Art Weinstein: Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be OK, but his fans are in for tough times
Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. signs autographs for fans at Pocono Raceway. // Sam Cranston, NASCAR Scene
COMMENTARY
If this isn’t rock bottom for Dale Earnhardt Jr., he’s got to be close.
After his 39th-place finish at Watkins Glen, the sport’s most popular driver stands 25th in the Sprint Cup standings. To put that in perspective, he is closer in terms of points scored this year to go-or-go-home driver Scott Speed (Junior is 569 points ahead of him) than he is to 12th-place Chase contender Matt Kenseth (Junior’s 577 points behind him).
That’s certainly not what anyone expected from a driver with Earnhardt Jr.’s background, now in his second year with the sport’s most powerful team. Incredibly, things have gotten even more dismal since team owner Rick Hendrick separated Earnhardt Jr. and his cousin and longtime crew chief, Tony Eury Jr. In the 10 races since, Earnhardt Jr. has yet to finish in the top 10, and has an average finish of 24.9.
Can Earnhardt Jr. rebound next year and look more like the Junior of old, instead of an old Junior? I think he will be improved, maybe win a race and possibly even make the Chase. He could possibly do that again the next couple of years. But that’s pretty much the upside. I seriously doubt we’ll see Junior consistently winning races and challenging for championships again. He’ll be 35 in October, an age when some drivers’ best years are starting to fade in the rearview mirror. Yes, his father, Dale Earnhardt, won six of his seven NASCAR Cup championships after age 35. Junior isn’t a threat to match that feat.
If Earnhardt Jr.’s best days are behind him, he’s got nothing to be ashamed about. He’s already had a hall of fame career, with better stats than many drivers who have been enshrined through the years. He’s earned tens of millions of dollars during his career, and based on his name and popularity alone should be able to continue raking in cash for years after his retirement, whether through endorsements, team ownership or business ventures.
So Junior’s going to be just fine, no matter what. The bad news? Some of his fans might not be OK. Some of them seem delusional at this point, and if he continues to struggle, those fans could really suffer.
Here at SceneDaily.com and NASCAR Scene, we get letters and emails almost daily from Earnhardt Jr. fans who are absolutely convinced that their favorite driver would be battling for a championship this year, “if only team owner Rick Hendrick wasn’t giving all the good stuff to Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin.”
“Why does Hendrick want Junior to fail?” some of these fans ask.
These people are completely serious. It’s frightening to think some of them may be voting in elections. One could even be driving the car next to you on the interstate. Frankly, I’d rather take my chances driving beside someone who’s text messaging with one hand and doing tequila shots with the other.
Other fans blame NASCAR – for introducing the car of tomorrow – for Junior’s woes. Still others blame Toyota, for having an unfair advantage over Chevrolets. (Funny, that “advantage” hasn’t hurt Chevrolet drivers Tony Stewart, Johnson, Gordon, Martin, Ryan Newman and Juan Pablo Montoya – who hold down six of the top 11 spots in the Sprint Cup standings).
Junior has one of the most ardent fan bases of any athlete, in any sport. It’s been a great ride for Junior Nation, as their favorite driver
has won many races and has carried on his father’s legacy.
Now, one has to wonder how some of these diehard fans will cope as their favorite driver progresses on the downside of his career.
