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?
Does Kyle Busch Need a Driver’s License to Race in NASCAR?
Kyle Has Lost His License
Kyle Busch has lost his driver’s license for 45 days after pleading guilty to driving 128 in a 45 mph zone. The NASCAR points leader was ticketed last May while driving a yellow Lexus LFA sports car outside of Charlotte.
Busch appeared in court Tuesday where he received the 45 day license suspension along with a $1000 fine. Busch was also placed on 1 year of unsupervised probation. He pled guilty to the speeding charge and no contest on the reckless driving count.
Attorney Cliff Homesley represented Mr. Busch and tried to convince the court that Busch was a highly-skilled professional driver and that driving 128 mph on a public road wasn’t considered reckless when performed by Kyle Busch.
The attorney also argued that the Lexus had superior handling and braking capabilities compared to other cars on the road and that driving the Lexus at that speed would be like driving any other car at 60 mph.
The judge didn’t buy any of that.
Now the question is will NASCAR allow Busch to race without a driver’s license. The answer is almost certainly yes. But is that the right call – should Kyle Busch be allowed to race at the highest level of NASCAR with no driver’s license?
Kyle Busch is In While Dale Jr & Smoke Sit on Bubble
Kyle Busch shakes a fans hand following his victory in the Pure Michigan 400. Photo courtesy NASCAR Media.
In winning Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 Kyle Busch officially locked himself into a position in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Dale Jr and Tony Stewart On the Edge
The top 8 drivers will all make it in with no problem barring any catastrophic problems. It is Dale Earnhardt Jr and Tony Stewart who are on the bubble. Both of them stand on the edge of being in or out. If either of them has any trouble going down to the wire Clint Bowyer is standing by ready to take advantage in 11th.
The No. 18 Toyota of Kyle Busch passed post-race inspection with flying colors. Still officials loaded Busch’s Toyota onto the NASCAR hauler and are headed back to the NASCAR R&D facility for a closer inspection. I don’t think they will find anything, do you?
Can Kyle Busch take the championship from Jimmie Johnson?
“You know, we’re 13 weeks from me being able to answer your question,” said Kyle Busch. “Certainly I’d like to give ourselves a lot of credit that we can do that, that we have the ability to do that.”
If not Kyle or Jimmie, who else has a shot to be NASCAR’s 2011 champion?
Obama Stands Against NASCAR Fans
President Obama is a sore loser. NASCAR fans did not support his bid for President in 2008 – and are no more likely to support him now in his bid for re-election. So Obama is paying them back by ripping their sport apart.
4 Ways Obama is Ruining NASCAR
Destroying Jobs. By putting millions of people out of work President Obama is assuring that NASCAR fans will no longer be able to afford to attend stock car races and buy souvenirs and apparel of their favorite driver.
Limiting Economic Recovery. Businesses are facing ever-increasing costs and regulations in order to do business in the United States. Therefore they have less money available to spend on racing sponsorships which would help bring even more business.
Increasing Taxes. The more taxes you have to pay the less money you have to spend on enjoying things like NASCAR. Obama wants to redistribute your cash to someone else.
Banning Military Sponsorships. Obama’s party has even gone as far as trying to ban NASCAR sponsorship by the US Armed Services. Minnesota Democrat Betty McCollum has tried to get legislation through congress that would have left Dale Earnhardt Jr and Ryan Newman unsponsored. Obama is standing by to sign it.
What has Obama done for you lately – and how much longer do we have to stand for it?
NASCAR Preacher’s Smokin’ Hot Wife
In case you missed it here is Pastor Joe Nelms invocation from last weekend’s Nationwide race in Nashville.
Joe is from my hometown and we are quite proud of him.
Let me know what you think.
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.
Free Shipping!
$6.88
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!
Kyle Busch Gets a Whipping — Literally
Photo Courtesy KW Designs
Following Saturday’s truck series Richard Childress is one of the few who can say he beat Kyle Busch – literally.
Childress grabbed Busch – put him in a headlock, and landed several punches before bystanders could separate them.
Childress was angry with Busch after contact with RCR driver Joey Coulter in the closing laps. The latest in a string of incidents between Busch and RCR drivers.
There is no doubt that Richard Childress intended to get Kyle’s attention. Just before the incident Childress was seen slipping his expensive watch into his pocket.
Childress was barred from pit road at Sunday’s STP 400 at Kansas Speedway. NASCAR also told him not to attend the pre-race driver’s meeting.
NASCAR President Mike Helton considered banning Childress from the speedway entirely before deciding that Childress should be allowed to stay as a team owner.
NASCAR officials have indicated that a statement regarding any punishment for Childress would be forthcoming on Monday – a day earlier than most penalties are announced.
What do you think an appropriate punishment would be?
