We are all fans of certain drivers for different reasons. The reasons can be and are as diverse as each individual fan of Nascar can be. We've all got different backgrounds, we all do different things, we all have different dreams and wishes. I can speak only for myself, and I am a fan of Dale Earnhardt Jr., and I will try once again to explain why.
I do not see Dale Jr. as a superstar, or even really as a celebrity. I see him as a guy who is passionate about his job, and he's good at that job, but other than that, despite the fact that he's in a very high profile business, he seems about as down to earth as many of my friends are, and hopefully as down to earth as I am. What you see is what you get, and in Dale Jr.'s case, I think there's a lot to like.
Dale Jr. grew up isolated from his mother, in large part. Mother Brenda was there, but after a devastating fire, he and sister Kelley went to live with their dad, who was just making a name for himself on the tracks of Nascar's Winston Cup Series, and daddy wasn't home a lot. Dale Jr. was mostly raised by his sister, and his step-mom Teresa. As it turned out, life with Teresa was not all that grand for Dale Jr., but Kelley sacrificed a lot to be there for her younger brother. Dale Jr. was sent to military school, and Kelley followed him there just so she could take care of him. Later in his life, Dale Earnhardt began to spend more time with his kids, and appreciate them more and more. Dale and Teresa's daughter Taylor Nichole probably benefited the most from her dad's presence, because by the time Taylor came along, Dale was pretty much established in the world of racing, and found more time to stay at home and be more involved in his children's lives. One of the most touching pictures that I've ever seen of Dale Earnhardt is his young daughter Taylor giving him a kiss in victory lane. It showed even old Ironheart had indeed, a real, beating heart.
When Dale Earnhardt died, he was a happy man. He was proud of his family, including his son Dale Jr. In the last years of his life, Dale and Dale Jr. became closer in their relationship. Dale was indeed Dale Jr.'s hero, and always had been, and it was good that they had those last few years together in a close relationship as father and son. When Dale died suddenly one February afternoon in 2001, suddenly all the spotlight was on the son. The son handled that sudden switch with grace and courage, even though he was hurting so badly inside.
Watching Dale Jr.'s career has had much of story book feel to it. He's had his highs and his lows, but he's always been honest and forthright with his fans. Once again, what you see is what you get. After yesterday's race at Pocono, an obviously exhausted Dale Jr. climbed out of the race car and faced the cameras and microphones. As a fan, I was proud of his straight and to the point answers, but felt a bit of brotherly concern over the fact that his face was so red, and he had a hard time conducting the interviews without showing just how exhausted he was. Kasey Kahne, who won the race, expressed his feelings about the new car, saying it was hotter inside than the old car was. The evidence of that was clearly visible on Dale Jr.'s face in the post race interviews. Watching Jeff Burton's face, who finished 5th just behind Dale Jr., showed just how hot and tired that old tried and true veteran was too. It's obviously hot inside these cars, and with the East Coast facing record temperatures, this trend will likely continue until the crews figure out how to keep the driver cooler inside the car.
Driving one of these race cars is not all money and glamor. It's not uncommon for a driver to lose between 5 and 10 per cent of their total body weight during a hot race such as we saw yesterday for the long 500 miles at Pocono. Temperatures inside the cars often climb to 125 degrees and above. The next time you hear about a driver relaxing in his air conditioned motor coach, or flying on his private jet somewhere, think about what they endure to make the big bucks they make. These drivers are in physical pain sometimes when they climb out of these cars, but they commit themselves to get the job done.
Dale Jr. will be ok, after a day's rest. I know he's got obligations to his sponsors to keep this week, but I hope he'll have a little down time. Like I said, I don't look at Dale Jr. as a unreachable celebrity, but as a guy who worked his tail off yesterday, and he's certainly feeling tired today. Most of us work 5 or more days a week, but never reach the levels of heat and exhaustion that these drivers experience in the 4 and a half hours they entertain us each Sunday.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Congratulations to Kasey Kahne and other stuff on my mind.
