The Next Dale Earnhardt?
Mike Bianchi over at The Orlando Sentinel wrote an article last week claiming that Jimmie Johnson is the next Dale Earnhardt. 
Well I’ve got news for you Mr. Bianchi. There is no next Dale Earnhardt – and there never will be. Dale Earnhardt was one of those men who only come around once in history.
Dale Earnhardt Jr is not the next Dale Earnhardt. Kyle Busch is not the next Dale Earnhardt. And Jimmie Johnson certainly is not the next Dale Earnhardt.
Mr. Bianchi goes on to say that “for nearly a decade now, NASCAR fans have been waiting for the second coming of Dale Earnhardt.†Most true hard-core fans recognize that Dale cannot and will not ever be replaced on or off the track.
Is Jimmie Johnson the greatest thing NASCAR fans have seen since Dale Earnhardt? That’s what Mr. Bianchi would have you believe. Johnson has a long, long way to go to prove that statement to most NASCAR fans.
According to Mr. Bianchi, “Johnson will win the championship at the end of the year.†That may happen, but even then Jimmie Johnson will be 2 championships behind Dale Earnhardt.
How many different crew chiefs did Dale Earnhardt win Championships with? I’d like to see how many races Jimmie Johnson would win without Chad Knaus.
And Jimmie Johnson will never be the man that Dale Earnhardt was off the track. Dale helped a lot of people in a lot of ways. Some like Wessa Miller you will hear about. Some you will never hear about.
Mr. Bianchi was wrong when he said that we “might as well put the No. 3 on Jimmie Johnson’s car.†Johnson has not earned the right to drive that number.
What do you think? Is Jimmie Johnson the next Dale Earnhardt?
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media
Daytona Track Talk
Here’s your chance to have your say about what happened in Daytona Saturday night.
In case you missed anything, here’s a recap of the Coke Zero 400.
What are your thoughts on what happened in this wild race?
Dateline Daytona Beach, Fla. –
It was a wild one Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway – so wild you had to wonder whether there were going to be any cars running at the finish.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings leader Kevin Harvick won the last race on the track’s current pavement after running up front all night. He managed to dodge the on-track fireworks that littered the Coke Zero 400 Presented by Coca-Cola from start to finish, a race that set a new event record with 18 different leaders and may spark conversation for years.
The 2.5-mile Daytona track is scheduled for repaving beginning immediately, but the old worn-out asphalt went out with a bang that left more than half the field beat-up and battered.
The stage for a green-white-checkered finish was set with one lap to go when two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish, Jr., lost control of his Dodge and clipped Kurt Busch, causing a lot of damaged to both cars.
Harvick’s teammate, Clint Bowyer, was leading on the restart but got tangled up down the backstretch and spun out of contention. It was a tough, tough break for Bowyer, who had appeared to be heading for his first Daytona victory.
Kasey Kahne finished second and Jeff Gordon third behind Harvick. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., was fourth after running poorly most of the night. Jeff Burton was fifth after being involved in a multi-car crash that red-flagged the race for 19:34. More than 20 cars were involved in this accident, which had debris scattered for more than half-a-mile on the track. In fact, many of the frontrunners in the race were eliminated, including Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart, four-time champion Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman and others.
An earlier accident with less than 60 laps remaining knocked another contender out of the race. Kyle Busch was leading when he drifted up across the nose of Montoya, turning Busch’s Toyota into the outside wall and ending his chances.
The fact that Earnhardt finished fourth was testament to the fact that many of the fast cars were damaged in the huge wreck.
Carl Edwards finished sixth, followed by Kurt Busch, whose Dodge looked like a candidate for the junkyard. Busch was involved in several of the accidents.
Rounding out the top 10 were Reed Sorensen, Mike Bliss and Scott Speed.
The cars roared to life after a 90-minute rain delay. Johnson, Harvick and Kyle Busch led before a 15-lap competition caution allowed crews to check tire wear. Two cars were already back in the garage, those of Dave Blaney and Max Pappis.
