A Message from Dale Earnhardt Jr
What’s Wrong with Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Car?
What’s Wrong with Dale Jr’s Car?
There’s something wrong on the No. 88 team. How can 2 cars from the same race shop run first and second at a high speed race track like Atlanta, while a third car finishes mid-pack in 19th?
Photo courtesy Sun Dazed via Flickr
Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson battled tooth and nail for the win in the final 10 laps of the Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway with Jeff Gordon holding on for the win. Dale Earnhardt Jr finished 19th.
Is it the car that is the problem? I know one vocal Earnhardt fan who believes Dale Jr is getting Jeff Gordon’s cast-offs when it comes to having the best equipment, while Gordon and Johnson get the latest and greatest. Is that really what is going on at Hendrick Motorsports?
Is crew chief Steve Letarte getting all the research and development data he needs? Hendrick Motorsports does a ton of R&D work and they have some of the brightest engineers interpreting the data. Is that data filtering down to the 88 team?
Steve Letarte knows how to strategize and call a race. And Dale Earnhardt Jr certainly hasn’t forgotten how to drive the car. At least the No. 88 is firmly in the Chase standings with one race to go.
What is going wrong with this race team?
Earnhardt Decals
Two Earnhardt decals for the price of one.
Get one 5″ x 4″ decal and one one 3″ round decal celebrating Dale Jr’s Daytona win in the No. 3. Junior said this would be his last ride in the 3 car.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr Thrown Out of Daytona International Speedway
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media
10 years ago on a warm dark night, Dale Jr headed out to make things right. In a Chevy Suburban with the headlights bright. Junior would show NASCAR Nation the light. (With apologies to Johnny Cash.)
In July 2001 Dale Earnhardt Jr and a few of his friends headed out to Daytona from his home in Mooresville. It was his first trip there since that fateful day in February when Dale was lost.
Junior and his pals made their way off International Speedway Boulevard that night and drove the Suburban through the tunnel into the Daytona International Speedway infield as the moon lighted turn four. That had to be the hardest drive Dale Jr has ever made.
But he knew it was a journey he had to take.
Earnhardt told the guys in the truck that he just wanted to show them around – to see how big, bad and formidable the place really is. But everyone in that Suburban knew the real reason Junior needed to visit Daytona International Speedway once again.
Dale Jr snaked the Suburban around the Daytona infield road taking in the scene as one of the few people in the place at the time. What he really had on his mind was would he be able to race. Could he really compete on the track that had claimed his Father just a few months earlier?
That’s when he saw it.
The gate to the track was open. Earnhardt wheeled the Suburban onto the high banks and started making laps in the middle of the night – until a speedway security guard flagged him down and threw him out of the joint – never even realizing it was Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Still, Dale Jr wondered if he would be able to race in Saturday night’s Pepsi 400. Could he really put everything behind him and race for 400 miles? Would he even be competitive?
On Saturday night Dale Jr would have the answer. He led almost all of the final 50 laps. But with 6 to go Earnhardt found himself in 6th place after the final pit stop.
It didn’t matter – Junior had a fast car.
6 laps later Dale Earnhardt Jr took the checkered flag. It was the finest moment in NASCAR history – and everything was right in the world of NASCAR.
Can he do it again in 2011?
Happy Birthday AZomah
Happy Birthday to You AZomah — May your favorite driver bring you a win on this special day!
P.S. ~ Junior drove the National Guard colors across the cake just for you since you are the top commenter on RacingWin!
Keselowski Beats Dale Jr on Fuel
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media
Brad Keselowski wasn’t supposed to make it to the end of Sunday’s STP 400 on fuel. But Keselowski had been saving gas throughout the final run. He was coasting through the corners with the clutch in. Easy in the gas and quick off of it – doing everything possible to save gas. Keselowski saved enough to take the win. And he didn’t even know he was the leader until 2 to go when he saw his name atop the leader board. Keselowski’s crew chief Paul Wolfe kept his cards close to the vest and kept the driver calm and cool.
“I didn’t know I was leading until two laps to go,” said Keselowski. “I was instantly mad at my guys for not telling me, but you get over that pretty quick when you cross the start-finish line first.”
“It all worked out at the end, and they talk about you when you’re in victory lane, that’s all that matters.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr thought the race for the win was between himself and Denny Hamlin as the final laps ticked off at Kansas Speedway Sunday afternoon. Crew chief Steve Letarte told him so.
