Dale Jr Breaks Winless Drought. Same Bat-Date, Same Bat-Racetrack

The Junior we remember from his Budweiser days poses with his trophy
 in victory lane

For Dale Earnhardt, Jr, the last four years have been shrouded with uncertainty about when his next win would come. It was the only thing the media asked the Hendrick Motorsports driver. It was all his fans wondered about. He had been close over the last year and a half, but close seemed to be the best that he could muster.

But Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, on the four year anniversary of his last win (also at Michigan), driving a black Chevrolet on Fathers Day weekend, that question was answered once and for all when Junior pulled into victory lane for the second time at the two-mile oval nestled in the Irish Hills. But this time: He. Was. Batman.


Holy Tumbler Batman! Dale Jr got some seat time in the new Batmobile
at MIS

Driving a car promoting the new Batman film, 'The Dark Knight Rises", Junior seemed to change from his quite, mild-mannered Bruce Wayne-esque persona to a veritable superhero behind the wheel of his No. 88 machine.
The track had just been repaved and after reaching speeds of close to 220 mph during a test on Thursday and practice on Friday, Goodyear decided to make a change to a harder left side tire. Of course, this threw most all of the teams for a loop and Dale Jr was among the first to criticize the move.
But once the green flag dropped, Junior quickly worked his way forward from his 17th place starting spot. He took the lead from Marcos Ambrose on lap 69 and never looked back. in all, Junior led five times for a total of 95 laps. Unlike his last win, in which he stretched his fuel mileage farther than anyone else, Dale Jr dominated the field and made a very convincing case that a few more wins may be just around the corner.

And as for the championship? This is the first time Dale Jr has ever had Chase bonus points and he now sits second in the standings, just three markers behind leader Matt Kenseth. They say you need to lose a title before you win one. Well Junior has finished third in points in 2003 and fifth in 2004 and 2006. He has been close and with the amazing consistency he's showing so far this year, who's to say he can't bring home his first Cup Series title at season's end?

Junior celebrates his first win of 2012

The race was also made extra fun for Junior Nation because Kyle Busch, who this week would have been the Joker to Dale Jr's Batman, experienced his third blow engine in as many weeks, making Junior's victory that much sweeter.

Next weekend, the Cup Series will be racing on the road course in Sonoma, California. It is unlikely that Junior will win back-to-back races with the tight turns and hills of Sears Point. But who knows? Stranger things have happened and, for now, all is right with the world. Dale Earnhardt, Jr has finally won again and he is in the hunt for the Chase and, maybe the title.