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dale earnhardt jr - dale earnhardt - jimmie johnson - jeff gordon - kyle busch
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is being coy, or about as coy as they get in NASCAR, which, let's face it, is not very. But he gets props (but no chase points) for trying.
Earnhardt and Hendrick Motorsports are set to divulge wee E's new number and the driver went on national television last week and said his fans - even the wingnuts (my word, not his) who made the unfortunate decision to have his No. 8 tattooed on their bodies - won't have to change much when the new math kicks in. Just add another number on one side or the other of the 8.
Well, you've got to do something when you're one of the field's marquee drivers, the offspring of a certifiable legend and arguably the face of NASCAR - particularly for the casual fan - and you're on the outside of the Chase looking in. Again.
I say forget the math. Just stick a big question mark on the side of the car, because his place of prominence is a mystery to me when you consider his actual performance on the track.
And before you commence weeping and wailing and sending nasty e-mails, know this: I'm no Junior hater. I'm a big fan of Juniors everywhere. I've got something of a Junior "Jones."
I love Junior Griffey and Cal Ripken Jr. as players and people. I love Junior Walker and the All-Stars and always had a soft spot for Junior Gilliam and Junior Bridgeman (whose legal name is Ulysses L Bridgeman Jr. and how cool is that?)
Whopper Junior? Carl's Jr.? Junior Mints (they can be very refreshing, you know)?
I'm in.
I even like Earnhardt Jr. the person. He seems like a fine fellow. He seems bright, self-effacing and articulate without coming across as a phony. He remains open and accommodating in
But I still can't reconcile his popularity and prominence with his performance.
Let's get to the stats:
Junior finished the 2007 non-Chase season ranked 13th in a sport where only 12 really matter. He won exactly as many races as you and me.
That would be none.
He had six top-five finishes and 10 top-10s. His average finish was 16th.
Those numbers speak to good, not great.
Wee E hasn't won a race since May 6, 2006, when he captured the checkered flag at the Crown Royal 400. He finished fifth in points that year, but mostly on the strength of 10 top-5 finishes and 16 top-10s.
But the reality is he has only two victories since the start of the 2005 season, his other victory coming July 10, 2005 at the USG Sheetrock 400. He missed the Chase that year by finishing a woeful 19th in points.
That came one year following his best two campaigns.
Earnhardt finished fifth in 2004 and had a career-high six wins to go along with 16 top-5s and 21 top-10s. He finished third in 2003 with two wins, 13 top-fives and 21 top-10s.
Those were great seasons, no doubt about it. But since then? No, not so much.
And yet Earnhardt was the top-ranked NASCAR driver (10th overall) on Sports Illustrated's 2007 Fortunate 500 that ranked the top earners in all of sports - not so much for his on-track earnings, but for the $20 million he generates annually in endorsements.
He sells beer by the Clydesdale. He sells jeans. He's opening up his own up-scale club nightclub in Charlotte. He does everything these days but win on the track.
It's become fashionable to point to the wicked step-mother, the blown engines and the less than state-of-the-art operation run at DEI for his troubles.
Is that it? Or is he indeed overrated as a driver?
I guess we'll find out when he moves over to Hendrick Motorsports, with his new number, his new sponsor and the upscale backshop.
But until then, his prominence can only be seen as a product of the NASCAR marketing machine, with nothing to do with winning races.
And in the end, winning races is all that will matter when determining his real place as a driver.
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