Around the Garage: Dale Jr. Proof of Weight Earnhardt Name Carries in NASCAR
The recent news that Jeffrey Earnhardt will make hisย NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 12 was a reminder that the Earnhardt name still moves the needle.
It carries plenty of weight with it too. Just ask Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is Jeffrey's uncle.
Luckily for Jeffrey, he won't be jumping into a Sprint Cup car with nearly the expectations that Dale Jr. did when he made his Cup debut back in 1999.
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Jeffrey, who is the son of Earnhardt Jr.'s half-brother, Kerry, will be driving for underfunded Go Green Racing.ย In 66 previous career starts in what is now the Xfinity Series, Jeffrey Earnhardt has given no indication that his Cup debut will be memorable beyond the fact that it will place two Earnhardts on the track together for the first time since 2005โwhen Dale Jr. and Kerry both competed in the fall Talladega race.
Jeffrey Earnhardt has never earned a top-five or top-10 finish in the Xfinity Series and had just one top-10 finish in 10 Camping World Truck Series starts over two seasons back in 2009 and 2010.
Compare that to the hype that faced Dale Jr. back when he made his Cup debut at Charlotte in May of 1999. Not only was he the son of the most famous active driver in the series at the time, but Junior also was in the midst of running down his second consecutive Xfinity-level championship.
Just one year later almost to the day, Earnhardt Jr. not only was competing at the same track in the All-Star Race with the best there was in the sport, but he won it.
And not only did he win it; he won it with flair. On the final pit stop of the exhibition event that nonetheless is one of the most prestigious races on the circuit, Dale Jr., then 25 years old, calmly came over the team radio and told his crew: "This has been pretty easy so far. Give me four fresh tires, and I'll go win this damn thing."
That was more than 15 years ago. At the time, no one doubted that he soon would be saying the same thing to his crew about winning a championship during a critical late-race pit stop in more than one season.
Yet here it is 2015, and Earnhardt Jr. remains seven Cup championships shy of his father Dale's record-tying total. In some ways, though, at least Junior seems to have revived his career and reopened the possibility of winning at least one before he's through by no longer worrying so much about living up to the legacy of his father.
Others finally seem less obsessed by that as well. At age 40, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally appears to be his own man.
By rejuvenating his own career over the last two seasons, during which he has won six races while driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, Earnhardt Jr. put to rest the notion that was he was washed up and/or overrated. He's obviously one of the top drivers in his sport, one of just nine currently active drivers with 25 career race victories or more.
He's done plenty on his own. He doesn't need to be compared to his father any longer if, in fact, that was ever necessary in the addled minds of diehard fans who wanted him to be more like the old man and wouldn't let it go.
Darrell Waltrip, the former driver who is a longtime family friend, noted earlier this season that one of the reasons he believes Earnhardt Jr. has turned the corner late in his own career is that Junior himself let that notion go. In a column for FoxSports.com, Waltrip wrote:
"There was a long period where he felt his popularity and status in the sport were more about what his dad had done than what he had done. In this past year I've really seen him come to terms with that and he is markedly more comfortable in his own skin. He's the most comfortable with himself that I've ever seen him.
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It has enabled Earnhardt Jr. to at least inject himself into the championship-contender conversation this season, when he'll turn 41 by its end. Currently third in points with a pair of race wins, he'll be in the mix when the Chase for the Sprint Cup soon commences.
When you think back to just a few years ago, when he went three full seasons without a single win and a total of six with only one, it's remarkable.
The fact is, folks, that Earnhardt Jr. may never win even one championship. Despite his current lofty position in the standings, the top three title contenders this year figure to be defending champ Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson from where I'm sitting.
But that doesn't mean Junior's career has been a disappointment. He's carried the heavy weight of the family name well, on and off the track, and in many ways he's been a far more likable credit to his sport than his father was.
It's a solid legacy that is enough to get him to the NASCAR Hall of Fame one day soon after his retirement whether he wins a title or not.
Social event of the season
Many, Darrell Waltrip included, credit Earnhardt Jr.'s fiance, Amy Reimann, with helping keep him grounded and focused and in the best frame of mind the driver has ever appeared to be in.
"I think she's helped him a lot both in the sport and in life in general to enjoy the moment," Waltrip wrote for FoxSports.com.ย "Honestly, there were times when I didn't think he was enjoying anything. There were times when I thought he looked almost miserable."
If having a good woman behind you is what it takes to regain focus, then look out for the No. 48 team of Johnson in the upcoming Chase.
In the social event of the season (or at the very least of the recent rare off-weekend), Johnson's longtime crew chief, Chad Knaus, wed former Miss Sprint Cup Brooke Werner. Knaus frequently looks miserable even when things seem to be going well. But maybe his new bride will loosen him up a bit, and that'll be good for the team that is seeking its own seventh championship (which would tie Johnson with the late Earnhardt and Richard Petty for most all-time).
Throwback time
Kudos to all the teams featuring throwback paint schemes in this Sunday's Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.
Twenty-five teams in all will do so, with arguably the best of the bunch being the one featured on the No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota of Clint Bowyer. The Bowyer ride will feature a paint scheme similar to the one the late Buddy Baker used in the 1974 Southern 500.
It's not only a cool look, but a nice nod to one of the sport's all-time nicest guys.
What sport is this?
Following Joey Logano's latest victory at Bristol Motor Speedway,ย his Team Penske colleagues could not seem to heap enough praise on the driver for his continuing displays of increased maturity behind the wheel. They just couldn't seem to decide which sport analogies fit best.
When asked post-race if it was the best Logano had ever driven, crew chief Todd Gordon replied: "He performed flawlessly. Best race he's ever driven? I don't know, (the) Daytona (500 won by Logano earlier this season) was pretty phenomenal.ย But it was a typical Joey Logano performance. As I said in Victory Lane, I'll put the analogy to basketball, but there's only certain a handful of guys that want to have the ball in their hands with three seconds left on the shot clock, and Joey is that guy.ย
"When it comes down to the time to make it happen, he elevates, doesn't make mistakes. I think (second-place finisher) Kevin (Harvick) challenged us pretty formidably, and Joey never folded, never made a mistake and did what he had to do and executed, and that's a Joey Logano performance."
Meanwhile, Team Penske executive vice president Walter Czarnecki added: "One word came to me watching those last 50 laps. The word was poise. He just didn't lose his composure. Using Todd's analogy, Todd handed him the football, and he found the holes."
Basketball...football...whatever the case, Logano has elevated his game in a big way and will be a formidable foe in the upcoming Chase.
In the fast lane
If you've never been to Darlington, it's a racetrack every fan should strive to visit at least once. It's old-school, the racing is fantastic and the atmosphere might be even better. Now that the Southern 500 has rightfully been returned to Labor Day weekend, it's a can't-miss event for NASCAR fans.
... And if you do go to Darlington, you either need to camp at the track, or you'll probably need to stay in Florence, South Carolina, as there just aren't any hotels around the venue.ย That means you need to stop by Apple Annie's for a cold one. Usually there is a good band playing on the weekend nights too.
... Another underrated place reasonably close to the track for golfers is Cheraw State Park, which has a great course for reasonable rates. The park rents cabins out, but there is a limited number available. They go fastโso book ahead for next year if teeing it up is your thing. One good deal about a night race is that there is plenty of time for hitting the little white ball around during the day before heading to the track.
Unless otherwise noted, all information was obtained firsthand.
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