One more time: Dale Earnhardt Jr. ready for final Talladega start

And on Sunday, he’ll have the honor of starting from the pole for his final laps as a full-time driver at his most successful track. 

Earnhardt leads active drivers on the Monster Energy Cup Series tour with six career wins at the 2.66-mile speedway. In 34 starts, he’s posted 12 top fives and 16 top 10s. 

Once Earnhardt leads the field to the green flag for the Alabama 500, expect the driver of No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy to put on one last show for the fans.

“It is a track we’ve had a lot of success at and we’ve been looking at this race as a great opportunity for us to come in and get an awesome run or finish and maybe a win,” Earnhardt said. “So, we’ve just been focusing on the car to be as good as possible and make sure it’s driving the way we need to drive it so we can be aggressive in the race; and all the usual things you think about and are concerned with on any given race weekend, that’s what we’re dealing with. I haven’t really thought beyond the usual emotions and anticipations that you have every race. 

“But I do know this place has been great to me and we’ve got a lot of fans that come see us run here because they see it as a great opportunity to see us run well. So, I wouldn’t call it pressure, but there’s motivation to do well and run hard for all the folks that have come to see it happen. I’m sure there’s a few extra here this particular weekend considering it’s our last trip here. And, so that’s more motivation. So, I’m excited and looking forward to the race to get started on Sunday and hoping we can get up there and give everybody that’s going to be pulling for us a reason to cheer, and hope they leave the track on Sunday satisfied.”

Watch Earnhardt Jr. talk about his chances to win today:

From Earnhardt’s earliest days behind the wheel of the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet, the support from the stands at Talladega was overwhelming. There was a sea of red across the front stretch with Earnhardt gear from one end to the other. And when the No. 8 — or later the No. 88 car -- cruised to the point, the reaction from the bleachers was deafening. 

The encouragement fueled Earnhardt further. 

“I know that when we come here, people want to see us go to the front,” Earnhardt said. “Our fans want to see us take the lead as fast as we can possibly take it. They want to see us in the lead every lap. And, I can see in the grandstands the reaction when we have taken the lead and come around Turn 4 on the front straightaway. So, that’s motivating. 

“I know that’s there, and that pushes me all day at these plate tracks to do as much as I can to get into the lead and stay there.”

Here are five other storylines to watch on Sunday:

• Can Stenhouse Jr. throw a Hail Mary? Yes, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has won the last two restrictor-plate races but he’s currently 12th in the Cup standings and desperately needs a win to elevate him into the Round of 8. Should he win the Alabama 500, Stenhouse would be the first driver since Dale Earnhardt Sr. in 1990 to score three consecutive restrictor-plate victories. 
• Second, again — Chase Elliott will line up on the front row for the Alabama 500 with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Jr. It’s the second time in as many restrictor-plate races that the No. 24 has started alongside the No. 88 Chevy. Four times this season, Elliott has finished second in the Monster Energy Cup Series. Can he finally breakthrough in his 72nd start and win on Sunday?
• Follow the Fords — The Fusions were fast in practice on Friday with Brad Keselowski leading the charge with Roush-Yates power under the hood. In qualifying, seven Fords transferred to the second round of qualifying. With Kurt Busch’s victory in the Daytona 500 — and Stenhouse’s consecutive wins at Talladega and Daytona — Ford has a shot of sweeping all four restrictor-plate races for the first time in a season.
• The Spoilers — Sure, the fans would likely tear down the Talladega grandstand should Dale Jr. win in his final start at the track. But of the other non-playoff drivers, there’s plenty of talent capable of taking the trophy. Bowyer, who has two wins at Talladega, starts seventh on Sunday. Kurt Busch and Trevor Bayne also have restrictor plate wins. David Ragan has wins here and at Daytona. And don’t forget Joey Logano. He’s the defending winner of the Alabama 500 and has won the last two fall races at the track.
• No pressure for Truex — Martin Truex Jr., who won last weekend at Charlotte, said he bets he’s sleeping better than everyone else in Cup garage entering Talladega Superspeedway. After all, he has a free pass to the Round of 8. That wasn’t the case for Truex last year. After winning four races in 2016, his engine failed here at Talladega and he failed to advance.