2009.04.08
Where's Earnhardt Jr.?
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was supposed to fulfill his destiny to become great once he signed up to race for Rick Hendrick. How's that working out so far? For those who like to think it's all about the equipment and the money, take another look. Earnhardt teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are 1-2 in Sprint Cup points. Junior is 16th. There's no denying that equipment and money mean a lot, but it takes championship driving talent as well. Maybe Junior doesn't have it. -- Jeff Gilbert
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Jeff, I knew that Dale Jr. didn't have it over a decade ago. I had the opportunity to watch him race several late model events against the team I worked for back in the 90's. I wasn't very impressed with his skills then, I thought his brother Kerry was a far better racer than Jr. is. But, Jr. has the name recognition, so people expect him to drive like his dad. But sadly, he has never been that good and I think the move to Hendrick is highlighting this. He's an ok driver, but very far from great.
Comment by Other John — April 8, 2009 @ 3:41 pm
Have to agree. Jr. should have stayed at DEI where he had an abundance of excuses (and used them all). TE obviously saw things that we didn't see. Jr. raced for his Dad. To get his approval and attention. Dale didn't finish teaching Jr. everything that he could have. Jr. would have been a much better driver is Dale had lived. He's running out of excuses now, so I'm curious to see what his next move will be. To Childress to drive the #3. LORD, PLEASE GOD, NO!!!!!!!! I'm waiting for Jeffery Earnhardt to work his way up. Hoping the Dale genes just skipped a generation.
Comment by Marty — April 9, 2009 @ 12:01 am
Other John where were you when Jr. left your late model teams in the dust in Radford and went on to win back to back Bush Series titles? I agree his performance has not lived up to expectations but I think it has more to do with the chemistry of his new team. I think once Hendrick makes some adjustments Jr. will be just fine. As for Kerry, you must be joking. How many wins does Kerry have on Nascars top circuit? And don't say he hasn't had the best equipment because many top teams have given him a ride including Childress. Kerry is a horrible driver.
Comment by Greg — April 9, 2009 @ 11:40 am
Jr wanted to get away from the wicked step mother and Hendrick did him a favor. It worked out well for both. Jr does not need to win races to be a success. Jr says he is having fun and enjoys going racing with his cousin as his crew chief. If he is happy and making more money than anyone else what's the problem?
Comment by Busch2fan — April 9, 2009 @ 12:00 pm
Greg, the racing I watched was done at tracks not in this area. I saw Kerry race a couple times down at Langley. One of those nights, a local driver who was in the middle of the pack pointswise in the Pure Stock (entry level) division let Kerry take the wheel, and he darn near won with a mediocre car. When I saw Jr. race, it was at Callaway and Martinsville, and he didn't do well any of the times I saw him. He got smoked by other drivers who didn't have the name, money, or equipment that Jr. did. Like I said, I think he's an ok driver who can do well from time to time, and has the potential to do a lot better with a good team, but he falls short of many other drivers in NASCAR today. It's not that I dislike him either, I just think he's been expected by too many people to be just like his dad, and he isn't. Maybe if he didn't have that pressure, he might be able to do better.
Comment by Other John — April 9, 2009 @ 1:32 pm
Jr went through 2 top late model teams and hundreds of races and only won 4 times I think it was, certainly didn't warrant/earn the move to Busch. His Busch career was in the first fully Cup funded team so winning shouldn't have been a problem.
Jr's an average driver with poor communication skills. Isn't capable of giving his crewchief quality info to adjust the car with. People can blame Tony Jr all they want but until Jr learns to understand cars and communicate the changes he'll keep being an also ran.
Comment by Bryan — April 9, 2009 @ 1:52 pm
Man, did you catch that amazing performance by Jr. at the Brickyard? How about the past several races since firing Eury? He's really tearing it up on his way to his first Cup. Oh, wait, no he isn't. I guess it wasn't the crew chief after all. He's a field filler who from time to time can contend to win a race here and there, but isn't much of a factor when it really matters. Even with the better equipment that Hendrick has to offer, he still can't run up front. I think his excuse bin has run dry.
Comment by Other John — July 27, 2009 @ 1:57 pm