February 2, 2009
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
|
With his first season at Hendrick Motorsports in the history books, Dale Earnhardt Jr., is planning on doing better job this year. Despite starting strong and running second in the points for most of the first half of the season, he faded down the stretch, especially during the Chase and finished 11th in the final standings.
Still, Earnhardt had a lot on his plate last year, going to a new employer with new equipment and new surroundings and having to deal with the constant criticism directed toward himself and his crew chief, Tony Eury Jr.
Being the most popular driver in NASCAR carries quite a burden. The tiniest mistake, either on the track or in the pits is criticized by his legions of loyal fans that are ready for him to win a championship now. And heaven forbid Tony Eury to make a bad call that costs Earnhardt positions on the track or keeps him from winning a race. However, Eury seems unconcerned with the constant attacks he receives.
“I've really only got two people that I need to make happy -- and that's Dale Jr. and Rick Hendrick. As long as they're happy with the job I'm doing, I feel like I'm doing my job,” Eury was quoted as saying in a Joe Menzer article for nascar.com.
Despite receiving most of the blame for the 88 team faltering down the stretch last year with many fans calling for him to be replaced, Eury remains optimistic for this year and is looking forward to it.
Earnhardt received a lot of criticism for choosing to drive for Rick Hendrick in the first place because it made Jeff Gordon his teammate, a driver Earnhardt fans have always loved to hate. Dealing with the new situation wasn’t easy, and making such a big change is always daunting for anyone.
"I was apprehensive and excited, just a little unsure and uncertain in some areas, whereas now I have a real good idea of what to expect and how well we may be able to do,” Earnhardt said.
Now that he has a year of familiarity behind him, expect Earnhardt to settle down and win more than just one race. He certainly has his own idea of what a good season would be.
"Half a dozen wins. I sort of put that five-to-six-win mark as a really extraordinary, excellent, exciting season. And typically that will put you right in the Chase," Earnhardt said. "Every year you raise your expectations. I never set specific goals, but you definitely don't want to do the same or worse than the year before.”
Fans tend to expect Earnhardt to be as good or better than his father and long for him to carry on “The Intimidator” legacy. Such expectations are unrealistic because Dale Earnhardt Jr. is his own man with a completely different driving style from that of his father and shouldn’t be expected to be a carbon copy. Will Earnhardt surpass his father and win more than seven Championships? More than likely, that’s a record that will never be broken.
Fans should cut him – and his crew chief – a little slack.
If you would like to learn more about Matthew, please check out his web site at matthew-pizzolato.com.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
You can contact Matthew Pizzolato at ..