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Dale Earnhardt Jr. looks to break through with first New Hampshire win

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 5-Hour Energy 301 - Practice

LOUDON, NH - JULY 18: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, practices for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 5-Hour Energy 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 18, 2015 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

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The track known as the “Magic Mile” hasn’t lived up to its name for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

In 32 starts, the Hendrick Motorsports driver has yet to find victory lane at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which hosts the Sylvania 300 Sunday on NBCSN.

On top of that, Earnhardt has eight top-five finishes at the track, the most among active drivers without a win at the track that began hosting Sprint Cup races in 1993.

“For all the races that we’ve ran, to have not won at that track, it’s a little frustrating, because I do enjoy racing there,” Earnhardt said at the Chase for the Sprint Cup media day last week.

Earnhardt, who is 10th in the points standings, finished fifth in the July race at NHMS and has finished in the top 10 in the last four visits to the track. His best finish there was third in 2004.

“I’ve had some good runs there, but never really the car,” Earnhardt said. “It would be awesome to go there to try and find that little bit that we’re missing and get a win there.”

Should Earnhardt win, it could be this year’s version of his first win at Martinsville Speedway in 2014, which came in his 30th start at the short track.

Of the 16 drivers in the Chase, Earnhardt is one of five who have not won at NHMS. The others are Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray, Martin Truex Jr. and Paul Menard.

The last non-Chase driver to win there was Brian Vickers in the first 2013 race.

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