After losing 76 consecutive races, Dale Earnhardt Jr. grabbed a victory at the Michigan International Speedway.

“I can understand how it might look, especially if you’re not Dale Jr. fans,” Earnhardt said. “I know exactly what they’re going to say Monday.

“I mean, my fans are happy and I’m happy for them. The other half are going to tear this apart on how we won this race. But I got the trophy and I got the points. I got to see my team and my owner and my family tonight as happy as they’ve been in a long time. … It’s a pretty big day for me.”

Jr. went the last 55 laps, including three laps of overtime, on the 2 mile track without stopping for gas but the gamble paid off big time.

“We came in on that last stop and we were going to be about six laps short, and I saved six laps of gas,” Earnhardt said. “So, [we were] just real lucky. I have to hand it to [crew chief] Tony [Eury] Jr. for being a risk-taker. … He’s done a good job this year getting us good finishes, better finishes than we should probably have.”

No guts, no glory. Congrats Jr.