View Chase Chronicle: Dale Junior
Chase Chronicle: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
By Gregg Leary
Did a blown tire at Charlotte explode any hopes of a Cup Championship for NASCAR’s “Most Popular Driver?” I hate to burst the innerliner of thousands of Junior fans but baring an insane ARCA- like finale scenario where Justin Allgaier came from near impossible odds to claim the title, I think Dale Junior will have to wait until next year. The donut detonation dunks Dale 354 points behind Chase leader Jimmie Johnson and relegates Junior to 10th in points.
There are 5 races remaining with 975 points left on the table. The maximum swing in points per race is 161…the difference between 195 points for winning a race and leading the most laps…and 34 points for a 43rd place finish. Junior would need at least two maximum points differentials with Jimmie Johnson to get back into contention…and the other Chasers ahead of him would also need to have major problems. Among much of Junior Nation “hope sprints eternal,” but at this point it’s a faintly flickering flame.
What’s Junior’s “track record” in the Chase? Junior has made the Chase three times…2004, 2006 and 2008. He has finished 5th in final points twice. In 45 Chase races he has 2 wins (Talladega and Phoenix in 2004). The 4.4% Chase Winning Percentage is just under his Career Winning Percentage of 5.6%. His 10 Top Fives in the Chase is 22%. (Just below his 26% Career Average). Junior’s 17 Top Tens is 38% (Below his 42% Career Average). Dale’s Average Finish this year is 14th…only two spots better than his Career Average Finish of 16th. It will take much better numbers than these to contend for a championship. Perhaps his sophomore season with the Hendrick Superteam will pay greater dividends.
Why is Dale Junior NASCAR’s “Most Popular Driver?” After reading the following book I think you’ll have a better understanding.
“Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Inside the Rise of a NASCAR Superstar”
By Ron Lemasters Jr. and Al Pearce
Photography by Nigel Kinrade and Harold Hinson
He is THE face of NASCAR…”Most Popular Driver” for five straight years…and counting. But Dale Earnhardt Junior transcends NASCAR. Ron Lemasters Junior’s book, published in 2006 while Dale Junior still drove the Bud car for DEI, helps us understand why. In the “Inside the Icon” Introduction, Ron writes: “Every year, Harris Interactive releases its list of the nation’s ‘Favorite Sports Stars.’ For the past three years, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been on it. The only athletes ahead of Junior on the list were golf’s Tiger Woods, basketball’s Michael Jordan, football’s Brett Favre and baseball’s Derek Jeter.” Lemasters asks the question, “What is it about Dale Earnhardt Jr. that captivates us? Is it his name? His rock-and-roll, good-ol’-boy persona? His story?” The book provides answers.
“This book takes a look at the man inside the red Budweiser racing suit through the eyes of friends, acquaintances, and even his famous father. There was a time when Junior expected to work for his father for the rest of his life, changing oil at the Chevrolet dealership for $16,000 a year. You’ll read about how he survived military school and overcame painful shyness…how he struggled in street stocks and late models and had to make it on his own before he got much help from his father.”
“Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Inside the Rise of a NASCAR Superstar” is a unique work. Longtime motorsports writers Lemasters and Al Pearce “tag team” the chapters and the “dynamic duo” of photographers Nigel Kinrade and Harold Hinson embellish the words with their excellent photographs. 175 images grace the 192 page work. They are superb and allow the reader to see Junior during some of his most private moments…something even an “all access” press credential won’t. The close up of Junior (Page 1) with his helmet visor raised is a study in focus and concentration. Smiling Junior (Page 2) is balanced by a poignant portrait of Junior (Page 89) that must have been captured shortly after his dad’s death at Daytona. It may bring tears to your eyes. The photographs anchor the book and provide insight into Junior from both “official” and “unofficial” perspectives.
Nine Chapters tell the compelling “Tale of Dale.”
1. Life in Military School
2. Going Short-Track Racing at Myrtle Beach
3. The Dale Jr. Marketing Machine
4. Getting Started
5. The Public and Private Junior
6. Early Success
7. Dale’s Death
8. Title Contender
9. Where He Goes from Here
It’s all here…from the infamous quote after his Talladega win, “It don’t mean sh*t. Daddy won here 10 times,” to photographs of Junior’s win at Richmond in 2006.
Junior tells about his less than stellar school days…being asked to leave a private Christian grade school…”not for anything serious…a couple of fights, talking in class, sleeping in class.” His dad and step mom sent him to Oak Ridge Military Academy where Junior learned discipline. “I was ten times the person after that experience. Good and bad, it made me smarter, stronger and less likely to get my ass kicked.” Dale returned to public Mooresville High School where, “It wasn’t cool to be Dale Earnhardt’s son.” He graduated in 1991 then got an associate degree in automotive technology at “MIT” as Dale called it. Junior’s racing education began in 1992.
