Earnhardt Jr. due for win entering LifeLock 400

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s losing streak is at the point of ridiculousness.

Seventy-six races since his last NASCAR Sprint Cup victory, at Richmond International Raceway, in Richmond, Va., May 6, 2006.

Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch – they’ve all won a bunch of races since then.

Even Casey Mears, Martin Truex Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya, who haven’t exactly set the Sprint Cup world on fire, have visited victory lane more recently, but no cigar for Junior.

If you think Earnhardt is frustrated, you’re right. If you think he could kick a gas can around the No. 88 National Guard/Mountain Dew Amp Chevrolet garage, he probably already has. If you think he is hanging his head, forget it.

Junior is a fighter, and he won’t quit punching until he is shown the checkered flag in first place, which could be today in the LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.

Earnhardt won’t outright blame anyone for the victory drought. He was at DEI before moving to Hendrick Motorsports, where he has driven the wheels off his car this season and is third in Cup points.

Earnhardt starts third in today’s race. On Saturday, he was seventh-fastest in the final practice at 178.598 m.p.h. Teammate Jimmie Johnson, in the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, was quickest at 180.162.

Is he close to breaking the winless streak and recording his first Cup victory at MIS, where his father won two such races?

“This is a really fun race track; I really enjoy running on it,” said Earnhardt. “I don’t have a lot of great finishes on it, but I have enjoyed just about every lap I’ve run here. We need to work on just getting the car to turn a little better getting into the corner, which I think we can do. But we showed up really close (in practice), and I was real happy with that.”

Junior is piling up points for the Chase for the Championship with consistent top-five finishes, including a second at Las Vegas, a third at Atlanta and fourths at Darlington and Pocono.

“Michigan is one of my favorite tracks,” said Earnhardt. “We want to run good and get a win, make the Chase.”

Nationwide Series

Joey Logano became the youngest winner in Nationwide Series history, cruising to victory in the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky.

The 18-year-old Logano, making his third series start, took the lead from teammate Kyle Busch with 53 laps remaining and rolled on after Busch spun out with 37 laps to go. Series leader Clint Bowyer finished ninth

Logano, at 18 years, 21 days old, broke the age record of 18 years, 10 months, 26 days set by Casey Atwood in 1999.

Craftsman Trucks

Erik Darnell beat Johnny Benson in a photo finish Saturday in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.

Darnell won by 0.005 seconds, the closest finish under electronic timing and the second closest in series history. Butch Miller beat Mike Skinner by 0.001 seconds at Colorado National Speedway in July 1995.

NASCAR officials had to look at photos of the finish before calling Darnell to Victory Circle.

Names revealed

Two officials suspended by NASCAR are accused in a $225 million lawsuit of exposing themselves to a former co-worker, the Associated Press has learned.

Tim Knox and Bud Moore have been placed on indefinite administrative paid leave, although NASCAR chairman Brian France cautioned against assuming the officials are being punished for allegations made in the lawsuit.