Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR
2011 was a comeback year of sorts for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The 9-time reigning Most Popular Driver in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series hadn't gone anywhere, he just hadn't been finishing races in the top 10 very much in the previous two seasons. Prior to the start of the year, Earnhardt's team owner, Rick Hendrick switched crew chiefs and teams between Earnhardt, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. Earnhardt ended up being paired with the ever optimistic, Steve Letarte. Earnhardt's immense fan base, known as the Junior Nation hoped that this would be what he needed to get back where he belonged.
2011 started off much like Earnhardt's previous two years had gone. While he qualified on the pole for the Daytona 500, his car was wrecked in a pre-race practice forcing him to use a backup car and start at the rear of the field. Earnhardt was a contender for the win, but a cut tire forced him to pit and a subsequent wreck was a page out of 2009-2010 all over again. However, things would get better.
Earnhardt ran off a string of solid finishes before the sixth event at Martinsville. Earnhardt got by Kyle Busch late in the going and looked poised to end his long win less drought. Unfortunately, the handle on his car went away and Earnhardt lost the lead and the race with only three laps to go. Losing Martinsville was heart breaking but it wouldn't compare to what happened at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600. Steve Letarte rolled the dice on fuel and Earnhardt was in position to take a win in one of NASCAR's most prestigious races. A caution from oil due to his teammate, Jimmie Johnson's failed engine added a handful of laps to the event. Even so, Earnhardt got a great jump on the last restart and had a comfortable lead on the last lap. Unfortunately, his tank ran dry going down the back stretch allowing Harvick to pass by and dropping Earnhardt to seventh.
One of the goals for the 88 team was to make the Chase, which they did after struggling through the summer months, getting caught up in incidents not of their own doing. Earnhardt ran steady in the Chase, just as he did for most of the season. In the end, Earnhardt finished a solid seventh, higher than many so called experts predicted. While the top 10 points finish was great, Earnhardt did finish the season win less and didn't seem to have the speed of the title contenders as he led only 52 laps all year long, a career low since he started in the Cup Series full time.
Earnhardt made a few mistakes while pitting early on in the year. Earnhardt was caught speeding twice by NASCAR in the first 10 events while he violated the commitment line in the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington. After that, the driver was error-free. His Hendrick Motorsports pit crew only made one mistake that brought a penalty in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 where they lost contact with equipment.
2011 Statistics For Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
7th in Sprint Cup standings
4 top 5s
12 top 10s
Best Finish: 2nd (Goody's Fast Relief 500, STP 400)
52 laps led
2011 Penalty Report For Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Race 1 - Pre-Race to the rear, tail end, backup car
Race 2 - Speed-Entering pits, Tail End of Longest Line
Race 4 - Speed-Entering pits, Tail of Field
Race 10 - Commitment Line Violation, Pass Thru
Race 15 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 19 - Outside half of the pit box tire violation/Team member not in contact with the outside tires, Tail of Field
Race 26 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 33 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field