Kenny Bruce: Dale Earnhardt Jr. flying under the NASCAR radar?
COMMENTARY
According to official fan voting, he’s still the sport’s most popular driver. And heading into his 10th season as a full-time NASCAR Cup competitor, his fans continue to believe that his best days on the race track are just ahead of him.
For Dale Earnhardt Jr., could 2009 really be the year of the Great Turnaround?
Unlike previous years, news regarding the 34-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver – whether racing-related or otherwise – hasn’t dominated the offseason. His every move hasn’t resulted in an attention-grabbing headline. The newness of the move to Hendrick has long worn off. Those bold predictions that “this will be the year” from his faithful followers still exist but appear to be a bit less evident these days.
No, Earnhardt Jr. has not been forgotten. Far from it. The expectations, his own as well as those of his well-meaning fans, remain firmly in place. But it’s hard to shake the feeling that this has been a surprisingly quiet offseason for a driver who shoulders the hopes of so many.
That might, in many ways, be a good thing. A very good thing.
All that attention, which in many ways was simply a product of an overly active marketing group, may have helped assure his status as an icon in the sport, but it did little to improve results on the race track. And it’s my guess that the bulk of his fans follow him because of his on-track efforts, not because he wears a certain brand of jeans.
But popularity and success on the race track don’t go hand in hand. The guy with the most billboards, or music video appearances, still has to produce behind the wheel.
No one knows for certain the real reasons for his lack of success in recent seasons. Some felt he wasn’t focused enough on his driving career and too focused on being a celebrity. Only Earnhardt Jr. knows if that was the case. But no one just falls into, and maintains, a career in NASCAR’s Cup series. Every driver is out there because he wants to be. Likewise, no one just falls into 18 career victories. Winning is the result of talent and hard work.
Others believe his troubles can and should be pinned on his crew chief and cousin Tony Eury Jr. The guy who guided Earnhardt Jr. to one win in 2008, a spot in The Chase For The Sprint Cup, and a 12th-place finish in the point standings. Was that satisfactory? No, of course not. And both Earnhardt Jr. and Eury will admit as much. But considering that those results came in the first season with a new organization, it could have been much worse. It’s no secret that two of Earnhardt Jr.’s teammates at the time failed to win a single race last year, and one missed the Chase entirely. Neither of those drivers debuted with Hendrick Motorsports in 2008.
It’s unlikely that Earnhardt Jr. is through winning races. And just as unlikely to think he won’t be a championship threat. He’s too talented and his team too good. The biggest problem he faces is the fact that the number of talented drivers with able crews continues to grow.
But he’s not alone. With Daytona looming on the horizon, it’s a problem every team faces heading into the new season.
Perhaps the silence is a sign that the outside distractions have been kept to a minimum. Maybe the adage “another year older, another year wiser” rings true. Then again, maybe not.
For now, his many fans can only hope. And wait.
