May 2, 2008
By Rebecca Gladden
If you've been a recent critic of Dale Earnhardt Jr., he has a simple message he'd like to get across to you:
Stop underestimating him.
At least twice in the past few weeks, Earnhardt Jr. has deflected a barrage of criticism with that very message, which, unfortunately, seems to fall on deaf ears.
While filming a guided tour of his latest business venture, the Whisky River Nightclub in Charlotte, North Carolina, Earnhardt Jr. addressed concerns about his recent racing record.
Behind a superimposed message on the video that read "Last Win 5/6/2006 - 70 races", Junior discussed the frequently-cited fact that it's been almost two years since his last Cup victory.
"It doesn't really bother me that people talk about the streak - the winless streak," said Earnhardt. "That doesn't really get under my skin. People underestimate my ability to handle that type of stuff and deal with that stuff."
Since he first announced plans last year to drive for Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Jr. has faced seemingly endless questions about what people perceive as mounting pressure on him to post a victory once he joined the more successful Hendrick Motorsports team.
But Earnhardt has repeatedly asserted - to anyone who would listen - that he viewed the move as an exciting and challenging opportunity, not a source of increased personal or professional stress.
"I work hard, I do my job. I'm able to move that out of the way and think about my job in front of me and do it," Earnhardt said. "Until Rick (Hendrick) tells me I need to do it differently or do something different, change this or change that, you know, I reckon I'm doing what he wants me to do."
And it's not like he's been racing poorly since moving to Hendrick - far from it. After winning the preseason Bud Shootout and Gatorade 150 in Daytona, Earnhardt has posted seven top-10 finishes in nine races - the most of any driver - including a second-place run in Las Vegas and a third in Atlanta. He's led over 400 laps (second in that category), was the lap leader in Martinsville, scored a pole in Texas, and has an average finish of 10.4.
Junior is third in the point standings (the highest among four Hendrick drivers) and leads all drivers in a number of other statistical categories, including: Overall Driver Rating (ahead of both Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards), Fastest Driver Early in a Run, and Green Flag Speed. He ranks second in several other performance categories.
But despite this early success, the media continues to pepper Earnhardt with questions about his lack of wins, and what that issue might indicate about his overall desire and passion as a driver.
It is this unearned criticism which frustrates Junior more than the winless streak itself.
"I think people underestimate my drive and determination - they always have," said Earnhardt Jr., using that particular term a second time. "It's followed me around just like the pressure has, just like the name has. It's always there."
I find this situation quite perplexing, since anyone who really knows Dale Earnhardt Jr. ought to know better than to underestimate him.
After his father's death in the 2001 Daytona 500, Junior endured unyielding media scrutiny. The very survival of the sport rested on his shoulders and he knew it. NASCAR had been devastated by a loss so unimaginable that it seemed the entire world was watching to see how the young man most affected by the tragedy - Earnhardt's own son - would cope.
For several weeks the world watched as Dale Junior continued to race, but was clearly just going through the motions. As he waged an internal struggle with depression, uncertainty and profound sadness, the Pepsi 400 - NASCAR's upcoming race at the Daytona Speedway - loomed large in the road ahead.
On July 7, 2001, less than five months after his dad's death, Earnhardt Jr. returned to the track where his father had taken his last breath.
In a demonstration of true grit, he not only competed, but won the race. Climbing to the top of his car in the infield, Junior thrust his arms in the air victoriously as a hundred thousand fans cheered him with one voice.
The road to recovery for millions of NASCAR fans was now visible, and Earnhardt Jr. was lighting the way.
"He was with me tonight," Junior cried in Victory Lane. "I dedicate this win to him."
Just two months later, NASCAR and the world faced another tragedy - the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Major sporting events were suspended as the country wondered whether things would ever be normal again.
Twelve days later, Junior competed in - and won - the first post-9/11 Cup race. This time, there was no lavish burnout or exuberant celebration. He took a solitary victory lap around Dover Speedway, holding an American flag out the driver's side window. It was an understated display worthy of the circumstances, and a further demonstration of the young man's ability to bear enormous pressure with a quiet but determined grace.
Given all he's been through, and the maturity and resilience he has consistently demonstrated, it's easy to understand why Earnhardt Jr. bristles at the fact that, as he says, people have "always" underestimated him - not just as a driver, but as a man.
Keep doing it if you want to.
He'll just work that much harder to prove you wrong.
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