Why do I like Dale Jr.?

It's easy. He never gave up today. Not even once.

Dale Jr. drove his best race of the year in my opinion today. He didn't wreck, but was almost in one. He kept positive. He was even telling his crew chief to calm down. Dale was the quarterback on his team today.

Congratulations to Carl Edwards, by the way. I would have posted a picture, but once you've seen one flip, you've seen them all anyway.

People are trying to give me grief and telling me that Dale Jr. is the same guy as last year. No wins. I say, in points races, true. But Dale did win the Bud Shootout and his qualifying race. Dale Jr. came out of the chute winning races when it mattered.

Dale Jr. didn't win the Daytona 500. Dale basically had no drafting help, and that hurt a lot. Dale didn't win at California either, but that was because he got wrecked through no fault of his own, by his own teammate, no less, who hit a wet spot on the track and spun. Just bad luck.

Dale Jr. didn't win tonight at Las Vegas either, but he sure tried. He once again was the top finishing Hendrick car, finishing 2nd behind Carl Edwards. He did not have the best car all day, but he drove a better race than his car should have finished.

Dale Jr. has heart. He's got courage. He can drive a bad race car fast and he can drive a good race car wicked fast. When Dale Jr. makes a mistake, he's the first to admit it. He confesses to 'mistakes' that he didn't even make. In other words, Dale Jr. is humble.

Dale Jr. is the son of a 7 time champion, and he will likely not ever win as many races or as many champions as his father did. I don't care. Does he ever do wrong? Sure he does. He's human, just like you and me. Is he really a good driver? Try getting a 5 year contract with Rick Hendrick Racing if you think you could driver better.

I'm a fan of Dale Earnhardt Jr. He's truly a man in his own right now.