“Right from the get-go, I saw that he was in total control. I could see he had natural talent…it just needed somebody to file it down,” said Gary Hargett. Hargett, who had raced against Junior’s grandpa, Ralph and watched Junior’s dad mature as a racer, took the kid under his wing. They raced late models at bullrings like Myrtle Beach. Dale Earnhardt did not offer his son a silver spoon. He made Junior learn the hard way by working on his own cars. Hargett said, “Junior didn’t really have a good car until his third season. We did it the hard way.” But Junior learned and matured as a driver. He went on to win two NASCAR Busch Series Championships…which led to one of the most lucrative Cup sponsorships driving the Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Chevrolet…numbered 8 in honor of his grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt.
Why is Dale Earnhardt Junior SO popular?
“He’s genuine…He’s NASCAR’s most popular driver because he’s real. He’d proven himself by winning two Busch championships, he had that great last name…we saw great crossover appeal between racing and the 21- to 34-year old beer drinkers. We felt he’d be the perfect representative for that group because he drinks beer, likes music, and he’s really good in the race car,” says Budweiser’s Kathy Casso. Al Pearce writes, “There was a time when Budweiser used Clydesdales and three frogs to sell beer. Now they use Junior.”
How “real” is Junior? When Wrangler wanted him to promote their jeans as his father had in the past, Junior turned them down because he didn’t like their jeans and didn’t wear them. His honesty led to a new line of jeans that he does like, does wear and does promote. How can you NOT like this kid?
“If this was the 1950s, Jeff Gordon would be Pat Boone and Dale Jr. would be Elvis,” says Monte Dutton. Both were good singers but you know who had the most fans.
Jim Utter says, “One thing that has never changed about Dale Jr. is that he likes to have fun.” This sense of humor is documented in a photograph of a sign in the garage area, autographed by Junior, which instead of saying “No Loitering,” proclaims…”NO…Please Loiter…look, take pictures…”
The book is full of marvelous stories about Dale Earnhardt Junior AND his dad.
In the 2000 Michigan race when Dale Earnhardt raced his sons Dale Jr. and Kerry, it was only the second time in NASCAR history that a father had raced against two of his sons. (Lee Petty raced against his sons, Maurice and Richard.)
Dale Earnhardt’s IROC win over Junior by .007 seconds at Michigan is still the closest in the history of the series. When asked if he could have just let his son win, Senior said, “No way. He’s going to have to earn everything just like his dad did. I don’t think he would have wanted me to let him win.”
Junior agreed. “Today was really special. I can’t tell you what it was like to be racing with my dad. I don’t know that we’ll ever have that opportunity again, but we did and we experienced it. It’s something we’re going to cherish.” How prophetic. The book tells of Dale’s tragic death at the 2001 Daytona 500…and Junior’s miraculous victory in the 2001 Pepsi 400…the next race at the same track that claimed his father.
Racing biographies are often abysmal. This one is excellent. There is a good chance you’ll read its192 pages in one sitting. I did. When you combine the talents of four writers and photographers you often multiply the chance for errors. I only found one. In the cutline below two of the photographs, Bristol is identified as the shortest NASCAR Cup track. Martinsville has that honor…even if it is by only .007 of a mile…about 37 feet. It’s the next track in the Chase…starting the second half of the playoffs. Junior needs a win to stay in contention.
The following quotes from Dale Junior’s press conference from last year answer several questions …
Dale Jr.: I’ve been a Mountain Dew fan for a long time…back to when Darrell (Waltrip) used to drive for them. (Jr. would have been 7 when DW won his first Championship in 1981 for another “Junior” (Johnson) in the Mt. Dew #11.)
Why the #88?
Dale Jr: ”I was a big fan of the car that Darrell, Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Bobby Allison and Dale Jarrett drove.”
“My fans asked if the new number would have an “8” in it. They can be twice as happy.”
#88 is Dale Junior’s Busch car number. (NAVY)
His grandpa, Ralph drove the #88 for Petty Enterprises at Martinsville in 1957.
Robert Gee, his other grandpa, worked at Hendrick.
(Hendrick and Junior are combining their Busch programs.)
Since Junior went to Military School he is a natural to represent the National Guard.(and NAVY in the Busch Series.)
Dale Earnhardt Junior
Tale of the Tape
Wins Races Winning %
Dale Junior 18 322 5.6%
Jeff Gordon 81 540 15%
J. Johnson 31 250 12.4 %
How has NASCAR’s biggest star fared on its smallest track? Dale Jr. has not won at Martinsville but he does have 7 Top Fives and 8 Top Tens in 17 races. His best finish there is 3rd. His average finish is 14th. He must do much better than average to move up in the Chase points.
How about a little Earnhardt trivia? Dale’s grandpa, Ralph drove the #88 at Martinsville for Petty Enterprises back in 1957. He finished 13th.