Jared Turner: Talladega likely Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s last shot to win in 2009
Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. is winless in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. // LaDon George, NASCAR Scene
Related stories: Lance McGrew named as full-time crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports' Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes Lance McGrew can restore his confidence behind the wheel
COMMENTARY
While Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway is one of four left in the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, it could be the last opportunity for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win a race.
The Junior Nation better hope he takes advantage of it.
Although Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t won at Talladega since 2004, he has always made his presence felt at the 2.66-mile, high-banked oval. Yes, his five victories in seven Talladega starts from 2001 to 2004 are long gone, but you can count on him being in the mix when it comes time to revisit the Alabama track.
He finished a season-best second at Talladega in the spring after leading 20 laps, but that’s been one of the few bright spots of Earnhardt Jr.’s season.
One can argue that never in his 10-year Cup career has the Kannapolis, N.C., native needed a win more than right now.
To review: Earnhardt Jr. has endured easily his worst season since his rookie campaign of 2000. He has just two top-fives and five top-10s in 32 races, with the last of the latter being a ninth-place finish at Bristol in August.
He stands 24th in the standings after missing NASCAR’s Chase For The Sprint Cup and watching his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates make the Chase and vault to the top of the standings once the 10-race playoff commenced.
There have been a lot of days this season when Earnhardt Jr. simply hasn’t run well enough to contend for a victory and there have been others when he’s performed well before being beset by trouble in one form or another.
Either way, it’s made for a long, difficult season that NASCAR’s most popular driver would probably rather forget. He recently lamented his troublesome 2009, saying, “I’m about to the end of my rope on it.”
At least Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t have to wonder any longer who his crew chief will be in 2010. Hendrick Motorsports on Friday named interim crew chief Lance McGrew as Earnhardt Jr.’s full-time pit boss and announced that McGrew will return to the No. 88 team next season.
Even though Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t exactly enjoyed a renaissance under McGrew – he’s actually fallen five spots in the standings since McGrew replaced Tony Eury Jr. in late May – just knowing who’s calling the shots next season has to be a relief to Earnhardt Jr.
But nothing would do more for his morale and confidence than a victory on Sunday. Sure, it wouldn’t atone for his tough ride so far in 2009, and it may not even signal that Earnhardt Jr. and his team have completely turned the corner.
But a trip to victory lane would quickly validate team owner Rick Hendrick’s decision to keep McGrew at his post and also give Earnhardt Jr.’s loyal fan base hope that better days are ahead.
Who would have predicted that their driver would have one victory – at Michigan in June 2008 – in 68 starts since joining the powerful Hendrick organization at the beginning of last season?
And who would have thought when the season started that this weekend might end up being Earnhardt Jr.’s only really good shot to get to victory lane in 2009?
While he has won at the two upcoming tracks while driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc., Earnhardt Jr. has shown little evidence that he’s capable of winning at Texas next week or the following weekend at Phoenix.
And Homestead-Miami Speedway, site of the season finale, is traditionally one of Earnhardt Jr.’s worst tracks. Talladega, however, remains perhaps his best.
Despite his struggles this season, there’s no reason to believe the 35-year-old won’t be a contender on Sunday.
Earnhardt Jr. has led in 17 of his 19 starts at Talladega and his average finish there is a mediocre 14.2 only because of five DNFs.
In other words, when Earnhardt Jr. is around at the finish at Talladega, he’s a driver that competitors fear. A win on Sunday would at least temporarily ease the fears of Earnhardt Jr.’s fans who long to see their favorite driver happy again.