When racing resumed, Harvick and Biffle were up front, followed by the Busch brothers. Harvick and Kyle Busch barreled to the front a couple laps later. At 30 laps, Harvick still led with Busch in tow. Sadler was third, followed by Truex, Keselowski, Burton, Kurt Busch, Biffle, Johnson and Reutimann. Truex led briefly before Kyle Busch took over. Sadler then led but Kyle Busch made an unscheduled stop with a wheel problem.
Drivers were swapping the lead so fast it was hard to keep up with the changes. Kurt Busch led a few laps, then Harvick took over again with Hornish giving him the shove to the front.
By Lap 32, Busch was leading again. Reutimann had raced into second place. Hornish led Lap 42 before Sadler went back to the front. Drivers were racing every lap like it was the final lap and the crowd of close to 100,000 loved every minute of it. Johnson pitted on Lap 48 with a tire problem. Hornish had taken the lead at 50 laps from Sadler. Montoya had moved from 22nd to third and Kurt Busch was close behind. Gordon was next and Reutimann was sixth. Burton was next.
A debris caution fell on Lap 58. When the green flag waved again on Lap 63, it was Montoya out front followed by Gordon, Sorensen, Keselowski, Sadler, Hornish, McMurray, Reutimann, Truex and Newman, who was cracking the top 10 for the first time in the race.
AJ Allmendinger brought out another caution on Lap 67 when he spun off Turn 4 in the short chute and hit the inside wall.
On the 70th lap restart, Gordon led with Keselowski on the outside. One lap later, Keselowski took the lead with Gordon challenging and Gordon went by half-a-lap later. Montoya moved into second. A lap later, Montoya led and then Hamlin charged out front after starting in the back of the pack.
At the halfway point of 80 laps, Hornish led with a gaggle of chargers right behind. Kenseth had moved to second with Johnson third. Rounding out the top 12 were McMurray, Hamlin, Montoya, Gordon, Kyle Busch, Reutimann, Burton, Kurt Busch and Edwards.
So what are your thoughts on this race. Be sure to leave your comments below.
Photo Courtesy NASCASR Media
Why Dale Earnhardt Jr Won Daytona
Dale Earnhardt Jr went to Daytona for one reason — and one reason only – Friday Night. To win the race. He didn’t go to have a top five finish or a good points race. He didn’t go to put on a show for the fans.
But what a show he put on. Earnhardt drove the No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet all the way to Victory Lane in the Subway Jalapeno 250 Nationwide race.
Dale Earnhardt Jr knows how to drive a race car.
“I was so worried that I wasn’t going to win, ’cause nothing but a win would get it. For everybody,” an emotional Dale Earnhardt said in Victory Lane.
“I worked hard to try to win, not only for daddy—I’m proud of him going to the Hall of Fame, and he would be proud of this, I’m sure—but just all these fans. I hope they enjoyed this.â€
The win came because preparation met opportunity Friday Night at Daytona. It wasn’t just the driver that was focused on winning. It was the entire team.
Crew chief Tony Eury Jr set the car up perfectly. He made the right calls at the right times to put the No. 3 car out front when it counted. Anyone that questions Eury’s abilities as a crew chief needs to take a second look.
The pit crew was at the top of their game when it came time to service the car. The car was pitted by a group of guys who volunteered for the job. The same group of guys who pit Junior’s No. 88 Sprint Cup car.
A collaboration between Teresa Earnhardt, Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr saw that the car showed up at the track ready to race and win. Hendrick Motorsports provided the engine for the car.
Still it took a race car driver that knows his way around the two-and-a-half mile superspeedway at Daytona to claim the checkered flag. Earnhardt drove through traffic in the last half of that race as if he could actually see the air. Some say he can.
Earnhardt held off a last lap challenge from Joey Logano to win the race. Logano looked to make a run on Earnhardt’s outside, but had no drafting help.
“He had a pretty good run on the last lap, said Earnhardt.. “He kind of ducked out a little bit and then thought twice about it because I don’t know if the guys behind him were going to do it. Once they got back in line and felt that little shove I got off into three, I felt pretty confident we was gonna win.
Earnhardt continued the tribute to his father – and the race fans – on the Victory Lap. No burnout. Just an old school victory lap like another Earnhardt used to do.
What did the win mean for Dale Earnhardt Jr, for NASCAR, and what did it mean for you?
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media