NASCAR Cup Series

With no Chase in sight, Earnhardt shifts roles

Published Aug. 19, 2009 4:26 a.m. ET

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Very few drivers in NASCAR garage possess Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s passion and knowledge of the sport.

There's a reason. He grew up in that "garage" at Michigan, at Daytona, at Charlotte and other tracks around the circuit. He grew up watching his father, Dale Sr., and Tony Eury Sr. working diligently at the deer head shop in Mooresville, N.C., long before there was a Dale Earnhardt Inc. And he grew up appreciating the lifestyle that racing afforded his family.




Earnhardt's investment in the sport goes well beyond owning a Nationwide Series team. That's why he's been so vocal in recent years about areas that could be improved upon.

Earnhardt doesn't necessarily relish the pulpit. But there have been times since his father passed that Earnhardt knew only his voice would be heard.

And as an Earnhardt, his voice is still that of the fans.

"I hate being in the news saying this; I'm not leading the crusade or anything but we need to be proactive at all times," Earnhardt said. "Let's continue to make it exciting, but we have to try to look at other forms of motorsports too. What's working and what's not? We need to always keep an open mind."

So why the silence from Junior over the last 10 races?

Since Hendrick Motorsports enlisted Lance McGrew to run the No. 88 team, Earnhardt needed to keep his full concentration on racing — not the hot topic of the day. But with four races until the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and Earnhardt sitting 25th in the standings, he has less to lose by expressing a strong opinion than do teammates Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin, who are battling for spots in the Chase.

As concerned as Earnhardt is about the new car, he's equally optimistic about NASCAR's attempt to stimulate the action with the introduction of double-file restarts. However, Earnhardt believes the sanctioning body cannot afford to be complacent.

"We're looking at a situation where the economy is improving a little bit, the stock market is starting to stabilize and we need to make sure we're in the best position to seize the opportunity when corporate America recovers and capitalize on it," Earnhardt said. "I think the racing has been pretty good, but I hope we're not satisfied.

"Just like double-file restarts, the changes to the double-file restart line and the way that they line us up for the double-file restarts has done a lot for the sport. I really like that creativity. I hope we're feeling that creative in every aspect of the sport, not only just the method in which the races are held and some of the rules within the races themselves but the car and some of the ways that we're promoting the races."

Earnhardt supports a back-to-basics approach for many of the racetracks. He strongly supports the sanctioning body and believes the implementations that NASCAR has made this year "have been great," but we also must think about the future.

And Earnhardt is brutally honest when it comes to the new car. When he makes suggestions, Earnhardt's not being critical — and he's not lobbying for modifications that benefit only him. He couches his reply on the new car with "our team is struggling now so I don't think we're a good benchmark for, well, 'is this a good car to drive?'"


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Earnhardt admits liking the car when it was first introduced. He praises NASCAR's safety initiative and thought the car's platform had the ability "to do a lot of neat things" — but that was on short tracks and road courses.

Earnhardt — and many others in the garage — wonder what actions NASCAR has taken recently to keep up with the evolution of the car?

"I do miss how the old car had the ability to turn and drive around each other," Earnhardt said. "We were able to race side by side and around each other a lot easier. We didn't really change anything about how the car tends to lose grip around each other and behind one another.

"The bigger greenhouse, the wing is going to make it more difficult to run behind but that's also some of the things that make it so safe. But we could try to think of ways to get that air off the back of the car and onto the car behind it a little bit better. I'm sure that Robin (Pemberton, NASCAR's Vice President for Competition) and those guys are always contemplating in their R&D center what to do and what they could be doing. Maybe," he said with a laugh, "they have some secrets they're not telling us yet."

Earnhardt believes the tight constraints of the new car have limited teams' creativity and the ability to get an edge over other teams with the bodies and the engines. However, if there is one organization that's made the most of the new car — without testing — it would be Hendrick Motorsports, which currently has five affiliated drivers (three Hendrick cars and both from Stewart-Haas) in the Chase Zone. But the sport's most popular driver, Junior, is not among them.

So perhaps his time now is better spent being the series' watchdog, because despite his performance this season, the fans still listen. Earnhardt is the one driver who can hold NASCAR accountable.

"I just hope as a whole group — the drivers, NASCAR, the media, everyone — is trying to be part of the solution, not the problem."

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