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A NASCAR BLOG BY Steve Waid
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Junior on target for one goal
Jun
6
When it comes to Dale Earnhardt Jr., there’s more than one way to judge his season to date.
After he left Dale Earnhardt Inc. to join Hendrick Motorsports, he said that he did so because he thought the change would allow him the best opportunity to win races and a championship.
Despite his alignment with Hendrick, Earnhardt Jr. has not won a points race in over two years, or 75 events, to be exact.
The guy he replaced at Hendrick, Kyle Busch, now with Joe Gibbs Racing, is the hottest driver on the circuit with four victories in 13 Sprint Cup races.
To rub more salt in the wound, Kasey Kahne, who presently has the Budweiser sponsorship so long associated with Earnhardt Jr., won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race and the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and got some major headlines for his new sponsor.
Competitively, Earnhardt Jr. lags well behind the guy he replaced at Hendrick. And the driver who now has his once long-standing sponsor has grabbed national attention.
There’s plenty of media fodder there. It’s hard to ignore.
Yeah, Earnhardt Jr. has yet to win a points race and believe me, he knows that as much as we do.
But that will happen.
Let’s look at all of this another way. When Earnhardt Jr. said he came to Hendrick, he felt he would become a part of a team that would allow him to win a championship.
After 13 races, he’s compiled nine top-10 finishes - of which five are among the top-five - and they have helped propel him to third place in the point standings.
Halfway until the Chase’s cutoff point, he is comfortably in contention to win a championship.
Consider this: With all the respect it deserves, was he always in that position with DEI?
The answer is no.
Right now, Earnhardt Jr. is in a position to win a title – very much so. That’s one thing he wanted when he joined Hendrick.
He also wanted to win races.
That hasn’t happened yet., but it will.
After he left Dale Earnhardt Inc. to join Hendrick Motorsports, he said that he did so because he thought the change would allow him the best opportunity to win races and a championship.
Despite his alignment with Hendrick, Earnhardt Jr. has not won a points race in over two years, or 75 events, to be exact.
The guy he replaced at Hendrick, Kyle Busch, now with Joe Gibbs Racing, is the hottest driver on the circuit with four victories in 13 Sprint Cup races.
To rub more salt in the wound, Kasey Kahne, who presently has the Budweiser sponsorship so long associated with Earnhardt Jr., won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race and the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and got some major headlines for his new sponsor.
Competitively, Earnhardt Jr. lags well behind the guy he replaced at Hendrick. And the driver who now has his once long-standing sponsor has grabbed national attention.
There’s plenty of media fodder there. It’s hard to ignore.
Yeah, Earnhardt Jr. has yet to win a points race and believe me, he knows that as much as we do.
But that will happen.
Let’s look at all of this another way. When Earnhardt Jr. said he came to Hendrick, he felt he would become a part of a team that would allow him to win a championship.
After 13 races, he’s compiled nine top-10 finishes - of which five are among the top-five - and they have helped propel him to third place in the point standings.
Halfway until the Chase’s cutoff point, he is comfortably in contention to win a championship.
Consider this: With all the respect it deserves, was he always in that position with DEI?
The answer is no.
Right now, Earnhardt Jr. is in a position to win a title – very much so. That’s one thing he wanted when he joined Hendrick.
He also wanted to win races.
That hasn’t happened yet., but it will.
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Which of these NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers is most likely to miss the Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup field?
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