The season opening Daytona 500 is less then a month a way. As the 2010 NASCAR season gets ready to get underway, there are many questions; can Jimmie Johnson win an historic fifth consecutive title, or can anyone actually contend with the No. 48 team? Will Mark Martin continue his brilliant performance and perhaps finally go all the way? Will the re-introduction of spoilers on the cars make for better racing? Will the change to more consistent starting times help TV ratings? Has the economy recovered enough to fill last years sparse stands at tracks all across the country?
One question seems to loom larger then all the others. Bigger then Johnson’s dominance, TV ratings or empty seats:
Will Dale Earnhardt Junior win a race in 2010?
Last season was a forgettable one for NASCAR’s most popular driver. After scoring one victory in 2008, Earnhardt hoped to ride the Hendrick Motorsports train to glory in 2009. But not only did he fail to win a race, his longtime crew chief and cousin was replaced, and he failed to make the Chase for the championship. Earnhardt sat on the sidelines while his three teammates won races, made the Chase and watched as ultimately Johnson won the championship.
Without question, the star power of Dale Earnhardt Junior is one of the most powerful in professional sports. In fact some point to the sufferings of the mild mannered son of legendary seven time champion Dale Earnhardt Sr. as the reason NASCAR’s once shiny popularity armor has a bit of a chink on it and touches of rust around the edges.
The weight some put on him to carry an entire sport though isn’t something that Earnhardt says bothers him.
“I don't really put a ton of pressure on myself. I've already accomplished more and got further in the sport than I probably dreamed,” Earnhardt said. “But you know, just if you're competitive every time -- if you finish third, you want to run second. If you finish second and that was your ultimate goal, you want to win. Nothing is ever enough. Once you get a little taste of success, you just want more of it. That's what keeps me going.”
It’s that success that he wants to have once again, so for Earnhardt the offseason wasn’t a time to take it easy, it was a time for some adjustments.
“We've made a lot of changes in the off-season with our personnel and changing the entire culture in the shop, and I hope that those things are really going to improve our team and get us where we need to be competitively,” Earnhardt said. “We have everything there mechanically to get it done, and we have great people within the organization.”
It was those same great people in the organization though that put helped put his three teammates first second and third in the final standings, while Earnhardt not only missed the Chase for the third time in the last four years but finished a career worst 25th in the standings.
Looking back on last season, according to Earnhardt missing the Chase was the hardest part.
“I mean, damn, you hope to make the Chase. That's not really asking a terrible amount from your drivers,” Earnhardt said. “So you feel pretty bad. I could care less where I finish. If you don't make the Chase, it really doesn't matter. I think just missing the Chase itself is what's the hardest part, not the fact that we were outside the Top 20. After the Chase, really what more is there to argue about?”
Teammate and four time champion Jeff Gordon points out that Earnhardt and his team may be missing only one element.
“The organization puts so much effort into every team and every car that the ingredients are certainly there.” Gordon said. “I think that probably what's left is just to get that confidence up. It happens with everybody. If the driver is confident, then the crew chief is confident, and if the crew chief is confident, the pit crew is confident. It just trickles all the way down.”
Earnhardt has won races, a career high six in 2004, and NASCAR championships; he was the NASCAR Nationwide Champion in 1997 and 1998. But like an athlete whose stats aren’t what they used to be, the pitcher whose fastball is a little slower, a center whose free throws are no longer a sure thing, some are now questioning whether Earnhardt can ever climb back into contention again.
2010 may be the year Earnhardt will have to prove himself. And answer that question, not only to his fans and fellow competitors but perhaps more importantly to himself. For Earnhardt, 2009 is gone and he’s ready for the new season. And with the Daytona 500 less then a month away, that question will soon be answered.
“So there's three guys that made the Chase, and we didn't,” Earnhardt said. “We have to get out there and prove ourselves. I don't really know if I can get more detailed than that, but we're just going to go out there and try our hardest and be ruthless from the first lap to the last.”
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Comments
Dale Jr. is the Danica Patrick of Nascar. Both are marketing machines with only average driving ability. If he fails miserably again this year who will want to give him a ride next year. Here's to another lackluster year for Dale Jr. Go OVER88TED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tracy, stop being a silly hater. You know ANY team in the garage would give Junior a ride if Rick gave June his walking papers. Don't let those blinders get in the way of commonsense. Of course Junior's not as "good as his daddy was." But lemme ask you something. Who hell is as good as the Intimidator? JJ and Co., and that's it.
After Jr. fails again in his 3rd year at HMS, may he should consider take his marketing machine to a start and park team. Better yet he could bring along Danica for a second team car. Their combined God-given average at best talent may not add up to much, but hey, let the $$$ roll in!
Enlightened is correct on one count, Junior will have a ride regardless of his accomplishments. That's because of a fan base that values the "sizzle" rather than the "steak". They have every right to pull for whoever they want but, unfortunately, NASCAR is supposed to be a sport, not a popularity contest so these fans don't appreciate actual driving talent if and when they see it. As for who is better than the "Intimidator"? I can think of at least eight or nine drivers and some with names that the current crop of "fans" would not even know.
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