March 29, 2010
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
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Since signing with NASCAR's premier team, Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Jr., has received nothing but criticism. Even a radio exchange with his crew chief gets blown out of proportion.
This season has started better for him than any year has since he's been at Hendrick's. He finished second in the Daytona 500, making a charge in the final laps from well back in the field. He qualified on the pole at Atlanta, and ran in the top-ten for the majority of the day until an off cycle pit stop for what he thought was a loose wheel, put him a lap down.
Earnhardt was running in the top-five at Bristol until he was caught speeding on pit road and fell to 26th position. A profanity laced exchange between Earnhardt and his crew chief, Lance McGrew, followed the incident. However, he still managed to salvage a seventh place finish.
The radio incident, which was sparked by a comment McGrew made in order to inspire his driver to keep running strong, was compounded by Earnhardt's frustration with the penalty.
"I wanted to drive up there and knock the side off the pace car because that was the only way I could get back at them guys [NASCAR] in the booth, but that would have been the worst thing in the world I could have done," Earnhardt was quoted as saying in David Newton's article on espn.com. "That's just the daydreaming that goes on in your head at the time.
"I just had to calm down. I didn't want to do anything stupid or make an ass out of myself. Venting like that was a good release for me."
Being frustrated with the position he's in is only to be expected. There were high hopes for Earnhardt when he signed with Hendrick Motorsports, but so far he has been unable to live up to them.
And all of a sudden, critics are wondering what other changes have to be made to get the 88 team to Victory Lane. They claim that since he has a new crew chief, the problem lies with the driver. However, that is not the case.
Earnhardt has proven that he is capable of winning races and of winning Championships. He has 18 career wins in the Cup series and he has two Championships in what was then the Busch Series, but so far has been unable to put together a Championship campaign at NASCAR's highest level.
A long held belief in NASCAR is that the right driver-crew chief combination makes all the difference in winning Championships. Richard Petty / Dale Inman, Jeff Gordon / Ray Evernham and most recently, Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, a duo that currently enjoys a monopoly in the sport, are just a few examples.
Yet, despite having his share of bad luck, Earnhardt and McGrew have the 88 car in eighth place in the point standings after the first five races of the season, which marks the first time that Earnhardt has been ranked in the top-12 in 48 races.
So perhaps the Earnhardt / McGrew combination will produce that much desired Cup Championship for NASCAR's favored son. They have a much better chance of making the Chase this season than they did last year.
McGrew wasn't added to the team until midway through the season when the 88 car was mired so far back in points they didn't stand much of a chance of qualifying for NASCAR's post season.
Now, with a fresh start and the top equipment in the garage, Earnhardt finally has the chance he's been looking for. Will this will be the season that he silences the critics once and for all?
If you would like to learn more about Matthew, please check out his web site at matthew-pizzolato.com.
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