Victory Lane's Long Lost Surname...

According to Stats LLC, Dale Earnhardt Jr. went 55,446 miles before winning Sunday's Michigan race. That mileage is more than 2 laps around our planet's equator. I didn't know when his drought was going to end, and didn't think he'd have two victories at a track that usually isn't his finest (he currently averages a 15.2 at the 2-mile oval) but he's been better since 2006 with only two finishes outside the top 20. (From 2001-2005, he averaged 21st compared to the 2006-2012 span, where he averages a 10th place.) His winless drought spanned for 143-races and four agonizing years, which is very hard to do in any profession. Initially, his car was very loose (over steering) and due to a left side tire adjustment prior to the race, the 88 crew was in a bind early on in the running. From that point on and restarting as far as 37th, the 88 was passing cars at will and any ill-effects from earlier quibbles were non-existent. His car was among the fastest for the race and was flawless in the closing stages of the rain-delayed event on that Sunday. He didn’t luck into this victory like he did in 2008, where he benefitted from a timely caution when he crossed the white flag with a crash on the front stretch. I thought this drought would've persisted long after Michigan and maybe he’d be good enough for a great finish, but not a victory. This is shaping up to being a great season, thus far for Dale and I’m overjoyed with this victory for a variety of reasons. Suffering through losses at Charlotte, Martinsville, Daytona and Pocono come to mind, recently, where he's in contention, albeit (and unnecessarily) no cigar. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has perhaps shocked himself that he has a top-10 average finish (7.4, at the moment heading to Sonoma, California), this season. The guy that I was accustomed to seeing win races at DEI (formerly Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, now Earnhardt-Ganassi) was in full form. As for the rest of this season, I don't know if I want to put him in the discussion of championship contender and if he can beat the best in NASCAR; but, this win shocked me as I'm sure it did for all Junior fans. With 20 races remaining in the season, more is certain to come and it’ll be interesting to see if Dale can back up this result for the remainder of the season with more wins, perhaps. I have my trepidations for the remainder, but racing is at least enjoyable again with an Earnhardt winning again....just don't take another 4 years, please.