Could today be the day?

July 26, 1:47 PMDale Earnhardt Jr. ExaminerLindsey Marks

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Junior takes a break during practice at Indy (AP Photo/Tom Strattman

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start 3rd in today’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The #88 team’s efforts finally paid off yesterday when Junior made his qualifying run with a lap of 49.843 seconds.

This is the first top-10 start for Junior this season and he has matched his best start at this track. However, starting positions are certainly not the important statistics, finishing positions are and Junior has an inconsistent finishing history at Indy.

His best finish of 6th came in 2006 when he started 31st. Then in 2007, Junior started 4th and finished 34th. Obviously not the level of consistency anyone would hope for. He has had one top-10 finish, four top-20 finishes, two top-30 finishes, one top-40 finish and one last-place finish.

The good thing about the inconsistency is that you never know what could happen. At Daytona and Talladega where Junior has proved himself before, everyone assumes that he should be finishing in the top-five. Today, however, may be a chance for him to surprise people.

Unfortunately, Junior has been fighting a flu bug since the middle of the week but he has received intravenous fluids and seems to be on the path to recovery. Brad Keselowski is standing by as a relief driver just in case.

Despite the illness, this scenario may be the right one for the #88 team to prove that they can perform well. Certainly no one is expecting an outstanding finish for Junior today at this track but perhaps the lack of pressure will allow the team to make a new path and prove they can be successful.

I for one would love to see Junior kiss the bricks today.