Dale Earnhardt Jr: Steve Letarte Will Help Junior Win 2012 NASCAR Championship

After being forced to leave his own late father’s company because of a feud with his stepmother, Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t been able to find peace with himself inside a car in years.

That all changed when crew chief Steve Letarte came aboard the No. 88 team.

After spending most of his professional career on Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 team, Letarte brought a different way of approaching his driver to the NASCAR fan favorite and has really made strides in building a relationship.

That’s what the rest of the crew chiefs Junior had since joining his new Hendrick Motorsports team haven’t been able to do; gain Earnhardt’s true respect.

Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick told AOL Sporting News about the relationship between Junior and Letarte:

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I saw Dale Earnhardt [Jr.] getting in a car with Steve Letarte and his kids going to the mall. You can tell him that you have his best interests in heart and you can tell him that this is the best thing for him, but until he believes it and he sees it and he feels it, it doesn’t do any good. Anybody that has tried to help him has done what they could, but Stevie went at it a different way. Dale has always told me he wants to do what it takes to make the team better. Stevie just has that personality where he has been able to gain Dale’s confidence and Stevie knows when to pull the string and when not to. … Dale wants to be comfortable. He wants to respect the guy. He wants the guy to respect him. He has that.

"

With the new comfort level and a nice 2011 season to build off, the No. 88 team and Dale Jr. are ready to get back into the winner’s circle and contend for a championship.

Letarte and Junior see all of the success that Hendrick has had over the years, and they know they have the equipment to get it done. It comes down to trust and getting it done on the track.

The duo is becoming the perfect pair on and off the track, and that’s what it takes sometimes.

With a great start at Daytona, there will be nothing that can stomp the new dynamic duo of Letarte and Earnhardt this season. We really may be on the cusp of a Junior renaissance.

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