Congratulations indeed are in order to Kasey Kahne, who won a very hot, tiring 500 mile race at Pocono today. Kasey had the best car when it counted, and it's always fun to watch a nice young guy win a race. Kasey has been on a hot streak lately, winning not only the All Star race, but also the Coca Cola 600 as well. In my book, Kasey's hot streak is even hotter than the media's favorite child, Kyle Busch. My heartfelt congratulations go out to Kasey on his win at Pocono. I wish every young driver had as much class as Kasey does.
I've got a couple of serious questions for those of you who follow open wheel racing. I hope you understand that I am serious about these questions, and hope you don't just think that I'm throwing stones. I am woefully uninformed about open wheel racing, and would like to be educated. My first question is why is there such little passing in open wheel racing? Is it just because it's too dangerous? I'd really like to know.
My second question is how do drivers from Brazil, the Netherlands, Scotland, and other countries get their start in series such as Formula One? Are there local racing series that they dominate, as do many drivers in the US? I'd just like to know, because I just don't have time to research all this stuff. I am truly interested, and hope you all understand that my natural nature is to be curious about subjects that I know little about. You may post your answers in the comments section, or you may e-mail me at jimcinsc@gmail.com. I thank you in advance for any information you can give me.
What's going on at Gillette - Evernham Motorsports? For one thing, it looks like the 9 Budweiser Dodge is winning races. Where is Elliot Sadler and the other dude? Oh yeah, Sam Hornish, Jr. Elliot finished 34th, and Sam finished 41st. Why is there not parity between the teams who supposedly have the same equipment? I wish I knew the answer, because if I did, I'd be the hottest commodity in Nascar right now.
I'm watching Dave Despain's show right now, and they're basically talking about how passing in racing is overrated. Peter Windsor is only a Formula One kind of guy, so I guess he's used to what I call very boring racing. Like I said above, Please educate me about why I'm just missing the point when it comes to racing with no passing. I'm not trying to be a Nascar snob here, as if there was such a thing, but I'd really like to know. According to Peter, F1 is based on technology, which I understand. You find features on any F1 car that you'll never see on your car in your driveway. I appreciate that. Now they have Darrell Waltrip debating Peter, which is somewhat like having Jethro Bodeen debate the Duke of Windsor. I don't think any of these guys speak the same language at all.
If indeed, I've been wrong all these years, and side by side racing is indeed boring, we need to pass this news along to all the short tracks around the country. On any Friday or Saturday night, we see local drivers racing hard, side by side, on dirt or oily asphalt, trying to be the first to the checkered flag. I pay my 10 bucks, and rarely leave feeling like I didn't get my money's worth. Sometimes I get to see a fight or two, which is just plain fun too. I don't ever want to see people get hurt, but a good clean fight is not a bad thing to see either.
The best part of today was the TNT tribute and interview they did with Bobby Allison. Bobby still maintains that Cale Yarborough kept beating his nose on Bobby's fist after the 1979 Daytona 500. How can you not love a guy like Bobby?
I've got a couple of serious questions for those of you who follow open wheel racing. I hope you understand that I am serious about these questions, and hope you don't just think that I'm throwing stones. I am woefully uninformed about open wheel racing, and would like to be educated. My first question is why is there such little passing in open wheel racing? Is it just because it's too dangerous? I'd really like to know.
My second question is how do drivers from Brazil, the Netherlands, Scotland, and other countries get their start in series such as Formula One? Are there local racing series that they dominate, as do many drivers in the US? I'd just like to know, because I just don't have time to research all this stuff. I am truly interested, and hope you all understand that my natural nature is to be curious about subjects that I know little about. You may post your answers in the comments section, or you may e-mail me at jimcinsc@gmail.com. I thank you in advance for any information you can give me.
What's going on at Gillette - Evernham Motorsports? For one thing, it looks like the 9 Budweiser Dodge is winning races. Where is Elliot Sadler and the other dude? Oh yeah, Sam Hornish, Jr. Elliot finished 34th, and Sam finished 41st. Why is there not parity between the teams who supposedly have the same equipment? I wish I knew the answer, because if I did, I'd be the hottest commodity in Nascar right now.
