David is from California. Married, two children and long time racing fan whose interest was handed down from his dad.
THE NAYSAYERS
By David Joseph
Staff Writer
I can hear the naysayers now. Joe Menzer has already hit the ground running. Jenna Fryer’s firing up her laptop in preparation. Duane Cross will have something sarcastic to say. And Jerry Bonkowski will probably offer Teresa his condolences for her struggling company. If only Junior had been more loyal, he’ll say. Yes, in the coming weeks, we are sure to hear one common theme from the narrow-minded Nascar media….”Dale Earnhardt Jr’s First Season at Hendrick A Disappointing One” the headlines will read.
Now, the son of 7 Time Cup Champion Dale Earnhardt has been viewed unfairly as a disappointment for years. From the days cutting his teeth on Carolina short tracks to his arrival at the biggest stage of American Motorsports, he has had to deal with everything he is not rather than all that he is. It has been there since that beginning, and it isn’t going to end anytime soon. Even Earnhardt Jr. himself has been quick to point out the mountain he is attempting to climb. Upon winning the fifth race of his career at Talladega in 2004, he remarked, “That ain’t s—t. Daddy won ten times here.” And this fall, he would have been the first one to point out that his 12 overall wins at Daytona International Speedway appear like a footnote on the Earnhardt Family Record.
But when Dale Jr. made the move to Hendrick Motorsports this season, expectations soared to an unprecedented level, particularly with HMS coming off an incredible season that saw their organization win 18 times in 36 races. Most of the experts predicted Junior would win 3-6 races, but still be a distant 3rd (some even saw his team 4th) in the Hendrick stable. The reality of those predictions couldn’t be farther from the truth.
The truth is that, despite only one points victory to date, Earnhardt Jr. has been better out of the box at Hendrick than anyone in the media anticipated. Few would have predicted he would be the top HMS driver for the first three quarters of the regular season or that the 48 and 24 teams would have been coming to him and Eury Jr. for the first 15 races when HMS appeared a step behind Roush and Gibbs. Few imagined he’d win more than 4-Time Champ Jeff Gordon in his first year or that he would be in the top 5 in points for 22 of the first 26 weeks of racing and the top 10 for all but 1 of the first 32. A win in his first two starts (The Shootout and Duel) would have been a long shot as well and Junior winning a pole anytime is something of an occasion. The Shootout. The Duel. The Michigan Win. The Texas Pole. A berth solidly in The Chase. And 2008 is full of checked boxes.
But you heard it hear first. The articles will start rolling off the presses. We’ll hear that Junior is in HMS equipment now, that he has access to Jimmie Johnson’s set-ups. They’ll point out that the man he replaced at Hendrick won 8 races without ever mentioning he only won 1 of those 16 races a year ago or that he was the clear-cut #3 at HMS when Junior has spent all season in the top 2. And they won’t stop reminding folks that all Junior did this year was win a “fuel mileage race” at Michigan.
There will be little mention of careless drivers that removed him from probable wins at Richmond and Talladega or the cut tires that took him out of races at Lowes and Indianapolis. You won’t hear about miscalculated fuel mileage (Pocono) or that Junior led the most laps at Watkins Glen of all places. And there will be little mention of the fact that Junior and the 88 team have been better week in and week out this year that at any point in time in Earnhardt Jr.’s Sprint Cup career. Those things will receive little mention.
What you will hear is that Dale Jr. had a brain-fade in the opening laps at Bristol, that he needs to get up on the wheel more like his Dad did, or that he should get in better shape to handle the physical demands of the sport (Ironically, Junior’s career record is best at the most physically and mentally demanding tracks on the circuit – Bristol, Martinsville, Daytona, and Talladega!). And you might even hear folks argue that those blown tires are his fault for running the high line as only he can.
Fortunately, you won’t hear these things from the people who know best. Ask Tony Stewart what he thinks and he’ll point out Junior’s ingenuity, saying that “Dale Jr. ran a line at Richmond inches from the wall that has never been run here before”. Darrel Waltrip will tell you he runs “The King Groove” and that there isn’t anyone who can come off turn two at Daytona like Earnhardt Jr.- “He just takes a line there like nobody else. It’s unique,” said Waltrip earlier this year. Ask Jimmie Johnson, and he’ll tell you Junior is “very talented” or Jeff Gordon who has been impressed all season with his “level of commitment”. And in reference to his driving style and whether he is aggressive enough, Stewart remarked that if he had heard Rick Hendrick tell Junior on the radio to “go get ‘em” he would have “got the hell out of his way!”
So when Jenna Fryer remarks that Dale Jr. is really only a great restrictor plate driver, this article is to serve notice that Junior has won 10 Cup races on non-plate tracks that include short tracks like Bristol and Richmond, mile and a half’s like Chicago and Texas, and 2 milers like Michigan. And when Bonkowski claims that he left Teresa and DEI out in the cold, remember that Teresa made here own bed and ask why Tony Eury Jr. and Sr., Ryan Pemberton, Doug Richert, and Steve Hmiel no longer work their either. (It should be noted that one member of the media, David Poole, has long argued for Earnhardt Jr.’s worth based, not upon his marketability, but rather the fact that only his father won a higher percentage of his organization’s wins in the modern era--Earnhardt Jr. accounts for an astonishing 71% of DEI’s career victories!) And when Jeff Owens reiterates that it’s Busch that reminds him of the late Earnhardt Sr., tell him to re-examine the video of Earnhardt Jr. dumping Busch at Richmond (yes I know he got on the brakes at the last minute) or the charlatan grin after the race when he said “Ain’t it ironic?” that had everything but the mustache.
The simple truth is that at the end of the end of the day, Dale Jr.’s season and his career will have a number of similarities when it comes to perception and reality. This winter, when Junior’s season is all about the races he failed to win, you won’t hear a single writer note that he had the 3rd highest average running position, 4th best driver rating, or that he led more laps than everyone on the circuit with the exception of Johnson and Busch. And when he hangs it up many years from now, it will be more of the same. There will be little talk of the Hall of Fame Drivers who won less than he did (Earnhardt Jr. already has more wins than Curtis Turner and Marvin Panch, is tied with Neil Bonnett and Harry Gant, and is quickly closing in on Buddy Baker, Benny Parsons, and Terry Labonte)) and lots of talk about those who won more frequently. He may well be the first athlete in any professional sport to enter their sport’s Hall of Fame having failed to reach expectations.
Instead, try and listen to the respected voices in the garage like Jeff Burton. In 2007, Jeff Burton came to Junior’s defense and said “Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a very respected driver.” And this year he jumped to Junior’s defense again after his move to Hendrick, saying, “The expectation that swirls around that situation is just unrealistic," Burton said referring to Earnhardt Jr. And then added, “People are just not very smart.” My guess is that we’ll be hearing from those “not very smart” folks more than we ought to in the weeks to come.
