May 10, 2006

By Rebecca Gladden

Rebecca Gladden

Two years ago I began writing a series of articles, still unfinished, in which I attempted to create a prototype of the perfect NASCAR driver by combining what I considered to be the best qualities of individual drivers.

I had written the first three parts of the series before other writing duties took me in another direction. But up to that point, I had chosen the following three drivers and their respective best attributes to start building my dream driver: Tony Stewart for his intensity, Jeff Gordon for his talent, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for his resiliency.

Given the up-and-down nature of NASCAR racing, it's easy to see why the quality of resiliency - the ability to recover readily from adversity, depression, or misinformation - is crucial at the elite racing level.

CIA Stock Photo Dale Earnhardt Jr.

When I first wrote the aforementioned column about Dale Jr., he had not yet suffered his most frustrating season in NEXTEL Cup. For Junior, 2005 would be a year of turmoil and disappointment, in which he changed crew chiefs three times and statistically had his worst season out of six as a full-time Cup driver. Though the No. 8 team did notch one win last year, Junior led only 169 laps all season (by comparison, he led 1133 laps the year before) and had six DNFs. He finished the year 19th in the point standings - even lower than his 16th-place rookie finishing spot - and was never seen as a serious contender for the title.

Even before the disheartening 2005 season, Earnhardt Jr. had demonstrated his ability to bounce back from adversity. The prior year, he fought through the pain of second-degree burns suffered in a mid-season racing accident which could have easily killed him. And the 2001 season started with inconceivable tragedy, the death of has father Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500.

Either or both of these real-life incidents could have been enough to end Dale Jr.'s young career, and under the circumstances, few could have blamed him if he had walked away from racing for good.

But he summoned his strength and carried on, arguably becoming a tougher competitor and stronger person through the process.

Now ten races into the 2006 season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. appears to be demonstrating his trademark resiliency again.

With Saturday night's win in Richmond, Junior and the No. 8 team have already scored 4 top-tens and find themselves sixth in point standings.

What a difference a year makes.

"At this point last year, I really had a question mark on what caliber of team I was with. I was sort of in limbo as to what I needed to do to be better. We hadn't run well. We hadn't finished well. I was struggling as a driver. My car was struggling. So I was nowhere near in the position I am now as far as my confidence and how I feel about my team now," Junior explained after the Richmond win. "I have more confidence in the equipment and the cars (now). I have more confidence in Tony Jr. than I had before. There's just a better, more positive feeling about it. Even when we have the weeks we've had at Phoenix and Talladega, we were disappointed because we know our potential. We knew our potential and we knew we should have run better and finished better. It's good to be able to get out and get a win every once in a while, if not more often, to be able to back up your confidence and back up how you feel about your team and how you feel about your cars."

Whether Dale Jr. makes the Chase or wins the title in 2006 remains to be seen. But with his renewed confidence and never-say-die attitude, Earnhardt Jr. will clearly be a force to be reckoned with - this season and beyond.

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. Although we may not always agree with what is said, we do feel it's our duty to give a voice to those who have something relevant to say about the sport of auto racing.