I'm watching Dave Despain's show right now, and they're basically talking about how passing in racing is overrated. Peter Windsor is only a Formula One kind of guy, so I guess he's used to what I call very boring racing. Like I said above, Please educate me about why I'm just missing the point when it comes to racing with no passing. I'm not trying to be a Nascar snob here, as if there was such a thing, but I'd really like to know. According to Peter, F1 is based on technology, which I understand. You find features on any F1 car that you'll never see on your car in your driveway. I appreciate that. Now they have Darrell Waltrip debating Peter, which is somewhat like having Jethro Bodeen debate the Duke of Windsor. I don't think any of these guys speak the same language at all.
If indeed, I've been wrong all these years, and side by side racing is indeed boring, we need to pass this news along to all the short tracks around the country. On any Friday or Saturday night, we see local drivers racing hard, side by side, on dirt or oily asphalt, trying to be the first to the checkered flag. I pay my 10 bucks, and rarely leave feeling like I didn't get my money's worth. Sometimes I get to see a fight or two, which is just plain fun too. I don't ever want to see people get hurt, but a good clean fight is not a bad thing to see either.
The best part of today was the TNT tribute and interview they did with Bobby Allison. Bobby still maintains that Cale Yarborough kept beating his nose on Bobby's fist after the 1979 Daytona 500. How can you not love a guy like Bobby?
Congratulations to Brad Keselowski
I think we all knew that the day we saw the 88 Navy Chevrolet in victory lane was coming, and Brad finally sealed the deal last night at Nashville. Brad has been earning respect from his fellow Nationwide Series race drivers this year, and at long last, JR Motorsports got a big win with it's young driver.
Brad has been impressive, to me at least, not just for his on track skills. Brad's ability to keep a cool head after all the adversity involving Denny Hamlin a couple of weeks ago was impressive. In the post race interviews, Brad came across as the seasoned veteran, and Denny came across as the rank amateur. Brad finally got what he so richly deserved last night, after coming so close so many times. In racing, winning is always the best way to prove you are the real deal, and Brad finally got to prove that to the world.
In other racing news, it was interesting to see Kyle Busch, who is in the midst of running a grueling triple race weekend, being less than gracious in his 2nd place finish at Texas on Friday. After finishing in 2nd place, Kyle basically said the truck was a piece of crap, and walked away. I feel bad for the crew that worked so many long hours to make that truck the best they could make it, only to have their hotshot celebrity driver basically trash their efforts. It's not like Kyle finished dead last or anything, but that's they way spoiled brats behave, I suppose.
Today, we'll see the Cup boys racing at one of Nascar's strangest tracks. Pocono Raceway is a 2.5 mile long triangular shaped track that has no equal in all of the sport. Some may question whether the track deserves 2 race dates, but I imagine that the racing fans in Pennsylvania and surrounding states would willingly fight to keep 2 dates at their home track. In some ways, it's like a super speedway, with the longest straight of any track, but the tight corners almost make it seem like a road course.
Pocono has been the site of some very dangerous accidents during it's history. Dale Earnhardt suffered many injuries here years ago. Other drivers have as well. On this track, I'm thankful for the new car, and all of it's safety features. I hope we won't have to find out the hard way just how safe these cars are today.
Temperatures are forecast to be in the mid to upper 90's during today's race, which is indeed very hot for early June in the Pocono Mountains. The track, with it's older pavement, will be especially slick during the hot temperatures at race time. I imagine we will see cars in the wall in all 3 corners, and even on some of the straights as well. Exiting the tight corners and keeping the car driving straight while accelerating will take all the skill of every driver today.
Congratulations Brad Keselowski. You finally got the win, and I hope we see many more from you in the future. We're all very proud of you, and I hope Dale Jr. gives you a nice bonus this week in your pay check!
Brad has been impressive, to me at least, not just for his on track skills. Brad's ability to keep a cool head after all the adversity involving Denny Hamlin a couple of weeks ago was impressive. In the post race interviews, Brad came across as the seasoned veteran, and Denny came across as the rank amateur. Brad finally got what he so richly deserved last night, after coming so close so many times. In racing, winning is always the best way to prove you are the real deal, and Brad finally got to prove that to the world.
In other racing news, it was interesting to see Kyle Busch, who is in the midst of running a grueling triple race weekend, being less than gracious in his 2nd place finish at Texas on Friday. After finishing in 2nd place, Kyle basically said the truck was a piece of crap, and walked away. I feel bad for the crew that worked so many long hours to make that truck the best they could make it, only to have their hotshot celebrity driver basically trash their efforts. It's not like Kyle finished dead last or anything, but that's they way spoiled brats behave, I suppose.
