Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Insists He’s Not Frustrated, Even After Two Winless Years….And now Talladega!
Big shoes to fill: Dale Earnhardt’s last win came at Talladega in 2000, in one of his most spectacular charges.
(Photo Credit: Racing One/Getty Images)
By Mike Mulhern
TALLADEGA, Ala.
If Dale Earnhardt Jr. is getting frustrated by his long losing streak – next week it will be precisely two years since his last tour win – he’s hiding it well. Maybe that’s because it’s clear he’s going to win this season, several times assuredly, and his focus thus is more on consistency and making the championship chase….and having a good shot at winning the championship itself.
After all, he turns 34 this season, and this is his ninth full-time season on the tour.
Texas three weeks ago he seemed charmed….only to fade.
Talladega of course is one of his best tracks…..but his last win here was in 2004.
Rick Hendrick, one of the greatest car owners in NASCAR history, could win his eighth NASCAR championship this season—with Dale Earnhardt JUr.
(Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
But the consolation is Rick Hendrick men, now Earnhardt’s teammates, have won five of the last six Talladega races, including a sweep by Jeff Gordon last season.
“We obviously had a lot of success at Talladega, there is no denying that,” Earnhardt says. “And I feel we’re going to have a good chance this weekend, and I’m motivated by that.
“But I’ve felt that way all year really.
“Before—probably four or five years ago—I definitely went into these races with a little more confidence than I would carry into the other events. But this season I’ve felt we’ve had a shot every time we show up.
“But I definitely like running Talladega. We’ve won a lot of races there…got a really big fan base there…and that means a lot to me.”
One year ago at Talladega: Jeff Gordon (inside) beat Dale Earnhardt Jr. The win was No. 77 of Gordon’s career, one more than Dale Sr. on NASCAR’s all-time list.
(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Earnhardt’s talents are obvious…but what about Tony Eury Jr., his crew chief. How well is his cousin fitting in at Hendrick Motorsports? Eury and Earnhardt have been leading the Hendrick points game all season, and that may make their rivals a bit uneasy.
Earnhardt concedes it’s been an unusual season for Eury: “It’s sort of been a double-edged sword for Tony Jr. He’s had a lot of praise from within the organization. He’s done a terrific job getting our program where it needs to be for the start of the season. He’s done a great job up to this point getting me cars that are running good, and making good decisions.
“But he has just as many critics as he does people that want to praise him. I feel it’s happening more this year than ever. And I really can’t put my finger on why he’s taken as much heat as he’s taken.
“But he handles it pretty well. He’s pretty tough. It really does motivate him when people question his ability.
“But to be honest with you, Chad (Knaus, Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief) seems to really enjoy working with Tony Jr.
Tony Eury Jr. (right) has Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the thick of the NASCAR championship race
(Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
“Everybody understands he has something to bring to the table. When me and Tony Jr. went to work for Rick, our main worry was what could we bring to the table, if anything? Would we be an asset?
“He’s definitely been able to do that. And that satisfies him a lot—to come in and lay some things out he knows they’ll like.”
But at Talladega the Earnhardt name is, well, you have to be there to feel it, the power the fans generate around him, just as they did for his father.
And this time around Earnhardt says he’s coming in with a bit of trepidation about it all.
“It’s been a little bit more overwhelming this year than I anticipated,” Earnhardt says of his fans. “I’m pretty happy about taking this car to Talladega for the first time—the new package, the new team, the new number, everything.
“I’m looking forward to racing it in front of all those people. They’ve been so good to us, so dedicated, so supportive, that you go into that race feeling you owe them to put the car out front.”
Compared to this wing on 1970 winner Pete Hamilton’s Plymouth Superbird, NASCAR’s new rear wing is almost invisible.
(Photo Credit: RacingOne/Getty Images)
This week Earnhardt has been tire testing for Goodyear at Indianapolis for the July Brickyard 400: “Definitely in the top-four biggest races of the season, and that’s why I really felt lucky to test.
