He appeared to have his best shot Sunday. He was making his 300th career start. He was at one of his favorite tracks. Yet, it was still not meant to be.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. looked to be on his way to potentially capturing his first points victory in 2008, until hard-nosed racing late in the going damaged the No. 88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet.

Running towards the front for much of the afternoon, Dale Jr. led 45 of 188 laps. Junior Nation came to their feet and cheered their adopted son as he sliced and diced his way through the two-and-three wide pack.

Dale Jr. and his familiar drafting partner Tony Stewart were able to hook up on a number of occasions and power their way to the front.

Junior’s day hit a bump after making contact with Stewart going into Turn 1. The contact, slight as it was, sent the No. 20 Home Depot Camry into the outside wall, bringing out the third caution of the day. The No. 88 Chevrolet did not receive any damage, while Stewart was able to make repairs.

“Pass on to [Dale] Jr., he did nothing wrong, my tire was going down,” Stewart radioed his crew after the incident.

As things got more aggressive in the pack, Dale Jr. found himself slipping back. On lap 172, Junior, Stewart and Bobby Labonte attempted to enter Turn 1 three wide. Labonte was on the bottom of the track with Stewart poking a nose between the two. The hole closed up and the three made contact. Junior lost control of the No. 88 Chevrolet and slid down in front of Labonte’s No. 43. The drivers could not keep control, triggering a six car pile up.

Despite the damage, Dale Jr. was back on track and on the lead lap. Avoiding trouble on the final lap, the Hendrick Motorsports driver was able to salvage a top-10 finish on the day.

With his tenth-place finish, Dale Jr. extends his streak without a win to 71 races, and this weekend returns to the track where he last visited victory lane. Junior drove into the winners circle on May 6, 2006 at the Richmond International Raceway and has yet to be back

 Heading into Saturday night’s event, the sport’s most popular driver hopes to rekindle that winning spirit.