Today, we'll see the Cup boys racing at one of Nascar's strangest tracks. Pocono Raceway is a 2.5 mile long triangular shaped track that has no equal in all of the sport. Some may question whether the track deserves 2 race dates, but I imagine that the racing fans in Pennsylvania and surrounding states would willingly fight to keep 2 dates at their home track. In some ways, it's like a super speedway, with the longest straight of any track, but the tight corners almost make it seem like a road course.
Pocono has been the site of some very dangerous accidents during it's history. Dale Earnhardt suffered many injuries here years ago. Other drivers have as well. On this track, I'm thankful for the new car, and all of it's safety features. I hope we won't have to find out the hard way just how safe these cars are today.
Temperatures are forecast to be in the mid to upper 90's during today's race, which is indeed very hot for early June in the Pocono Mountains. The track, with it's older pavement, will be especially slick during the hot temperatures at race time. I imagine we will see cars in the wall in all 3 corners, and even on some of the straights as well. Exiting the tight corners and keeping the car driving straight while accelerating will take all the skill of every driver today.
Congratulations Brad Keselowski. You finally got the win, and I hope we see many more from you in the future. We're all very proud of you, and I hope Dale Jr. gives you a nice bonus this week in your pay check!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Wishing I could play a sound file.
I haven't figured out how to do it on this forum, but I hope to get it up and running soon. You get to hear a driver start up the car, go though the gears, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, merging with traffic, then winding out 3rd, and then 4th, winding it out. Sounds like a 1.5 mile race track. The end of the clip sounds like cars going around a 1.5 mile track. When I can figure it out, you just need to crank up your speaker or headphone volume, unless you are at work. This sound clip rocks your world if you're a Nascar fan!
Much more later.
Much more later.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Be thankful of the things you have.
When you're a young person, it's so easy to think that you will be around forever. But history shows that even young people can go away, and without warning.
Any Nascar fan knows the tragedies. Dale Earnhardt. Kenny Irwin. Adam Petty. All were tragedies. Some don't remember Neil Bonnett or Davey Allison. Some don't remember Alan Kulwicki. All those were tragedies too.
Life is such a fleeting thing. It can be taken from us literally in a heartbeat.
Take life seriously. Don't take one minute of it as a joke or a time to just sit back and relax. Make the most of your life to the ones that care about you and the ones you love. You may never have the chance again.
Life is for living. Go live while you can.
Any Nascar fan knows the tragedies. Dale Earnhardt. Kenny Irwin. Adam Petty. All were tragedies. Some don't remember Neil Bonnett or Davey Allison. Some don't remember Alan Kulwicki. All those were tragedies too.
Life is such a fleeting thing. It can be taken from us literally in a heartbeat.
Take life seriously. Don't take one minute of it as a joke or a time to just sit back and relax. Make the most of your life to the ones that care about you and the ones you love. You may never have the chance again.
Life is for living. Go live while you can.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Whiners? I don't think so.
For the last several years, I've read comments on message boards that said that they like Dale Earnhardt Jr., at least somewhat, but they hate his fans. I've been doing some soul searching on that issue, because I am a Dale Jr. fan. Is it because of beer cans on the track at Talladega and some other tracks? Is it because we are the largest fan base in Nascar, and we are vocal in our support for our driver? Or is it some other reason?
I have read hit pieces on Dale Jr. over the last year that absolutely disgust me. I've read people bashing him because he left DEI. I've covered the reasons why Dale Jr. left the company that his father founded many times here. It's simple. Racing. DEI wasn't competitive, so Dale Jr. left to go race for a team that was. It's that simple. Did he whine or cry in the process? If he did, he did not do so publicly. He was very forthright about the situation, and he answered questions with very direct answers when he was able to. When a contract is being hashed out, it's not always in the best interests of anyone involved to be spilling their guts to the press. Dale Jr. didn't do that, but he tried to keep his fans, and the Nascar world as a whole updated on what was going on.
