Dover a Monster Success for Dale Jr.

Sure, he didn't get the race win and he certainly didn't challenge for it. The No. 88 didn't finish in the Top-10 and it never led a lap.

But was Sunday's Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway a rousing improvement for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s, uh, lackluster season? Can we really say a 12th-place finish is a good thing for a Hendrick Motorsports driver?

Well, in this situation, your darn right we can -- even though driver No. 88 may not exactly agree.


"There was eleven other guys out there that deserve an interview better than I do," said Earnhardt Jr. immediately after the race when what looked to be a hefty swarm of reporters surrounded him and the No. 88 hauler.

And it's not that you can blame the guy for thinking that, it's just that the way his season has progressed until the green flag of Sunday's race seemed to completely change when the flagman displayed that starting flag.

He ran high, ran low and -- most importantly -- seemed to be giving improved feedback to his crew in a manner that a nervous employee during his first day on the job would. Earnhardt sounded nervous and probably was because his cousin and longtime crew chief Tony Eury Jr. wasn't calling the shots anymore. Now, it was the Hendrick brain trust of guys to handle the No. 88.

And for a while, it worked. The No. 88 moved as high as third place at one point after seemingly handing the bad driving karma off to his Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon. In its place? A more sensible setup and a comfortable car to drive.

The finish wasn't perfect, but the mission was -- restore a little bit of confidence in Earnhardt and go from there.

You can bet that Earnhardt Jr. wanted more than anything to not get the Danica Patrick-like treatment from the reporters who only really were looking to capitalize on how this 18-time Sprint Cup race winner was suddenly coming alive again. That'll happen, though, when 1) the sport's single most popular driver has been in the tank and 2) when you actually have a good line of communication and rapport with the racing media (Ahem, Kyle Busch, that one's for you.)

Let's face it: NASCAR does need Earnhardt Jr. to pick up the pace and make it interesting as we head towards the Chase for the Sprint Cup in September. Moreso, we need more of Earnhardt Jr. vs. Kyle Busch to happen thanks to the villian status the mute driver of the No. 18 has turned into in the Cup Series.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying Earnhardt Jr. can win the championship now, but I am saying that Sunday we saw a team that with a little more cohesion and time to work on the cars from the pit box can definitely compete NASCAR heads down the stretch. More importantly, though, we saw a race car driver that can in fact race with the big teams in the pack, contrary to the claims of a lot people who felt Earnhardt Jr was a no-good has-been.

Frankly, that's not the case. Dale Earnhardt Jr. can win and will win again in this series -- it'll just take a matter of time.