On the pole for Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix , Johnson, a six-time NASCAR champion, is in position to tie Earnhardt with 76 career wins, seventh-most all-time.
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Johnson has 75 wins in 505 races, compared to Senior’s 76 victories in 676 races. Johnson said he would be proud if he could match “The Intimidator’s” total.
“I was watching a clip before we came here and somebody remembered and posted that Jeff (Gordon) was able to match Earnhardt’s 76th and that we would have that opportunity this weekend,” Johnson said in a media session after winning the pole Friday. “And man, if that happens, it was one of those meant-to-be things to honor Dale and then also honor Jeff in his final year if it was to happen.
“It’s a long shot and the stars all have to align. This hasn’t been our best track and it’s going to be a very scrappy race with all the drivers that need to win to advance. If it happens, then somebody was looking down on us from above.”
While Johnson, 40, can tie Earnhardt in wins on Sunday, he has a long way to go to match Earnhardt’s overall statistics. Earnhardt had 281 top-five finishes and 428 top-10s while leading 25,684 laps en route to seven NASCAR Cup championships.
Johnson has 206 top-fives, 312 top-10s and led 17,665 laps. He could approach Earnhardt’s lifetime statistics if he decides to race for another nine years until he is 49, the same age as Earnhardt when he died in a crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. His latest victory was at Texas on Nov. 8.
Would NASCAR fans applaud Johnson if he tied the record Sunday?
Don’t bet on it. Many Earnhardt fans were unhappy in 2007 when Gordon matched The Intimidator’s 76 career victories. They booed when he tied the mark at Phoenix, and they threw things when he passed it at Talladega the following week.
