Jr. leads a pack of cars during the race at Phoenix just before the hiatus last week.
BEHIND THE LINES
Jr. is Talladega favorite despite nearly 2-year drought
By Lonnie White / LA Times
Dale Earnhardt Jr. may be the most popular driver competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series but he hasn't been a winning bet for gamblers who've been looking for him to cross the finish line first in recent races.
Although Earnhardt -- listed as a 4-1 favorite to win Sunday's Aaron 499 at Talledega (Ala.) Superspeedway -- has competed well this season, he's still looking for his first victory driving for Hendrick Motorsports.
In eight starts, Earnhardt has three finishes in the top five but with no wins this season. In fact, Earnhardt has not won a NASCAR Cup race since May 2006.
But oddsmakers figure that this will be the week that Earnhardt will end his victory drought because of Hendrick's past success at Talledega and Earnhardt's winning history driving on the 2.66-mile tri-oval.
Hendrick drivers have won six of the last eight events held at Talledega and Earnhardt won four consecutive races on the track from 2001 to 2003. Of Earnhardt's 17 career wins, five were at Talledega.
Currently, Earnhardt sits in third place in the Sprint Cup standings, 86 points behind leader Jeff Burton. But the odds on Burton winning this weekend's Aaron 499 are 25-1, according to Sportsbook.com.
There are nine drivers with odds listed between Earnhardt and Burton.
Posted April 25, 2008 , 7:09 pm EST Last Updated April 26, 2008 , 8:16 pm EST
