Waid's World
by Steve Waid
True Earnhardt Jr. fans should now be happy fans
March 22, 2008
More blog postings from Steve Waid
I was privileged to do a radio show the other night and the host told me he had received calls from Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans who complained that their driver should have already had much better performances this season - and the fault lies with his crew chief, Tony Eury Jr.
I am not one to tell any fan what opinion he and she should have about anything. They have the right to express themselves as they may.
But in this case – hey, are you kidding me? If you call yourself a true Earnhardt Jr. fan, you should be ecstatic.
Yes, much to the consternation of some of his faithful, he has yet to win a points race. But he was the sensation of early Speedweeks with victories in the Budweiser Shootout and a Gatorade Duel. In the Shootout, he won the first race he ever drove for Hendrick Motorsports – I repeat, the first race.
Afterward, the newest driver for Hendrick maintained a highly competitive pace. He currently stands fifth in points with three finishes among the top five and four among the top 10 in just five races.
As for Eury Jr., yes, I’ve heard the talk – and it’s just talk - about errant calls in the pits or something like that, but the results don’t reflect such as far as I’m concerned.
Look at it this way. Did not Earnhardt Jr. say that he joined Hendrick because he thought it would be the team with which he could win races and contend for a championship, things he felt he could not achieve with Dale Earnhardt Inc.?
While he has yet to win a points race, with Hendrick, Earnhardt Jr. has already triumphed twice and is he not, as of now, in contention for a championship?
Isn’t he the only Hendrick driver who is among the top 12 in points - Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon aren’t with him - and thus the only team member eligible, for now, to make the Chase?
Doesn’t that suggest the goals Earnhardt Jr. wishes to achieve have, so far, been accomplished with Hendrick?
He’s enjoyed the best start of a season he’s ever experienced – and with Eury Jr.
So I repeat, if you are true Earnhardt Jr. fan, you should be very happy indeed.
I am not one to tell any fan what opinion he and she should have about anything. They have the right to express themselves as they may.
But in this case – hey, are you kidding me? If you call yourself a true Earnhardt Jr. fan, you should be ecstatic.
Yes, much to the consternation of some of his faithful, he has yet to win a points race. But he was the sensation of early Speedweeks with victories in the Budweiser Shootout and a Gatorade Duel. In the Shootout, he won the first race he ever drove for Hendrick Motorsports – I repeat, the first race.
Afterward, the newest driver for Hendrick maintained a highly competitive pace. He currently stands fifth in points with three finishes among the top five and four among the top 10 in just five races.
As for Eury Jr., yes, I’ve heard the talk – and it’s just talk - about errant calls in the pits or something like that, but the results don’t reflect such as far as I’m concerned.
Look at it this way. Did not Earnhardt Jr. say that he joined Hendrick because he thought it would be the team with which he could win races and contend for a championship, things he felt he could not achieve with Dale Earnhardt Inc.?
While he has yet to win a points race, with Hendrick, Earnhardt Jr. has already triumphed twice and is he not, as of now, in contention for a championship?
Isn’t he the only Hendrick driver who is among the top 12 in points - Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon aren’t with him - and thus the only team member eligible, for now, to make the Chase?
Doesn’t that suggest the goals Earnhardt Jr. wishes to achieve have, so far, been accomplished with Hendrick?
He’s enjoyed the best start of a season he’s ever experienced – and with Eury Jr.
So I repeat, if you are true Earnhardt Jr. fan, you should be very happy indeed.
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