Earnhardt and Eury Not Deserving of Hateful Wrath
Lately the main characters on NASCAR's Team number 88, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and cousin/crew chief Tony Eury Jr. (we'll call them Double E) have been catching flack for being just - well - average! Haters, beware! The Double E (double 8?) team does more for you than you think they do. Top twelve or not, NASCAR benefits from them just being 'them'.Yes, Dale Jr. has been voted the sport's Most Popular Driver for the past six years straight. But that does not, in any way, require him to win a championship. Bill Elliott was the most popular driver for sixteen years straight, and he only won one championship in his career. Conversely, Jimmie Johnson has three championships and no wins in the Most Popular Driver contest. Should we be up in arms about these two legends of our sport? Is there some magical law of physics that states that where there are MPD trophies, there must also be Sprint Cup trophies, and vice versa? No! So, why the hate?
Another case in point...Michael Waltrip always makes it into the top ten in the fan voting for MPD, and he is way short on win totals. Heck, if he finishes in the top fifteen of a race, people are thrilled for him. Is he the focal point of thousands of reporters and TV analysts who are demanding that something be done about it? No! So with respect to Junior, again...Why the hate?
Is the uproar because Dale Jr. has more fans than anyone else? Possibly. But bear in mind... this only benefits NASCAR. The more fans in the grandstands, the more money in the bank accounts of not only the track owners, but of NASCAR itself. (Let's also remember that NASCAR gets a portion of all souvenir sales.) And, the more money NASCAR makes, the more money that goes into the pot that pays the drivers for winning the race...and finishing second, third and on down the line. So Mr. Kyle Busch ought to quit insulting Junior and just let him race, because surely his paycheck would be a little less without Junior's fans in the seats. Besides, Kyle says over and over again that he loves being booed, and the Junior Nation is only too happy to oblige him. So, again I say to the people that depend on NASCAR for a paycheck... Why the hate?
- Dale Jr.'s situation is temporary, he will turn his season around.
- Other notable drivers have had off seasons, Dale Jr. certainly isn't the first.
- Win or lose, Dale Jr. puts a lot of fans in the seats and in lines at souvenir haulers.
Comments
Wow people are passionate about this! Interesting article!
Jerry
(Guest)
(Guest)
05/12/2009
You have some serious issues yourself. Sounds like you might have some deeper feelings for Jr. than most people would. K. Busch has every right to bash this guy, they made a huge deal out of Jr. replacing him and now K. Busch shows that Jr. has less than 1% of the talent of Busch. Jr. brought all this on hisself, he said he was going to Hendrick to win races and the championship, hasn't happened. Martin and Kesolozki is humilitating Jr. by finishing better than him in a shorter time span of driving Hendrick cars. Nascar wasn't falling apart before he entered the picture and I doubt it will if he would leave. I don't hate Jr. he just isn't all that.
Catspaw88
(Guest)
(Guest)
05/12/2009
to finish my post below... Junior and Kyle Petty could've walked away from racing after their losses and who would've blamed them BUT they chose to stay in racing which is what Adam and Dale Sr. would've wanted them to do. Sorry to get sidetracked on that one but to make a point...Kyle P was not his daddy but he raced for the thrill of it and it was in his blood and he loved it. Junior has mentioned more than once that he loves racing and it's in his blood. Who can honestly say that you go to your job every day and get a thrill out of it like they do? As for Teresa Earnhardt, maybe if she had been more of a team owner than she was, Junior would've stayed. At least at HMS, he has that teamowner in MR. H and thank God for that man.
CatsPaw88
(Guest)
(Guest)
05/12/2009
Well as you can see from the 88 in my name, yes I am a Junior fan and proud of it. No i'm not thrilled with the season that he's having but there are several others who are having a lackluster season also. The bad thing is that the MEDIA is the one who keeps harping on Junior's performance week after week. They're also the ones who love to add the fuel to the fire of the feud between JUNIOR NATION vs. Kyle Busch or whoever else. Will Junior ever be like his dad?? NO but he's never wanted to be! He's not the only driver who is having a lousy year with that blasted COT but he gets more attention because of his last name being Earnhardt the same way that Kyle Petty did of his last name being Petty. They were born to be expected to be just like their fathers and someone forgot to inform the media, fans and the rest of the public that it's just not that way. I do have the smarts to recognize that he's NOT his dad but his own person and as long as he's in the racing scene as a driver or an o
Matt
(Guest)
(Guest)
05/12/2009
JR fans need to face the facts, this guy is an "average" driver, I would not even put him in the top ten of the current drivers out there. Sure, he has had success in the past, but look at where most of that success came. Plate racers. Yes, he's good at those, but he hasn't exactly dominated them in recent years. In fact, when he was winning all those plate races, guess who else was winning? Michael Waltrip, who loves to remind those that make fun of him that he is a two time Daytona 500 winnner. Big deal. Winning a plate race doesn't make you a great driver, sometime you just get lucky, and it didn't hurt that both he and JR were sitting in DEI equipement that for a few years clearly had a leg up on everyone else on the plate tracks. My grandmother could have gotten a top 5 out of one of those DEI cars back then. Back to JR, he has no excuses not to be winning, he isn't going to find any better equipment than he's currently sitting in. I don't mean to knock the guy, he's a good driver
Os
(Guest)
(Guest)
05/12/2009
In fact the media thrives on it as well. So hate in Nascar is a multibillion dollar industry, and hating on Jr and Jr is par for the course of the industry.
Oiltalk
(Guest)
(Guest)
05/12/2009
Let not your hearts be troubled - Jr. can drive a racecar and Tony Jr. has value. What that value is will be determined by Mr. H. When the time is appropriate and it will be soon, Mr. H will make a change regardless of what Junior says. Remember, Mr. H still signs the checks and I don't think he is afraid of what Junior will say or do. Lack of performance will be dealt with!! The moves he will make will be beneficial for the all the teams and everyone will come out looking good. JMO
My point has been verified! This IS about 'hatin' on Dale Jr'. Golden Pillow? Chows a pit stop? That's what my article is all about. His fans support him win or lose, and there happen to be more of them than fans of other drivers. It's almost as if people are telling Junior fans to stop supporting him because he isn't worth it. Is it right for someone to tell someone else that? Aren't we all allowed to support whomever we choose?
That said, I DO appreciate each and every one of you who reads this and posts your comments, negative or positive. It's a free country and its fantastic that we're all allowed to write whatever we think. (And to vote for whichever driver we want for MPD...so go vote today for whomever you choose!) Thank You.
Linda
(Guest)
(Guest)
05/12/2009
Oh Please Chris! That is just stupid and a untrue! But no suprise to me that a Jr fan is STILL making up excuse after excuse as to why Jr is not good. Nice try, but it doesn't work. It is not the car. Try again! At least say something that sound real and people will not laugh at, and know it is a made up excuse by a rabid Jr fan.
Sarah
(Guest)
(Guest)
05/12/2009
Hey Phantom_24_F,
What about all the HATE that the nation unleashed on Teresa. T-shirts made up calling her derogatory names, etc. Jr and his sister used the media to FUEL that hate and make him look like poor misunderstood boy whose stepmommy called him names. Not to mention all the HATE the nation dishes out to any driver who has a racing incident with their God. Seems to me Teresa's statement was spot on. Rockstar or Racecar driver. Hope he can carry a tune and play an instrument cause he has no driving talent.
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