Have Dale Jr. fans thrown beer cans and other objects over fences at race tracks? Of course they have. But don't fool yourself into thinking that fans of other drivers haven't done exactly the same thing. For some reason, it's only the Dale Jr. fans that get blamed though. I've been at race tracks and have seen fans of virtually every driver under the sun do stupid things. I've seen fans of Kurt Busch hurl Miller cans over the fence. I've seen fans of Kyle Busch hurl Bud cans, which I find interesting. I've seen fans of Jimmie Johnson hurl cans, bottles, and what I think might have been a dirty diaper one time. Does this make the individual drivers bad people? Of course it doesn't. They have no control over what some drunken idiot that happens to be wearing a certain tee shirt or hat does. Are there Dale Jr. fans that probably shouldn't be allowed in the stands? Yes. But it's all proportional. Dale Jr. has by far the biggest fan base, so you are going to probably see more idiots wearing Dale Jr. gear just because of that.
What many people like to do is crucify a driver based on what a small percentage of his fans do. Show me any driver in Nascar, and I can go to any track on race day and find a fan of that driver doing something idiotic. Whenever you bring in a crowd of 100,000 people, there are bound to be a few mental cases in the crowd. There are likely to be a few drunks too. Or even maybe more than a few!
A common misconception is that Dale Jr. seeks out the media and looks for opportunities to get his face on TV. That's just not true either. Dale Jr. has never sought the spotlight, but he has been a smart business man. He recognizes his popularity for what it is, and is willing to make the most of it. Does he do so many Wrangler commercials because he demands to? No. He does them because that's what the sponsor demands of him. All drivers with sponsors do the same thing. Is Dale Jr. the most sought out driver, by both sponsors and fans? You bet he is. There are major corporations in the world that would love to have Dale Jr.'s name associated with their products or services. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a marketing manager's dream come true.
Way back in 2001, after a terrible Sunday afternoon, Dale Earnhardt was gone. In his book, Driver #8, a distraught Dale Jr. was worried about losing his job, his sponsors, everything he had worked for. He believed that with his dad gone, nobody would ever sponsor him to driver a race car. As it turned out, he was wrong. What Dale Jr. didn't know was that people loved him for who he was, not just because of who his father was.
Today, the sport of Nascar is more popular than ever. Many fans at the track or who faithfully watch on TV have never seen Richard Petty race, or David Pearson, or Cale Yarborough, or Tim Richmond, or even Dale Earnhardt for that matter. Dale's death prompted something that even he probably never would have thought possible. Nascar became a national sport, and began drawing even international fans. Dale Earnhardt's standing as a hero and as a national icon soon became the domain of his son.
Dale Jr. is famous worldwide. I was watching some show on the National Geographic channel one night. The show dealt with Japan, in some way or other. The cameraman was wearing an old Budweiser hat with the famous '8' on it. People pointed to his hat and said "Junior!" Dale Jr. no longer uses the 8, but instead the 88, but people even in Asia recognize what that number means. Strangely enough, the cameraman didn't seem to understand what they were saying. Apparently it was just some old hat, and he obviously wasn't a Nascar fan, but some of the people on the streets in whatever Japanese city he was in recognized the famous '8' and what it represented.
As the largest fan base in all of Nascar, the Earnhardt Nation is a huge, diverse family. We fight amongst ourselves from time to time, and we've got the black sheep we'd probably rather not talk about, but we are a family nonetheless. We share very few things in common, except for our admiration for a certain Nascar driver. We our doctors, lawyers, factory workers, husbands, wives, sisters, and sons. We are postal employees, we are convenience store clerks, we are fast food cooks. Some of us drive nice cars and live in nice homes. Some of us ride the bus and are just barely making it. But we're all united in our love for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
I have read hit pieces on Dale Jr. over the last year that absolutely disgust me. I've read people bashing him because he left DEI. I've covered the reasons why Dale Jr. left the company that his father founded many times here. It's simple. Racing. DEI wasn't competitive, so Dale Jr. left to go race for a team that was. It's that simple. Did he whine or cry in the process? If he did, he did not do so publicly. He was very forthright about the situation, and he answered questions with very direct answers when he was able to. When a contract is being hashed out, it's not always in the best interests of anyone involved to be spilling their guts to the press. Dale Jr. didn't do that, but he tried to keep his fans, and the Nascar world as a whole updated on what was going on.
