Earnhardt, Jr. Wins at Pocono Raceway, Eyeing Championship

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Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Michael Baker International Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway on August 3, 2014 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Pit strategies at the Tricky Triangle resulted in different lead changes throughout the race, but it was the money stop by Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s team that got him his third win of the season – and a sweep at Pocono Raceway.

Earnhardt, Jr.’s crew chief, Steve Letarte, called him in under green flag conditions in the latter part of the race for fuel and Earnhardt, Jr. was able to race this way to the front. With 14 laps to go, he took the lead and put a large gap between him and the second place car. A caution with seven laps to go would bunch up the field which would create a restart between Earnhardt, Jr. and Kevin Harvick under a green-white-checkered finish. Harvick stayed with Earnhardt, Jr. but the outside lane proved to be a powerhouse position for Earnhardt, Jr. who went to the front of the field. Harvick had a couple of runs on Earnhardt, Jr. for the lead but ran out of laps.

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New Crew Chief Named for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Team

nscs14_88A crew chief for a popular driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series will be headed to the Sprint Cup level in 2015.

Greg Ives will be the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s No. 88 team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2015.

It was announced at the beginning of this year’s season that Steve Letarte would be leaving as Dale Jr.’s crew chief at the end of 2014 to be an analyst for NBC when NASCAR coverage moves to that affiliate in 2015.

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Brad Keselowski Beats Odds, Sweeps at Las Vegas

Via Getty Images Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 9, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Getty Images
Via Getty Images
Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 9, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Getty Images

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gambled on fuel but Lady Luck wasn’t on his side. NASCAR’s most popular driver’s race car ran out of gas on the last lap of the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was Brad Keselowski who put the money on the table and came away with the win.

Keselowski won both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races this weekend in Las Vegas. Keselowski was the first driver to sweep both races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the same weekend since Jeff Burtondid it in 2000. Burton and Keselowski are the only two drivers to accomplish the feat.

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Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wins the Daytona 500

56th Daytona 500
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 National Guard Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 23, 2014 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo by Tom Pennington Getty Images

He won it 10 years ago and he’s won NASCAR’s Great American Race for the second time in his career. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won Sunday’s Daytona 500 after leading the field to green following a late race caution which created a green-white-checkered finish.

It started out as an overcast afternoon at Daytona International Speedway, but by lap 38 the rain moved in and wouldn’t stop. Six hours and 22 minutes later, the field went back to green with cooler temperatures and three-wide racing for quite a few laps until different-sequenced pit stops thinned out the lanes of racing.

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