Earnhardt ready to make his move at Talladega track

He hasn’t won there since 2004, but he dominated the track between 2001-04.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — It’s been 70 long races — almost two full years — since Dale Earnhardt Jr. won a race that mattered.

That’s very likely about to change.

As NASCAR’s biggest star quietly puts together a solid start to his first season at Hendrick Motorsports, he heads into a strong stretch of scheduling that has him in prime position to end his drought.

First up is Talladega Superspeedway, the place he dominated from 2001 through 2004. Earnhardt didn’t finish lower than second in a span of seven consecutive races there, and that included five victories — four straight.

But he’s not won there since October 2004, the same day he vaulted to the top of the point standings only to lose his traction in the race for his first Cup title when, in his excitement following the victory, he uttered a profanity on live TV. It led to a 25-point penalty that knocked him out of the lead. He never recovered and finished fifth in the standings that season.

It was also the last time Earnhardt was a legitimate player at Talladega. He’s had just one top-10 finish in the six races since, and that includes a pair of 40th-place finishes.

So as he heads back to Talladega this weekend, where he’ll make his 300th career start on Sunday, Earnhardt could use his past mastery of the track to make a long-awaited return to Victory Lane.

“It’s a fitting race track to have a 300th start,” he said. “I love going to Talladega strictly because of my fan base there — there are so many people telling you all weekend good things to help you be pumped up. We try to run up front as much as possible at that track because the fans just go wild when I take the lead. It’s amazing to see as a driver.

“So I find myself being a little more pesky at that track as far as give-and-take because I want to lead as much as possible and get up there for my fans to get them on their feet.”

Through eight races this season, he’s notched six top-10 finishes and is third in the standings. Throw out the debacle in California, when NASCAR started the race on a wet track and Earnhardt was one of a handful of drivers caught in a slippery early accident that caused him to finish 40th, and Junior might be leading the points right now.

That still might come, though, as Earnhardt has approached his new job at Hendrick as a second chance of sorts. The consummate party boy has taken on a much more serious approach to this season, and is unwilling to wait to make a charge toward a first Cup title.

“Dale Jr.’s the man at Talladega, so we really hope to get it done there,” crew chief Tony Eury Jr. said.