2012
Earnhardt, Jr. started 8th in the Budweiser Shootout, led for several laps, and finished 20th after being caught up in a six car crash on lap 55 that also involved Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick. In the Gatorade Duel, Earnhardt, Jr. performed strong, starting on the outside pole in the first duel race. He led a few laps in the early part of the race before finishing second to Tony Stewart after his Nationwide Series teammate Danica Patrick smashed hard into the inside wall in a last lap crash on the back straightaway. In the postponed Daytona 500, he finished in second place behind Matt Kenseth, after passing Greg Biffle on the last lap. At Phoenix, Earnhardt's car struggled most of the race and came out with a 14th place finish.
At Las Vegas, Earnhardt led 70 laps early but finished 10th based on bad pit strategy. At Bristol, Earnhardt finished 15th following a late race contact with teammate Jeff Gordon, and a speeding penalty. Earnhardt would back this up with a pair of back to back 3rd place finishes at Auto Club and Martinsville Speedway, leaving him second in the standings.
In the following weeks, Earnhardt would bring a string of top 10's: 10th at Texas, 7th at Kansas, 2nd at Richmond, and 9th at Talladega, where he led ten laps. The following week, Earnhardt, Jr. struggled for most of the race at Darlington, and had to settle with a 17th place finish. At the All-Star Race, Earnhardt won the Sprint Showdown, leading all 40 laps to race his way into the big event. In the event, Earnhardt won the 4th segment and in the final 10 lap shootout, had to settle for a 5th place finish. The following two weeks, Earnhardt, Jr. would post of finishes of 6th at Charlotte and 4th at Dover heading into the summer months. At the newly repaved Pocono Raceway, Earnhardt led 36 laps during the race, but made a late race fuel pit stop from 3rd place with just over 20 laps to go, finishing eighth and standing 2nd in points. At the 2012 Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan, Earnhardt dominated the race, leading 95 laps, and won, snapping a 143-race winless streak, almost four years to the day after his last win on June 15, 2008. Earnhardt, Jr. would suffer a 23rd place finish at Sonoma after being wrecked in a green-white-checkered finish, but was still able to cross the finish line intact and on the lead lap, continuing his streak of being the only driver to finish all races on the lead lap. He would back this up with a fourth place finish in the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.
The following week at Daytona, a last lap crash resulted a 15th place finish for Earnhardt, Jr. but still kept his streak of being the only driver to finish every single lap in every race. Earnhardt backed up with a couple of top 5 finishes, finishing 4th at both Loudon and Indianapolis, where he gained the points lead for the first time since 2004, after points leader Matt Kenseth was taken out in a late race crash. Back at Pocono, Earnhardt Jr was running in the 2nd position, but a break in the transmission sent the 88 to the garage, but came back out 18 laps down and finished 32nd, due to rain that came and ended the race and late race wreck including Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, and Denny Hamlin. His streak of completing on the lead lap came to an end, but he still maintained the points lead with 5 races until the chase cutoff. At Watkins Glen, Earnhardt had a steady top 10 going in the final laps but a late race spin resulted the 88 team to a 28th place finish, this would drop the 88 team from 1st to 4th in the points.
Returning to Michigan for the Pure Michigan 400, Earnhardt, Jr. had to start in 42nd place after a crash in practice forced him to move to a backup car. He led for a number of laps mid-race and finished on the lead lap in fourth place. Earnhardt, Jr., Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne also escaped engine difficulties that plagued Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. At Bristol Motor Speedway Earnhardt started 16th after a qualifying rainout; he led 13 laps in the race before pit road penalties resulted in a 12th place finish. The finish locked him into the 2012 Chase For The Sprint Cup, alongside Greg Biffle, and teammate Jimmie Johnson. At Atlanta Motor Speedway, Earnhardt went a lap down early but recovered to earn a 7th place finish. The following week at Richmond International Raceway, Earnhardt earned his 1st pole of the season. He would go on to lead 69 laps, but a late race pit stop resulted the 88 team to a 14th place finish, and was seeded 7th in the standings. In the first race of the chase at Chicagoland Speedway, Earnhardt finished eighth despite having to start at the rear of the field due to an engine change. Finishes of 13th and 11th at Loudon and Dover, left the 88 team 7th in the standings.
Read more about this topic: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Career