NASCAR fans know how much Dale Earnhardt Jr. is loved. There is an entire "Junior Nation" behind him, but NASCAR fans might not be aware of how widespread his appeal is. Pay special attention to the 1:42 mark in this video.
Making a one second appearance in this two minute "Year in Search 2017" video by Google may not seem special on the surface, but in a year of tragedy, divisive politics and even extremely rare natural phenomenon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. still made the cut in a video cramming an entire year of Google searches into two minutes.
That is impressive, as was Junior winning his 15th consecutive most popular driver award this year.
In case you still need more evidence of how loved Junior is, die cast models of his Axalta "Last Ride" No. 88 Chevrolet have become instant collectibles.
We already knew that the "Last Ride" 88 was this years top seller, but in a very short time, it has become the best selling in the die cast company, Lionel's history.
Related: Fans are showing Dale Earnhardt Jr. love with their wallets
The diecast of the car that @DaleJr last raced in is now the best selling car in maker Lionel?s eight-year history. pic.twitter.com/f8sPVjhys0
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 14, 2017
NBC Sports reported that The Racing Collectibles Club of America put out a list of the top ten selling cars for this year, and six of the ten belong to Dale.
Fans just can't get enough Dale Earnhardt Jr. swag it seems. NASCAR is going to miss that fanatical devotion.