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Bill K
Administrator
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#1 Posted: Friday June 18th, 2010 05:05 AM |
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Through all the chaos and controversy surrounding the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 the biggest story of the day was forgotten about. That is the struggling Dale Earnhardt Jr, had again done just that and it looks like this time it’s no fluke.
When the 2010 season started many fans and media members alike thought that Dale Earnhardt Jr could put the miserable 2009 season he had behind him. At first it looked like they were right.
Earnhardt Jr. started on the outside of the front row for the Daytona 500 and Jr Nation had something to smile about for the first time in a long while.
Earnhardt’s impressive final two laps in the Daytona 500 saw him go from 17th to 2nd, and signs of the old Dale Earnhardt Jr were shown for the first time in years.
Yet now the season has started to separate contenders and pretenders it looks like once again Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be on the outside of the 2010 chase looking in for the fourth time in six years.
Although some signs were pleasing early on, there were still some things to be worried about.
At Atlanta and Vegas, Earnhardt qualified up front, but like he so famously does, the no. 88 team faded late in the race and finished out of the top-10.
Take Texas for example. Earnhardt Jr. had the best car he has had in two years. He led three times and pulled away from Jamie McMurray. For a moment it actually looked like he was going to win a race. Then when the final results came across the top of the tv screen fans saw that Earnhardt had taken the best car that day and finished eighth with it.
Since then, it’s been a different season for the team. Since Talladega, Earnhardt Jr. has fallen from 8th to 16th in the series standings.
Even more concerning was that Earnhardt had qualified 3rd at Pocono Raceway and wasn’t even a factor in the race. By turn-3 in the first lap, Earnhardt was back to 6th place and didn't get any higher than that the rest of the event.
He finished 19th and left his fans disappointed and looking for answers, yet again.
Yet every question or answer the fans have come up with, none of them have been right.
When he missed the chase in 2007, it was because he was on a “bad race team” at DEI and needed to get to Hendrick Motorsports.
Last season it was because he had a terrible crew chief in Tony Eury Jr to start the year and it took him a while to get adjusted to new crew chief Lance McGrew.
At the end of the year it was the personnel on the No. 88 chevrolet. Changes were made during the offseason, visible hurting Mark Martin’s 2010 title hopes and still nothing has changed.
People say it was the COT. Now that the wing is gone, was it really?
Now what is the excuse? Is it finally time to blame the driver?
Since he has been at Hendrick Motorsports Earnhardt has become NASCAR’s version of Anna Kournikova, a pretty image with not much success to back it up.
For some reason it seems Earnhardt Jr. is more focused on a Daytona Nationwide Series race in July than his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. After all, that merchandise has been flying off the shelves and making his image and his wallet even larger. Since the announcement on April 29th, Earnhardt has run five races and his highest finish is 18th. Coincidence? Maybe not!
In 14 starts this season, his only top five was his second place in the Daytona 500 the lowest of anyone in the top twenty in points. Earnhardt has just three top tens. Three! Tied for the lowest of anyone in the top 20 with David Reutimann who sits 19th. Reutimann according to Earnhardt last year has “run out of talent”.
Interesting terminology there, “Running out of talent.” My mother always said when people say something bad about you it’s usually something they don’t like about themselves.
Looks like Mom was right again, doesn’t it?
[size=http://www.speedwaymedia.com/articles/Story.asp?S=4870607101440]
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