Was Bud Shootout Fixed?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads in Budweiser shootout

Is Dale Earnhardt Jr. overrated? It's not a fair question. Given his popularity — who he is and, more notably, who was his father — he couldn't possibly be underrated. When has there ever been a star in any sport who was adored more while achieving less? That's not his fault. It's more like his burden.

Imagine if Elvis Presley had had a son.

So far, so good, though, in Earnhardt Jr.'s personal quest for the Holy Grail. It's the one his father found seven times, not the one sought in the movies by the comedy troupe Monty Python. Nowadays it's called the Sprint Cup.

Earnhardt, who left the family team this year to seek his fortune with Hendrick Motorsports, won the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night. The victory was impressive, but it doesn't count toward the Cup. Since the Shootout doesn't reward its winner with championship points, the victory has no pertinence. It was reassuring for Earnhardt and the millions who watch his every move. It was a great way to start, but regardless of what happens from here, winning the Shootout will end up being, in hindsight, no more than a footnote.

What the opening salvo in his crusade demonstrated was the many advantages of being a member of the Hendrick juggernaut. Roaming the high banks of Daytona, Earnhardt might as well have been the lead pilot in the Air Force's Thunderbirds. It was formation flying. Teammates Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears had his back in the Daytona draft. They finished third, fourth and sixth, behind him, and together they sealed his victory over the considerably more lonely Tony Stewart, who fought the good fight and managed to hold on to second. AOL Sports