Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned a victory on Father’s Day at Michigan International Speedway in 2012, snapping a 143-race winless streak.
Every driver’s career has at least one defining moment.
The list for Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a long one. His first win at Texas Motor Speedway in 2000, his first Daytona 500 in 2004 and most recently his election into the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
Somewhere in the middle of that list is Michigan International Speedway in 2012. The race was run on Father‘s Day, and at the time, Earnhardt was riding a four-year, 143-race winless drought.
Earnhardt Jr. led nearly half of the laps around the two-mile track, and most importantly, the last one.
Earnhardt Jr. would go on to win seven more races for Hendrick Motorsports, including the 2014 Daytona 500.
Celebrate Earnhardt Jr.‘s election to the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Father‘s Day with this week‘s NASCAR Classic Full Race Replay — the 2012 Quicken Loans 400.