When 3rd = A Good Day

This has been a long, rough NASCAR season for Dale Jr. fans. Let's face it, he hasn't done well for a variety of reasons. Personally, it doesn't matter to me why he has struggled, it just makes the races a little less interesting when he's not in the mix. But....

For about 20 minutes on Sunday afternoon we got to see flashes of the Jr. we'd like to see every week. Restarting 18th with 44 to go, Jr. blasted through the field with some combination of a better car (for once) and the good fortune of newer tires and a full tank of gas (while some others were trying to save fuel).

Dale had it wound up and running right along the wall - where he likes it - and pretty much no one was about to get in his way.

He didn't get the win, ended up 3rd, but I'd much rather see him charging through a field than trying to hold on for a top 10. It was good to see him finish a race going forward in the field instead of backing up or in the garage. He put himself in a position to drive aggressively and go for a great finish. This time it worked out pretty well.

While The Chase is out of the question for Jr. this year, it would be great to see him put together some good finishes this fall to provide some momentum toward 2010.