News digest: Oct. 22
Earnhardt Jr.’s Frustrations Mount
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was extremely frustrated after qualifying 39th for the Oct. 17 race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
“We were top-15 in practice, and we went out to try to qualify, and we were one of the worst cars here,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “We don’t know why or have any answer for it.
All the other [Hendrick] cars qualified fine and did well, backed their times up from practice, and we didn’t even get close.
“We looked ridiculous last night. It’s like really encouraging one day, and then the next day it’s equally discouraging, and that gets really old. I’m about to the end of my rope on it.”
Team owner Rick Hendrick said that even though Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t had the finishes that would show improvement with interim crew chief Lance McGrew, the team has been running better, leading to higher expectations. McGrew replaced Earnhardt Jr.’s cousin, Tony Eury Jr., in late May, and the team has dropped from 19th to 22nd in points since then.
“There has never been a driver that I can remember at Hendrick Motorsports that hasn’t felt that way,” Hendrick said of Earnhardt Jr.’s frustration. “They maybe didn’t say it, but they all go through it, they all get frustrated and how you respond is what counts. … I’m kind of happy he was upset.
“I get that way. I just don’t say it. What I admire a lot about Junior is he says what he thinks and he says what he feels. He’s disappointed and frustrated.”
Whether McGrew continues as Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief remains to be seen. No decision will be made until the end of October at the earliest, Hendrick said. Earnhardt Jr. said it’s Hendrick’s decision.
All Earnhardt Jr. wants to see are results.
“I’ve been riding it out, but I think there comes a point, though, where you don’t want to ride it out no more. You just have had enough,” said Earnhardt Jr., who has only one win in 67 starts since moving to Hendrick after the 2007 season.
Roush Leaving Truck Series
The organization with the most victories in NASCAR’s Truck series won’t be around for the 2010 season.
Roush Fenway Racing co-owner Jack Roush said his team, which has 50 victories in the series, will not return next year. The organization’s lone Truck team will follow driver Colin Braun to the Nationwide Series next year, and Roush won’t replace it.
The team has entered 707 races since the Truck series’ inception in 1995 and helped launch the NASCAR careers of Sprint Cup drivers Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards.
The team won the 2000 series championship with Biffle.
“It’s been a happy time in the Truck series. It’s a worthwhile series,” Roush said. “[But] when Chrysler came in in the ’90s and Toyota came in just after the turn of the century and brought their sponsorships, it discounted the sponsorships that other non-automotive affiliations would make.
“Dodge stepped into one of my sponsorship arrangements. When they came in and offered two trucks that [were] half the price for what was required to run one of my trucks, they basically discounted 75 percent.”