“I was told that that was the race for the win,” said Dale Jr. “And I genuinely believe what Steve was telling me, because I didn’t think the 2 would make it. But he saved a lot of gas. He did a great job.”
Dale Jr: Pickle Juice & Pedialyte & Vodka?
Earnhardt had some interesting ideas for how to overcome the heat exhaustion that plagued all the drivers throughout the race.
“I want to lay by the pool and drink some vodka or whatever,” said Junior. “I’ll probably chug a lot of water tonight so I’m hydrated for tomorrow. I heard drinking pickle juice is good for you or Pedialyte. I’ll give it a shot. I got some of that
Earnhardt finished 2nd and stands 3rd in the point standings with still nothing in the win column for 2011.
What was your take on the race? Post your thoughts in the comments below.
No Help for Dale Jr
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media
After leading at the white flag it appeared that Dale Earnhardt Jr would win Sunday Night’s Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte. Until his car sputtered on the backstretch. Just one splash of gas would stand between Dale Jr and victory lane. Instead he coasted to a 7th place finish.
Winner Kevin Harvick had a little help from his teammates who pushed him under the final caution allowing Harvick to conserve enough fuel to take the checkered flag.
But Junior had no help – no one to push him. His teammates were nowhere to be found. Mark Martin was out of the race due to a crash, and it was Jimmie Johnson’s blown engine that brought out the final caution. And Jeff Gordon was nowhere in sight.
With just a little help Junior could have saved enough fuel to grab the win. If the caution period would have been one lap shorter, or the final pit stop had been one lap later fuel would not have been an issue. But there will always be ifs in racing.
That’s just racing.
What would it have taken for Junior to win this one?
Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Email Engagement
In case you didn’t know, Dale Earnhardt Jr is a pretty sharp guy when it comes to technology and the internet – and that is paying off for him in more ways than one according to Nate Ryan at the USA Today.
It’s a pretty interesting story so I suggest you read it for yourself here.
Dale Jr: Support Driver for Jimmie Johnson?
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media
Is Dale Earnhardt Jr a Support Driver for Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Team?
Jimmie Johnson did not win the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday without the help he received from teammate and drafting partner Dale Earnhardt Jr. If Earnhardt had gotten just an inch further back Johnson would never have made it. The margin of victory was that close – .002 seconds and a tie for one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history with 6 cars crossing the finish line virtually as one. Johnson grabbed the lead for the final time just 6 inches from the finish line.
Earnhardt was a good team player. He needs to put that one in the bank because Jimmie Johnson owes him big time.
Johnson knows it too. Jimmie Johnson gave Dale Earnhardt Jr the checkered flag that he picked up at the finish line, although Earnhardt seemed a little reluctant to accept it. I wonder what Dale Jr will do with that flag.
So why did Jimmie Johnson give Dale Jr the checkered flag?
“Just came to mind,” said Johnson flatly. “I handed it to him and he said ‘Man, I don’t want that.’ I said, Well, I have to give you something for the push and working with me. He said, ‘No, that’s what teammates do.’
“I smiled and I said take the damn flag. I’ll give you the trophy, too. He says, ‘No, I don’t want the trophy. I’ll take the flag, though.’
“Man, he’s a riot.” Johnson continued on the subject of Dale Jr. “You guys scan all the time but to hear him on the channel and Stevie and the things he talks about — can I have this channel more often just to listen?
As Johnson’s No. 48 Chevy raced toward the finish line it almost appeared that his left wheels crossed below the double-yellow line for a split second but no penalty was assessed by NASCAR.
“I was not focused on where that yellow line was,” Jimmie Johnson explained after the race. “I was more worried about causing a big pile up and luckily the 5 quit coming down and then the 24 pulled back up. So I don’t know where my left side tires were, but I’ve heard that a statement has been released and everything is cool. So I’m glad I’m not sitting here having to worry about that.
For a few seconds after the race it was unclear who had won. Then Dale Jr came on the radio and said “Hell, I think the 48 won.”
“I knew in my mind that if it that was the checkered, it was close, and I didn’t know if I had it won, said Johnson.
After the race No. 48 crew chief Chad Knaus summed it up with a quick radio call to Dale Earnhardt Jr: “Next one is on us, brother.”
So now it’s your turn to have your say. As always, you can vent or you can cheer. The floor is yours. Leave your thoughts in the comments below. And if you like this be sure to hit the Facebook Like Button.
Dale Jr Plays a Snake Prank
I got a good laugh watching Junior play a prank on some of the people at the JR Motorsports care shop. Who do you think was most surprised?