HIS OWN MAN
By David Joseph
Staff Writer
It was a Wednesday morning. You woke up, grabbed a bite for breakfast and turned on the television waiting anxiously to see where Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be driving a race car in 2008. You’d heard the rumors the night before. But it wouldn’t be the first time the rumor mill got it wrong. You hadn’t heard it from Junior himself, and quite frankly, that’s all that you can count on these days.
And there he was, walking taller than he had at the previous press conference announcing his departure from DEI--this time with a moderator in tow. Not even the botched introduction, when the moderator announced he had won only 7 times (rather than the correct 17!) on the Cup circuit, could dampen Dale Jr.’s moment. He was about to unveil his future. And the look in his eyes let everyone know he was supremely confident about his decision, whatever choice he had come to.
And then the words came forward…..”my new boss Rick Hendrick.” Moments later, Hendrick appeared and there he was posing for flashbulbs alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Elledge Earnhardt. For thousands of Earnhardt Jr. fans around the world, the shock of Junior announcing he would be driving for Hendrick Motorsports was offset to some degree by the weightless ease of that unbridled, thousand watt smile spreading across his face.
In the hour that followed, they let us in on theirlongstanding friendship and the easy laughs and heartfelt emotion illustrated that these two men were filling a void in each others lives and that their partnership would be a small bandage on the wounds of a father’s loss of a son and a son’s loss of a father that cut a mile wide and just as deep. But through all the emotion, there was laughter too. Rick Hendrick even announced that he would now have the same boss as Junior……Kelley!
Amidst all the oddities, strangeness, and unexpected emotion of this morning, it actually looked as if Junior might finally be home. And this statement, of course, envelopes the single greatest irony of all--- that it now appears he had to leave the“family” business to actually become a part of one.
Following the press conference, many people alluded to the fact that they saw a “different” Junior. He was clean-shaven. His shirt was pressed and buttoned. But it has been the weeks that followed and the months that are still to come that will continue to illustrate and unveil the evolution of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Because in the days following the announcement, he’s made more moves than he would during the course of a 500 mile plate race at Talladega! And there are still a number of key decisions still to come. For some of the members of Junior Nation, this has been a shock to the system. And the break with Budweiser a couple of weeks ago and the news that he won’t continue driving the #8 only add to the number of adjustments Junior fans are in for in 2008.
Off the track, it began with the announcement of personal service contracts with Sony (Junior is a self-proclaimed techie who re-builds computers to relax in his spare time) and adidas with whom Junior has been intimately connected going back to his samba-wearing days in high school. And while these are big, mainstream companies, it is clear that they are very personal choices, and that Junior is the one with his hands at the controls.
And this is no less evident in his race shop. At JR Motorsports, he has built a new facility, fired his Busch driver, driven his own car for the first time, hired Brad Keselowski, brought Pops into the fold, fulfilled a promise to his dad by hiring Andy Pilgrim to drive on road courses, opened up Junior Nation, added a second Busch team for 08, and officially combined forces with Hendrick Motorsports all in the past six months!
But from the very beginning, Dale Jr. has always been his own man. From that morning he appeared at that first drivers’ meeting with baggy jeans, white t-shirt, and a backwards baseball cap, he has been walking his own path. But up until this point, we’ve also had the sense that some of his decisions have come from the guidance (if not partially the product)of those watching over him. Whether it was his sister by his side or his dad who gave him his first Busch ride and secured his Cup sponsorship with Budweiser, or Pops keeping an eye on him, there has always been the sense that this kid has had (and at times needed) looking after.
But the man who stands before us in 2007 is someone who is determined to illustrate that he won’t be “handled” by anyone again.
And thismaturation into a leader is ultimately the product of a young man who, despite his family name, had to work hard to earn everything he has achieved up until this point. This wasn’t a spoiled kid driving a Busch car at 18 or sitting in a cup ride at 20. He was changing the oil at Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet in Kannapolis during the week and racing late models on the weekends. He was crawling under the hood, turning wrenches, and beating the sheet metal back into place after routinely destroying it.
Contrary topopular belief, Dale Earnhardt Jr. never had it easy. From the early separation of his parents, to the fire that burned down the childhood home he shared with Kelley and their mom to being placed in a home where his dad and stepmom were rarely around, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had a rough ride at times. It didn’t get any easier when his dad died at Daytona, but through it all, Dale Earnhardt Jr. learned how to survive. What we see today is the byproduct of overcoming these obstacles--seen through a young man who isn’t afraid to make difficult choices and takes responsibility for each and every one of them.
We’ll see the offspring of those choices in 2008. When Junior arrives at Daytona next February, he will be stepping into the very best equipment out there with his move to Hendrick Motorsports. He has parted with Budweiser. He is out of the cocoon (or spider web depending on how you look at it) of DEI. He won’t even be driving a car with his grandfather’s #8 on the side of it. And he has gone on the record to say this was a tremendous risk on his part because it is going to “expose him” for what he really is. “Am I really a great race car driver?” he asked. “Can I get the job done? I am ready to find out.”
His fans are too. But truth be told, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is not Dale Earnhardt Sr. Never tried to be. Never pretended to be. He is a different man, and he is a different driver. In many situations on the race track, Junior demonstrates patience where Sr. lacked it. He is more likely to pass someone for the win than wreck him. And where Junior drives like a confident, methodical surgeon, Dale Sr. drove like he was running through the woods carrying a hatchet. But there is one thing that bindsthem – in the absence of a father’s presence, they both exuded an iron will to get to the front, a burning desire to compete, and a seething toughness that is both a birthright and a burden.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn’t a kid any more. There is no sign of a “young” gun in those eyes. There’s a wide smile but no goofing off. There is the calm of maturity in his voice but also the determination and focus that can only arrive with the loss of innocence and youth. This is a man who is serious about being who he is and finding out exactly who he can be.
A couple weeks ago at the Brickyard, Junior wasn’t real pleased with the way his friend driving the 11 car had raced him, so he radioed his spotter Steve Hmiel and said, “Go down to Denny’s spotter and tell him that I am going to park him. Make sure you go down and tell him that. I am going to park him.” And while Junior didn’t sound flustered, he wasn’t kidding either. So while he continues to set the standard when it comes to etiquette and class both on and off the track, don’t for one moment mistake this for weakness.
Because Dale Earnhardt Jr. is going to be charging through the field with fire in his eyes and venom in his right foot. And fans and drivers alike better brace themselves for all that’s coming and be sure to keep two hands on that wheel.
