AT THE HEAD OF CLASS

By David Joseph
Staff Writer

Few of us were born to play Hamlet.  Not many can say we were meant to roam centerfield for the Yankees, quarterback Notre Dame, or patrol the pivot for the Boston Celtics.  And even fewer can say they were born to be a race car driver.

That is not necessarily the case if your last name is Earnhardt and it bears even more weight if your first happens to be Dale.  Welcome to a walk in one of the largest shadows imaginable.  Welcome to the life of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

As a third generation NASCAR racer, the pressures have been immense, and the pursuit well documented.  But beyond the 2 Busch Series Championships, a Daytona 500 win, 39 total NASCAR victories, something else has evolved that has put Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a class of his own.  And it has nothing to do with driving ability, corporate sponsors, marketability, or the legion of fans that support him.

In the last year, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has emerged as the most exemplary role model in American Sports today. Few would have envisioned this when Junior entered the sport nearly a decade ago.  He was a new breed of NASCAR driver complete with baggy jeans, t-shirt, and backwards baseball cap.  I, for one, thought that was awesome but probably because I viewed it as much as rock n' roll as role model.  But with each passing season, Junior has carried himself with dignity, treated competitors with respect, and grown into someone who is admired as much off the track as he is feared on it. 

And this evolution has taken place in direct contrast to what has been on display in the rest of the sports world.  If we were ever in short supply of athletes to look up to, this is the time.  In the last 12 months alone, we have been besieged by bad behavior in professional sports.  From Zidane's head butt in the World Cup Final to Barry Bonds' pursuit of Hank Aaron to Floyd Landis' tainted Tour De France Victory, we've been flooded with images of sportsmen who acted far from sportsmanlike.  This has carved a divide a mile wide and Earnhardt Jr. has bridged the two more than anyone else.

This was no more evident inPhoenix, AZ when Jeff Gordon tied Dale Earnhardt Sr. on the all-time wins list with his 76th career victory.  After carrying the famed 3 flag around the track in tribute to Earnhardt Sr., Jeff Gordon found an unlikely guest in victory lane when Junior was there to congratulate him on his accomplishment.

Those of us listening to Junior's radio communication were well aware of the disappointment in his voice at being dropped nearly 15 spots in the running order near the end of the race due to an untimely caution flag following his green flag pit stop.  But none of that was evident when he poked his head into Gordon's window in Victory Lane.

The genuine enthusiasm was obvious from the finger pointing upwards to doffing Gordon's cap to the wide smile, and finally the open handed pat on the chest by a heartfelt Earnhardt Jr.  And while it won't grab the headlines like a failed drug test, it is the kind of poignant moment that has been so dearly missing from ourcollective consciousness. But this was just one example in a series of them that have begun to become commonplace for Earnhardt Jr.

Just six days earlier, Earnhardt Jr. filled in as a relief driver for Kyle Busch not long after that very same car had wrecked his Budweiser Chevrolet ending his bid for his first victory in nearly a year.

When Busch's team had repaired the car and were unable to find their driver, Jackman Rick Pigeon, a buddy of Earnhardt Jr's, interrupted Junior's post-race interview to ask him if would drive in relief of Busch in hopes of picking up one more position.  "Junior didn't hesitate and agreed," said Busch's Crew Chief Alan Gustafson.  "It was a very sportsmanlike gesture, and it says a lot about Dale Jr. and the kind of person he is."

Now this was the same automobile that moments before had destroyed his Chevrolet that seemed on the verge of victory.  So why did he do it?  HendrickMotorsports is the juggernaut of NASCAR.  They are a rival team.  And he got behind the wheel and helped them earn three points that could ultimately put him at a disadvantage later in the season.

Despite the media's silly suggestions that this was a test drive for Rick Hendrick or a message to Teresa Earnhardt, Junior's motives were pure and simple and ultimately important for all of us to consider.

In the days following, Junior has cited a few important elementsof his decision to get into Kyle Busch's car and help another team.  For starters, he has reiterated that he is a "throwback" and that he really respects the way things used to be.  "They used to do that all the time back in the day. You'd have relief drivers getting into someone's car almost every week, so it was kinda like a step back into NASCAR history or something. Old school! It was cool."

Next, he cited that it is a sign of respect when someone trusts youenough to allow you to step inside their race car.  Junior felt privileged to have the opportunity saying "I appreciate them asking me.  That was an honor."
And while other drivers in his position might have been on there way home, Junior reminded us that he still drives race cars because it is darn fun to doeven if they are not your own!  "That's always fun to do, drive somebody else's equipment, see what it's like," said Junior.

And finally, the most plainspoken reason he gave for jumping in Busch's car was because a friend asked him to do it.  "I have a couple other friends on that team," remarked Dale Jr.  "They asked me to do it, and I wasn't going to say no."

As the father of two young boys, the unanswerable questions exist on a daily basis.  I don't know where to begin regarding why athletes take steroids or why one man smashes another in the face with a hockey stick.  But when my 5 year old inquired innocently, "Daddy, why did Little E drive KyleBusch's Car?" I actually had an answer that would make sense to him-----"Because his friend asked him to," I said.

Oh yeah, and one last thing..earlier this year Dale Earnhardt Jr. became the first NASCAR driver in recent memory to show up at the track sporting a ball cap that had nothing to do with corporate sponsors when he wore his Make-A-Wish Foundation did all weekend long.  My wish is that there were more athletes out there like him.







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