The ODDITY Of Dale Jr.’s 4 Year Winless Streak 

win at daytona night race 2001

His 2001 Pepsi 400 win, that one was awesome

When he retired

The Pepsi 400 really was something we all needed. Seeing Mikey holding everyone back from getting to Jr. and then the celebration in the middle of the in Field for all to see, nothing in NASCAR can get better than that moment right there. #8 #15

2001 win at Daytona

Same

I wonder what is gonna be the case for Brad Keselowski. Last race he won was in April 2021.

I'll never forget when he ran outta gas and Harvick won. My son cried. I almost did too.

​@@bighand1530sucks seeing Roush still struggling.

​@@ls_812they won at Richmond this past Sunday with Chris Buescher. Plus, he has multiple top 10 and 5 finishes this season. Keslowski is getting better too

Preach

Amen

And he earned his fight in the pantheon of all-time greats with all of his Xfinity wins, his 2 Xfinity championships, the 2010 Xfinity Daytona race in the #3/ his 26 wins & 2 Daytona 500 victories 10 years apart, reminiscent of my other childhood favorites, the 2014 New England Patriots winning Super Bowl 49 after 10 years of 2nd place finishes, finally winning Tom Brady his #4 & my college basketball favs of UConn Huskies both winning the men & women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament Championships 10 years after they did the same exact thing in 2004. 2014 was such a good sports year seeing so many of my favorites finally get those victories, and it was honestly bittersweet knowing that it was the last year in my life before all these major health issues and struggles in 2015. I hold a lot of sentimentality because of that because sports really helps you forget a lot of the difficult problems that weak people face in life and it’s great to see your heroes provide the spark that help you get through some of those difficult experiences and really make a difference in your life. 2014 was a truly special year. And for Dale Junior, it helped catapult such a huge resurgence not just in 2014 with sweeping Pocono/ Daytona 500/ finally winning that great grandfather clock, winning the race at Martinsville speedway over Jeff Gordon, who spent his entire career, never experiencing a DNF there, and always competing for the win even when he was less than great!

As a Gordon fan I approve, Hendrick rejuvenated 2 of his 3 drivers career with Gordon and Jr. Letarte didn't have good chemistry with Jeff and thr back injury didn't help.

Or from 2008 on. Not sure they win a title together since he could not win a title with Jeff, but be interesting to know what might have been.

​@@kyleschafer6275 Gordon and Letarte had a dominant 2007 together

I don't remember if it was when he was still at DEI or right after he went to Hendrick... But I remember an in-car radio of him asking Eury Jr. what was wrong with the car, and if there was anything that could be done, and Eury Jr just said, "Deal with it, we can't do anything with the car until we get back to the shop." That has to be one of the worst things you can hear as a driver. Really, the last few years at DEI up to Steve Letarte becoming his crew chief were bad...

2006 was a solid year for him, but i see what your saying

@@evankirk97 I just went back and looked, you are absolutely right. '06 was pretty good. It was '05 I was thinking about. Looking at RR Jr. Really didn't have that many down years. And it was really only '09 and '10 that were horrible at HMS. (until the concussion and last year).

And he still damn near won the title in 04. Without that Corvette crash, I think he would have won it. He was even pretty good on the road courses back in the early 00’s.

Yeah with 10 laps to go I had to go out on the porch I couldn't watch came in with a lap and a half left. Good to see. He drove the hell away from Stewart that day

That broke me as a fan.

I was at that race

Jr and Jeff G didn't really like the COT once nascar moved to gen 6 they started winning like the early 00s again

@fatpatlives1998 yep, the Gen 6 was similar to the Gen 4. Especially 2014, in particular, when they still had 900 hp with the Gen 6. I remember 2014 pretty fondly. It was basically Penske vs. Hendrick (considering SHR was Hendrick satellite at the time) even though Hamlin and Newman snuck in the final 4.

I always assumed it was the concussions that slowed him down

Anybody else would have got fired

@@thomasstewart4183Terry Labonte went 156 races and didnt get fired.

​@TheOfficialRandomGuy Terry was a champion though but true

@@fatpatlives1998Dale was a Daytona 500 winner contended very closely for championships a couple times and has the biggest name in the sport 😂😂 edit: he’s also a 2 times Busch champ it’s not like his cup ride was unjustified

Hendrick didn't bring in Jr. to win. He had other drivers for that. He brought him in to sell merchandise and make his other drivers more palatable in the public eye.

@@mattb.2740 3 crew chief changes in 5 years, including the original one being Jr's cousin. Yeah, definitely about social stigmata and not competitive racing

@@ShrexyGuy if it was anyone but Godhardt Jr., his ass would have been fired. Instead, the felon re-arranged the entire company for his golden goose of merchandise and marketing, and shafted Mark Martin by putting him with Lance McGrew, someone I wouldn't trust to crew chief a golf cart.

@@djmohab2 Terry Labonte went 156 races without a win, Hendrick was loyal. Must suck to be so stupid tho, hope the incestual reproduction that caused you stops effecting you so heavily baby boy 😘

Dale jr is a great driver period. The car, team was failing him.

I'm sorry but I was a baby when he won the 2001 Pepsi 400. My favorite moment is still him winning the 2014 Daytona 500 cuz I watched it on TV.

That is how I felt when Chase Elliott lost the Coke 600 with two lap to go due to a spin from his teammate.

I wasn’t even a Jr. fan, but that’s gotta be one of the most heartbreaking finishes I’ve seen as a NASCAR fan.

As a Harvick fan it was one of the best.

​@@apaceofchange94 Wow, just rub it in why don't ya. Doesn't matter cuz at least Junior has two Daytona 500 wins while your boy only had one.

I do

Chase ain't having a good season, I think it's time they gave him a better crew chief. Gustafson has made bad calls that threw away wins and when the car ain't to Chase's liking he can't adjust on it or he can't keep up with the track changing, I think it's time for a crew chief change.

I like Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski.

Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and now Kyle Busch.

@@JustGenius2001 Kyle Busch has gotten more likeable now compared to in the past.

@@bighand1530 He's definitely not a hothead jerk like he was when he was younger that's for sure.