Have Dale Jr. fans thrown beer cans and other objects over fences at race tracks? Of course they have. But don't fool yourself into thinking that fans of other drivers haven't done exactly the same thing. For some reason, it's only the Dale Jr. fans that get blamed though. I've been at race tracks and have seen fans of virtually every driver under the sun do stupid things. I've seen fans of Kurt Busch hurl Miller cans over the fence. I've seen fans of Kyle Busch hurl Bud cans, which I find interesting. I've seen fans of Jimmie Johnson hurl cans, bottles, and what I think might have been a dirty diaper one time. Does this make the individual drivers bad people? Of course it doesn't. They have no control over what some drunken idiot that happens to be wearing a certain tee shirt or hat does. Are there Dale Jr. fans that probably shouldn't be allowed in the stands? Yes. But it's all proportional. Dale Jr. has by far the biggest fan base, so you are going to probably see more idiots wearing Dale Jr. gear just because of that.
What many people like to do is crucify a driver based on what a small percentage of his fans do. Show me any driver in Nascar, and I can go to any track on race day and find a fan of that driver doing something idiotic. Whenever you bring in a crowd of 100,000 people, there are bound to be a few mental cases in the crowd. There are likely to be a few drunks too. Or even maybe more than a few!
A common misconception is that Dale Jr. seeks out the media and looks for opportunities to get his face on TV. That's just not true either. Dale Jr. has never sought the spotlight, but he has been a smart business man. He recognizes his popularity for what it is, and is willing to make the most of it. Does he do so many Wrangler commercials because he demands to? No. He does them because that's what the sponsor demands of him. All drivers with sponsors do the same thing. Is Dale Jr. the most sought out driver, by both sponsors and fans? You bet he is. There are major corporations in the world that would love to have Dale Jr.'s name associated with their products or services. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a marketing manager's dream come true.
Way back in 2001, after a terrible Sunday afternoon, Dale Earnhardt was gone. In his book, Driver #8, a distraught Dale Jr. was worried about losing his job, his sponsors, everything he had worked for. He believed that with his dad gone, nobody would ever sponsor him to driver a race car. As it turned out, he was wrong. What Dale Jr. didn't know was that people loved him for who he was, not just because of who his father was.
Today, the sport of Nascar is more popular than ever. Many fans at the track or who faithfully watch on TV have never seen Richard Petty race, or David Pearson, or Cale Yarborough, or Tim Richmond, or even Dale Earnhardt for that matter. Dale's death prompted something that even he probably never would have thought possible. Nascar became a national sport, and began drawing even international fans. Dale Earnhardt's standing as a hero and as a national icon soon became the domain of his son.
Dale Jr. is famous worldwide. I was watching some show on the National Geographic channel one night. The show dealt with Japan, in some way or other. The cameraman was wearing an old Budweiser hat with the famous '8' on it. People pointed to his hat and said "Junior!" Dale Jr. no longer uses the 8, but instead the 88, but people even in Asia recognize what that number means. Strangely enough, the cameraman didn't seem to understand what they were saying. Apparently it was just some old hat, and he obviously wasn't a Nascar fan, but some of the people on the streets in whatever Japanese city he was in recognized the famous '8' and what it represented.
As the largest fan base in all of Nascar, the Earnhardt Nation is a huge, diverse family. We fight amongst ourselves from time to time, and we've got the black sheep we'd probably rather not talk about, but we are a family nonetheless. We share very few things in common, except for our admiration for a certain Nascar driver. We our doctors, lawyers, factory workers, husbands, wives, sisters, and sons. We are postal employees, we are convenience store clerks, we are fast food cooks. Some of us drive nice cars and live in nice homes. Some of us ride the bus and are just barely making it. But we're all united in our love for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Emotions in Stock Car Racing
And maybe it's time to temper them a bit. Drivers drive, and fans become fanatic. It's happened to all of us, I suppose.
I wasn't that disappointed in Sunday's race at Dover, not from a Dale Earnhardt Jr. perspective. Sure, I was not happy with Jr. being caught up in a wreck not of his own making. I was not happy about a 35th place finish. But I was happy about a few things.
