Dale Earnhardt Jr. has excelled whether it’s on or off the track, and on Thursday he was named to NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers — joining his dad, who was part of the original 50 on the list.
Delivering the news was NBC’s Steve Letarte, Earnhardt’s crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports from 2011-14 when Junior scored five of his 26 wins in the Cup Series.
Like his dad, Earnhardt Jr. had a knack for restrictor-plate racing, compiling two victories in the Daytona 500 (2004, 2014) and six wins at Talladega Superspeedway. Earnhardt Jr. also won twice in the Daytona summer race, including an emotional victory in 2001 in the first race at Daytona after his dad’s death there earlier that year.
— NASCAR.com —