He started the year off with a bang, winning the Daytona 500 for the second time in his career. He had the points lead for a while, and is currently fifth place in the standings. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is having an incredible year, and if he wins the Pocono 400, he will have completed a milestone – the fourth and final Hendrick Motorsports driver to win at Pocono in a row.
In the last three races at the “Tricky Triangle,” a Hendrick driver has won each one. Jeff Gordon was the first, followed by Jimmie Johnson, and Kasey Kahne, who won the Go Bowling 400 last August.
Earnhardt was sixth in final practice and was up to third at one point. He is starting from the eighth position tomorrow.
As far as his stats at the track, he has seven top fives, 11 top tens, and one pole. His average finish in terms of driver rankings is 16.3. He’s had the fastest lap at the track 63 times and averages 161.073mph. When it boils down to numbers, because his average running position at Pocono is 14.8, he is considered the 12th best. 60.6% of the time, he runs 15th or better.
Highlighting Junior’s 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup stats as a whole, he has one win in the 13 races of the season so far, six top fives, eight top tens, and 10 top 20′s. He currently has 428 points, plus 12 bonus points, and averages a finish of 11.92. Earnhardt averages 15.8 as a starting position, and had one DNF (did not finish) at Texas, when an accident on a rain-delayed race claimed him early on.
Out of the 4,023 laps total this season, he has lead the field 4.023% of the time. He has finished 92.33% laps.
At flat tracks like Pocono, his average finish is 9.40%.
So, can he win again this season? Without a doubt, he can. Look for him tomorrow to have a strong finish, and possibly a win.