DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Through rain and wrecks, Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended the only drought that mattered.

NASCAR’s most popular driver won the Daytona 500 for the second time, a decade after his first victory in the “Great American Race.”


He radioed to his crew “this is better than the first one,” as he circled the track on his cool-down lap in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
