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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Strong Effort For Earnhardt
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had his best finish of the season Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.
Tom Jensen  |  Posted April 26, 2009   Talladega, AL
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Left) congratulates Brad Keselowski (Right) in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

If there was anyone even remotely as happy as Brad Keselowski was following his stunning victory in the Aaron’s 499 it had to be runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Not only did Earnhardt earn his best finish of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Impala SS, he also earned some bragging rights, as he is Keselowski’s boss in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. So although a victory would have been preferable for Earnhardt, he was plenty happy for Keselowski and James Finch, who owns the No. 09 Phoenix Racing Chevy that the Michigan native drove to victory at Talladega Superspeedway.

“What can you say about him? He's got a lot of talent and a good future,” Earnhardt said of Keselowski. “Did an amazing job in a car that even the owner will admit probably isn't the best thing out there. But with that said, James has put a lot into his program this year, with working with Rick (Hendrick) and buying certain vehicles from Rick. I mean, James has put a lot into — he deserves what he got today for what he's been able to put into the sport to compete, what money he's spent.”

And that left Earnhardt beaming. “I'm really proud,” he said. “I've gotten to know him (Finch) much better over the last couple of years. He did an awesome job today putting Brad in the car this year and giving him an opportunity to run some. It's got to be an amazing feeling for Brad and his family.”

As for his own race, Earnhardt was pleased. He was on Ryan Newman’s bumper in the closing laps, only to get freight-trained on the high groove on the race’s penultimate lap by Carl Edwards, who had Keselowski on his bumper.

Just before the checkered flag, Edwards and Keselowski made contact, sending Edwards’s Ford Fusion first onto Newman’s hood and then into the catchfence. That allowed Keselowski to win and Earnhardt to finish second, in the process picking up three spots to move to 15th in the Sprint Cup points standings. So on balance, it was a good day.

“Our car ran great all weekend and we qualified good and handled, you know, about like everybody else's car, they all handled the same,” said Earnhardt. “And the engine was great, pushed Ryan there for four laps, and it didn't blow up. It was running about 260 (degrees) on an oval, and it held for about a lap and a half like that. I was just glad to get a good finish. I was just concentrating on trying to win, what should I do, where should I be, but I didn't want to screw myself out of a good finish if that was all I was going to be dealt, and I got lucky and came home with some points.”


Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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