Does Dale Earnhardt Jr Need A Smaller Team?

As a Dale Jr fan, the last few years have been tough to watch.  If I could, I would erase the 2009 season from my head and never think about it again.  This year has started out much better, and Junior sits 12th in the points right now, which is a nice place to be if you are gearing up for a Chase run.  But I have wonder if he would be higher in the points if he was with a smaller team.

Hendrick Motor Sports has the best equipment in the business; there is no doubt about that.  But they also have two of the best drivers on the circuit in the four time champs, Johnson and Gordon.  While Mr. Hendrick said they focused their attention on Junior after his slump last year, was that enough?

Back when Junior was at DEI, Junior Nation was riding a wave of success.  Of course, we had down races, but nothing as bad as last year.  He was the main focus at DEI and only really had one other full time teammate in Michael Waltrip and the No. 15 car. 

Those two helped each other out both in the shop and on the track.  That isn’t something you see much with the HMS cars.  It wasn’t uncommon to see Junior and Mikey hooked up going around Talladega or Daytona, blowing by the other cars.  Seeing them like that a few weeks ago at Talladega brought back fond memories.

But you don’t often see the HMS cars working together as well as the smaller teams that need each other to survive.

Dale Junior performs best when he’s the main focus of a team and doesn’t get shuffled to the back burner like he does at HMS.  He’s also best when he can work with a teammate and isn’t left out to do his own thing.  He obviously has talent with 18 wins and isn’t fully riding on the coat tails of his legendary father like some other drivers have done in the past, but a big team just does not seem to work with his style.

I would love to see Junior succeed and prove to all the people that say he’s a fake wrong.  But I don’t think he can show his true talent in a big team environment like HMS.  There are many options for him that gets him out of the big team atmosphere.

He could become a satellite team of HMS and bring Jr Motorsports up into the big series.  They are already successful in Nationwide; it wouldn’t be too much of a leap to see them successful in the Sprint Cup. 

Another option would be going to Stewart Haas Racing. They have shown interest in expanding to three cars after their successful season last year and it is rumored they are scouting out drivers right now.

SHR basically runs HMS cars but has a small team feel that would be good for Junior.  Smoke and Junebug are good friends and work great together on the track, so having them under the same team would be an advantage to both.

Junior’s contract is set to expire soon and I hope we see a move to where he can be more successful and get out of the shadow of Johnson and Gordon.  As a member of Junior Nation, I think I speak for all of us when I say I want to see that Dale Jr signature back in Victory Lane.