Last week, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr., a six-time winner at the Talladega Motor Speedway, recalled two of the most heart-breaking losses he had there.
Dale Jr. is the second most successful driver in Talladega history along with Jeff Gordon. Junior is a seven times Cup champion. No. 1? His dad. Dale Earnhardt is the most successful at the track with 10 top victories.
Talladega Slights
Junior said that his 2004 first loss at the track hurt him, where he was beat by Jeff Gordon after a late race spin by Brian Vickers.
The second time he lost at Dega was in 2015, when Joey Logano took the win from him, after a late race caution flag due to a wreck.
Before the flag, Dale Jr. was close to taking the lead.
“The two that jump out right away are the losing Talladega to Jeff Gordon when Vickers spun in the middle of the corner,” Earnhardt Jr. said in a recent interview. “The other one is the loss to Joey Logano. The same thing. Get the restart, I’m going by Joey… Talladega, 2015. I’m going by Joey, I’ve got him and there’s a wreck behind me and they’re like, ‘Feel frozen.”
‘They Threw All the Beer Cans at Jeff Which I Loved’
The loss to Gordon did not make Junior fans happy.
Fans even threw beer cans at Gordon’s car at turn-3 and turn-4. Jordan had to race pass the two turns to avoid the cans and that made Junior happy at the time.
“I’m in the act of I’m side drafting the #24 and I’m going by him, no question,” Junior said. “And the caution comes out and in that moment and they say, ‘He’s ahead,’ when we’re in turn 3 and 4. And they threw all the beer cans at Jeff which I loved and he, instead of getting up by the fence so the cans would not hit the car, he pulled farther away so it could get over.”
There’s a long history between Talladega and the Earnhardt family and these are stories fans will remember.
