Dale Earnhardt Jr. sees Jimmie Johnson as a “phenomenal talent.”
On Sunday, he also saw him tie the 76-win mark in the NASCAR Cup series of his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr. It’s a mark Jeff Gordon also hit before retiring from the sport.
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And while Earnhardt Jr. expected Johnson to hit the mark, he says it wasn’t until he got out of his car on Sunday that he realized that it had happened. Earnhardt Jr. had an up-close view of the winning run, too, finishing second to Johnson in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.