(AP) Good memories abound for Earnhardt at Michigan
By NOAH TRISTER
AP Sports Writer
BROOKLYN, Mich.
A year ago, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally snapped his long losing streak. He left Michigan International Speedway with hopes of more victories to come _ maybe even a Sprint Cup championship.
He hasn’t won since.
Whenever NASCAR’s top series comes to Michigan, Earnhardt is at the center of attention. He won at MIS last June after 143 races without a victory. His most recent win before that was also at Michigan in 2008, so the Sprint Cup’s twice-yearly visits to the Irish Hills always seem to present an opportunity for Earnhardt and his No. 88 Chevrolet.
Earnhardt’s victory last year wasn’t a shock. He’d been running well for a while, working his way back among NASCAR’s elite drivers, so after a convincing performance at MIS, stock-car racing’s most popular driver could credibly eye a run at a series championship.
But concussion problems derailed his chances in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and although he began 2013 with five straight top-10 finishes and briefly led the points standings, he’s slipped to fourth since then.
Earnhardt took a step in the right direction with a third-place showing at Pocono last weekend, but the pressure is mounting for him to take advantage of a return to Michigan.
Jimmie Johnson has never won a Cup race at MIS, but he enters Sunday’s 400-mile race leading the standings by 51 points over Carl Edwards. Johnson has three victories already this year, and another spot in the Chase looks like a formality.
Edwards won the pole for Sunday’s race. Earnhardt qualified 12th, and defending Cup champion Brad Keselowski was 16th, one spot ahead of Johnson.
These two weeks _ Pocono followed by Michigan _ worked out well for Earnhardt last year, and he’d love a repeat.
The 38-year-old Earnhardt says he doesn’t feel any urgency to break through soon.
But even though that long losing streak is a thing of the past, Earnhardt realizes the pressure to win never really subsides _ especially for a driver whose performance over the last couple years has raised expectations. He has only the two Michigan victories in 192 starts for Hendrick Motorsports after winning 17 times in 291 starts for Dale Earnhardt Inc.
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