“Just real emotional”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. was left battling tears after Talladega win in 2015

The 2015 win for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Talladega in the Geico 500 remains one of the most legendary and touching moments in NASCAR's recent history. That's because it was the first time Junior went to the victory lane at Talladega since 2004.

In front of a jam packed Talladega Superspeedway, Junior led 67 laps, more than his teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. After he crossed the checkered flag, Earnhardt Jr. was overcome with emotion after taking his sixth 'Dega win, his first in 11 years.

“Just real emotional, I haven’t won here in a long time. It was my daddy’s birthday a couple of days ago. Everything is just so good for me now, my personal life, my racing, the team I am with. I don't know why. I don't feel like I deserve it. I'm, blessed, man. I'm blessed," he said.

It's worth mentioning that Junior won four Talladega races in a row. Moreover, his six overall wins at Talladega are tied with Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski for second most on the racetrack. The driver with the most wins on the superspeedway is Dale Earnhardt Sr, with 10.

The two Earnhardts combined have a total of 16 wins on the racetrack, which makes sense of the phrase 'Earnhardt Country', often used when talking of Talladega.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. explains why having success at Talladega was important for him

In a 2017 interview, Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed why he values his success at Talladega so much. Junior also shared the memento he has from early on in his career when he won back-to-back-to-back-to-back on the superspeedway.

“Talladega was a very important track for my dad, winning so many times there.

"Very important to me to be able to emulate his success there and win a lot, so to have any type of record at that track that I believe will stand for a while – certainly may be broken one day – it means a lot to me, personally, to have those little oddball, random, rare records," he said.

As for the memento, it was the engine he won three of the four races in a row. Junior said that he still has that motor.

In fact, he claimed that he would run that motor and make sure to have it. Considering if he won with it two or three times, he'd want it back, for it to be rebuilt, and be made race-ready again. He added that he wants to race with it until the motor quit winning.