race was NASCAR’s first return to the track since the 9/11 attacks. Just like he did seven months earlier, when he shouldered the emotional burden of the sport after his father, Dale Earnhardt, was killed on a last-lap wreck in the Daytona 500, Junior was able to lift the spirits of NASCAR Nation when the favorite son returned to Victory Lane. He led 193 of 400 laps, though he later told ESPN.com, “I don’t remember hardly a thing about that race. I remember that amazing pre-race show and then I remember the celebration after we won. It wasn’t about me at that point. It was about celebrating America. And it was about feeling normal again. I remember thinking, ‘OK, we’re back at the track now. We’re all happy again, even if it was just for a few hours. Maybe now it’s OK to smile again. To feel normal again.’ “
Quotable: “I’m looking forward to Dover,” said Earnhardt in a team release.”Well, I’m especially looking forward to some of the tracks that we have coming up after that — Martinsville, Talladega, Texas, Phoenix, etc. I don’t know how we’re going to do at Dover, it hasn’t been a great track for us the past several years. I appreciate everybody’s support, though, and it does help. We’re going to keep grinding and keep working hard and try to get a good run for everybody this weekend.”