Top 10 Dale Earnhardt Jr. moments

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s final start as a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver in the No. 88 will occur this Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. NASCAR.com's Holly Cain and Kenny Bruce look at the top moments in Earnhardt's career.

Honorable mention: 1998 Coca-Cola 500

Twin Ring Montegi, Japan

Earnhardt Jr.'s first venture into what is now the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series came on the other side of the world, in an exhibition race held after the end of the '98 season. In addition to being his first 'start,' the race was also the first time he and his father, seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt, competed in the same race. Earnhardt Jr. bested his dad with a sixth-place finish. The elder Earnhardt finished eighth.

Honorable mention: 2015 Coke Zero 400

Daytona International Speedway

Always a threat on the restrictor-plate tracks, Earnhardt displayed his talent and understanding of the draft once again, winning from the pole in the summer classic at Daytona. Earnhardt led 96 laps, more than half the 161 contested, to collect his 25th career victory and his 10th on a plate track.

Honorable mention: 1998 Coca-Cola 300

Texas Motor Speedway

Less than two months after his father finally joined the list of Daytona 500 winners, Earnhardt Jr. scored his very first win in a NASCAR national series race. The younger Earnhardt chased down Joe Nemechek in the closing laps at Texas and made the winning pass with only one lap remaining. The victory came in his 16th career start in the XFINITY (then Busch) Series.

Honorable mention: 2010 Subway Jalapeno 250

Daytona International Speedway

To honor his father's induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Earnhardt piloted a blue and yellow No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet in the July XFINITY Series race modeled after one of his father's seven championship-winning entries. It was a dual effort between car owners Rick Hendrick and Richard Childress, and the move paid off in spades. Earnhardt held off Joey Logano on a green-white-checkered finish to score his 23rd career win in the series and put the No. 3 back in Victory Lane.

10. Two-time champion

1998-'99 XFINITY Series

Success in a lower series is no guarantee that a driver can adapt at the next level, but Earnhardt left no doubt about his talent behind the wheel, winning back-to-back XFINITY Series titles. During a two-year span, Earnhardt won 13 races, posted 34 top fives and 44 top 10s. He also won six poles. Earnhardt, who had by then picked up the moniker 'Little E,' led the points standings for 35 of the 63 weeks that comprised the two seasons, setting the stage for his move into a full-time Monster Energy Series ride in 2000.

9. 2004 Checker Auto Parts 400

Phoenix Raceway

Earnhardt's 2004 win at Phoenix capped off the winningest season of his career -- six victories with a career high 16 top-five finishes (he equaled that in 2015) and 21 top 10s in 36 races. That includes seven finishes of second or third. The Phoenix victory put him third in the championship with two races remaining. But he never led another lap and finished 11th the next week at Darlington, and 23rd in the Homestead-Miami finale, ultimately ranking fifth in the final standings despite a statistical personal record.

8. 2014 Daytona 500

Daytona International Speedway

Ten years after winning his first Daytona 500, and six seasons after leaving his family-owned outfit to join the powerful Hendrick Motorsports organization, Earnhardt added to his growing legacy with a second career win in the 'Great American Race.' A runner-up in three of the previous four season openers, Earnhardt wasn't to be denied, even when rain delayed the running of the race by more than six hours. The win snapped a 55-race winless streak. 'I've been trying to tell people for 10 years what that felt like,' he said. 'It's just hard to put it into words what winning this race really means you.'

7. 2003 Aaron's 499

Talladega Superspeedway

Like his father, Earnhardt quickly proved to be a restrictor-plate master. His four consecutive wins at Talladega Superspeedway between 2001-2003 is a feat not likely to ever be repeated in the sport. Not one was simply a last-lap pass for the win, either. He led 290 of the four races' 752 laps or 39 percent of all the laps -- an amazing statistic on a restrictor-plate track.

6. 2004 Sharpie 500

Bristol Motor Speedway

As good as Earnhardt was on the big tracks, he enjoyed his most dominating Monster Energy Series performance in the 2004 Sharpie 500 on the Bristol, Tenn. half-mile high banks. He won the fall race leading 295 of the 500 laps. Earnhardt won by a whopping 4.390-seconds over Ryan Newman in his only Bristol victory in the series to date.

5. 2001 MBNA Cal Ripken Jr. 400

Dover International Speedway

It remains one of the most popular victories in the history of NASCAR. Just 12 days after Sept. 11, Earnhardt sped to the victory in front of approximately 140,000 flag-waving fans at Dover. Afterward, Earnhardt drove slowly around the track while hoisting a large American flag out his driver's-side window. 'It was so exciting to see the emotion of the fans,' Earnhardt said. Cal Ripken Jr., whose No. 8 uniform number was the same as Earnhardt's car number, waved the green flag to start the race.

4. 2000 All-Star Race

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Earnhardt became the first rookie to win the series' All-Star Race, rocketing past six other drivers before catching and passing defending series champion Dale Jarrett with barely a lap and a half remaining. A decision to pit for four tires during the final segment cost the youngster a handful of spots on the final restart, but the fresh tires more than made up for it. 'We didn't come here to run third; we come here to take all the money!” Earnhardt exclaimed in Victory Lane. Moments after the race, a beaming team owner and father Dale Earnhardt joined his son in the winner's circle.

3. 2004 Daytona 500

Daytona International Speedway

Earnhardt won his first Daytona 500 in only his fifth career start in the 'Great American Race.' The victory came exactly six years after his father captured his first and only Daytona 500 title and just three years after his father's passing at the legendary track. President George W. Bush was on hand to give the command to fire the engines. Earnhardt led 58 laps, passing Tony Stewart for the final lead change with 20 laps remaining. 'It was like a magic trick,' Earnhardt said of taking the lead.

2. 2000 DirecTV 500

Texas Motor Speedway

Earnhardt's first victory in the now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series came in only his 12th series start and appropriately enough, at the very place he won his first XFINITY (then Busch) Series race -- Texas Motor Speedway. An emotional Dale Jr. celebrated with his father in Victory Lane after the win. He went on to win again only four races later at Richmond.

1. 2001 Pepsi 400

Daytona International Speedway

Perhaps Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s most dramatic win was the 2001 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, the same track where his father passed away only five months earlier. Earnhardt led 116 of the 160 laps and crossed the finish line just 0.12 seconds ahead of his Dale Earnhardt Inc. teammate Michael Waltrip, putting a distinctive bow on the team's efforts during such an emotionally challenging time.