The 88 team never gave up. Hendrick engineering works, and I was glad to see that it was a wreck that caused the unpleasantness, rather than a blown engine or just some part failing on the car. Last year, Dale Jr. could have been caught up in a wreck, but more than likely his poor finish yesterday would have been a DNF, caused by a blown engine or something like that. Wrecks happen, and Dale Jr.'s qualifying efforts have really stepped up this year, but unfortunately not in the Dover race. Why does Dale Jr. get these early draws for qualifying? Dale Jr. just seems cursed to get the early draw, and I don't know what to do about it, except let someone else do the draw.
I'm also heartened by the lack of despair. Last year, especially after it was announced that Dale Jr. was leaving DEI, the 8 crew did not give up, but it seemed that DEI had already written him off. Though the crew never quit, it often seemed that DEI did. Hendrick Motorsports shows such more integrity and a commitment to racing that I have not seen at DEI in several years now.
Even though Kyle Busch won the race, he did it before a mostly empty arena. Those that remained booed loudly when he did his idiotic bow, which I imagine was fashioned after Dale Jr.'s bow last year. Kyle could at least come up with something original, such as his brother did with the snow angels. I find it funny that Kyle seems to think it's funny to bow before a booing audience, when Dale Jr. did it before cheers last year. My idea for Kyle's victory celebration, and I give it freely to him, no charge. Kyle, act like you're dodging the tomatoes and rotten eggs that most of the fans would love to be throwing at you. That would be at least more original.
Finally, I would like to comment all the Dale Jr. fans out there, that though you were disappointed in yesterday's race, you never gave up. You, in large part watched the race on TV, and put up with the dying embers of FOX's broadcast year. We're basically done with DW's love affair with the Vile one, and though there will be other broadcasters that laud the wee one's accomplishments this year, at least we won't have to listen to the same voices over and over again until next February. Take heart, Earnhardt Nation! The Vile one's days are numbered in Victory Lane.
I wasn't that disappointed in Sunday's race at Dover, not from a Dale Earnhardt Jr. perspective. Sure, I was not happy with Jr. being caught up in a wreck not of his own making. I was not happy about a 35th place finish. But I was happy about a few things.
The 88 team never gave up. Hendrick engineering works, and I was glad to see that it was a wreck that caused the unpleasantness, rather than a blown engine or just some part failing on the car. Last year, Dale Jr. could have been caught up in a wreck, but more than likely his poor finish yesterday would have been a DNF, caused by a blown engine or something like that. Wrecks happen, and Dale Jr.'s qualifying efforts have really stepped up this year, but unfortunately not in the Dover race. Why does Dale Jr. get these early draws for qualifying? Dale Jr. just seems cursed to get the early draw, and I don't know what to do about it, except let someone else do the draw.
I'm also heartened by the lack of despair. Last year, especially after it was announced that Dale Jr. was leaving DEI, the 8 crew did not give up, but it seemed that DEI had already written him off. Though the crew never quit, it often seemed that DEI did. Hendrick Motorsports shows such more integrity and a commitment to racing that I have not seen at DEI in several years now.
Even though Kyle Busch won the race, he did it before a mostly empty arena. Those that remained booed loudly when he did his idiotic bow, which I imagine was fashioned after Dale Jr.'s bow last year. Kyle could at least come up with something original, such as his brother did with the snow angels. I find it funny that Kyle seems to think it's funny to bow before a booing audience, when Dale Jr. did it before cheers last year. My idea for Kyle's victory celebration, and I give it freely to him, no charge. Kyle, act like you're dodging the tomatoes and rotten eggs that most of the fans would love to be throwing at you. That would be at least more original.
Finally, I would like to comment all the Dale Jr. fans out there, that though you were disappointed in yesterday's race, you never gave up. You, in large part watched the race on TV, and put up with the dying embers of FOX's broadcast year. We're basically done with DW's love affair with the Vile one, and though there will be other broadcasters that laud the wee one's accomplishments this year, at least we won't have to listen to the same voices over and over again until next February. Take heart, Earnhardt Nation! The Vile one's days are numbered in Victory Lane.
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