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Dale Earnhardt Jr to Find a Place in the NMPA Hall of Fame

Published 11/27/2020, 7:15 AM EST

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Without a doubt, Dale Earnhardt Jr is an incredible driver and has built himself a great legacy. In recognition of that, the National Motorsports Press Association inducted him and former NASCAR racer Steve Kinser into the Hall of Fame.

Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions forced everyone to postpone the induction ceremony. Owing to this, the two of them will be inducted alongside the Class of 2022 at a later date.

The JR Motorsports co-owner has won the NMPA Most Popular Driver vote nearly 16 times. In his NASCAR career, Dale Earnhardt Jr clinched 26 Cup wins, including two Daytona 500s and six wins at Talladega Superspeedway. As a team owner, the 46-year-old has witnessed the JR Motorsports team storm three Xfinity championships in 2014, 2017, and 2018.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr and Steve Kinser deserved the nods

When the ballots were tallied, Earnhardt and Kinser nabbed more than 65% of the NMPA members. This was enough to ensure that the two made the cut, as only 65% majority is necessary for inclusion in the NMPA Hall of Fame.

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Steve Kinser himself is no slouch in the racing scene, with 20 World of Outlaws Series championships. In addition to that, he boasts of 577 series wins, 12 Knoxville Nationals titles and 755 sprint car wins.

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In his NASCAR career, Dale Jr also has two Xfinity titles, which he took in 1998 and 1999. Furthermore, the 46-year-old also has 24 wins in that series.

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Since then, he has been involved in the NASCAR scene with JR Motorsports. However, he does step into the car for the occasional cameo. His last race was an Xfinity race with JR Motorsports at Homestead-Miami, where he finished in a respectable 5th place.

Meanwhile, Steve Kinser also deserves a lot of plaudits. This is because he has made a name for himself in the World of Outlaws series. In fact, he was the inaugural champion and had been going strong since then. Judging by Dale Jr and Steve Kinser’s achievements, they are certainly worthy of being called legends.

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Written by:

Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
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