“I’m not sure it’s as big an advantage as one might think. We’re not necessarily discovering gold; we’re running into the same old problems with this (new winged) car, the same scenarios.”
The new NASCAR stocker hasn’t quite been a dream on the tour’s fast mid-sized tracks, and some poor shows, say like Atlanta, have led NASCAR to schedule an extra test for everyone at Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway in two weeks.
And Earnhardt says he and Eury will be giving the new car a good workout at other tracks too.
“We have a lot of testing coming up over the next three or four weeks,” Earnhardt said. “I’ve got about seven tests scheduled for the next month; that’s new, definitely something new for me. If it gets me to victory lane, it will be worth it.
“Coming up on two years without a win…it’s definitely a stat you are aware of—and reminded of.
“It’s not a whole lot of pressure. I still drive for a good team, and I still have a great opportunity to win every time I show up.
“I feel a win is around the corner. We’ve been in position to do that just about every week.”
They have 15 Talladega wins between them
(Photo Credit: RacingOne/Getty Images)
Dale Earnhardt’s final win—Talladega, October 2000
(Photo Credit: RacingOne/Getty Images)
However running plate races at Daytona and Talladega is a peculiar deal, Earnhardt says. The cars may all run in a pack, but some are stronger than others, when it comes time to make a move.
“I’ve been in some plate races where we weren’t strong, we never could flex our muscle,” Earnhardt says. “When we did dominate, it was because I had strong cars. I knew what I wanted the cars to do. And that’s important—to be able to make the next move, and to take advantage of this and that.
“You’ve got to be a smart driver to do that…. but those cars were able to accommodate me.
“If your car ain’t strong enough, you’re just going to get overpowered eventually on the plate tracks.”
Richmond, next week’s stop, is another good track for Earnhardt. Actually, that’s where he scored his last win.
But then comes Darlington, which is lightning fast after just being repaved. And there are a lot of questions about that track, and those tires, and those speeds – 200 mph into the old turn one.
“The new paving job looks great,” Earnhardt says. “Looks like they worked very hard to make sure it was done as well as possible.
“From what I can tell it’s very fast. So it should be interesting…an interesting weekend, and interesting to see how the pavement deals with the cars and the heat of the day.
“We’re going to be running on it Thursday and most of the day Friday; it’s a Saturday night race, so the cooler temperatures should help the track stay together. Won’t have any problems with the track coming apart.
“But how fast will the speeds get later in the evening? That should be interesting to see.
“And how good will the racing be? Typically you don’t have too much side-by-side (on fast new asphalt). But you do have a lot of guys passing, because you have guys with tires falling off (in speed over the 100-mile fuel runs).
“But will that be the case this time? I’m not sure with the new pavement.”
Talladega, home of the upset: This one is James Hylton’s, in 1972....
(Photo Credit: RacingOne/Getty Images)
Robby Gordon is finding the snowy, muddy Central European mountains a far cry from the Mauritanian desert
(Photo credit: Robby Gordon Motorsports)
THE NASCAR NOTEBOOK
Robby Gordon had an unusually up-and-down day in Stage Four of the new Dakar Rally, Wednesday back in Hungary.
Gordon finishing third in the opening segment of the two sprints, the one just outside Budapest.
But in the second segment, 125 miles away, near Veszprem, things didn’t go so well: A rock severed Gordon’s rear brake line, and he had to continue with only front brakes. However navigation mistakes by some top rivals allowed Gordon to close the gap…only to give it all back when his Hummer went off the track just a few kilometers from the end.
So Gordon fell back to eighth overall, 7:05 behind heading into Stage Five Thursday, again on good terrain for Gordon, unlike the snow and mud of Stages Two and Three.
Robby Gordon’s ‘support’ Hummer has to be battle-ready too
(Photo credit: Robby Gordon Motorsports)
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