Dale Jr. Ready To Race?

Last week at the Hendrick Motorsports stop on the NASCAR preseason parade, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was pounded by many questions about the coming 10th anniversary of his father's on-track death.  He answered the often intrusive questions about how he will feel February 20th at the Daytona 500 and about how he felt 10 years ago with poise and kindness, yet underlining the fact that his feelings will remain his feelings and not be paraded out for everyone to see.  Yet the most telling statement Junior made, I felt, came near the end of the visit.  He said he was ready to go racing.

Perhaps Dale Earnhardt Jr. is ready to race.  He has had a good off season, filled with changes to his surroundings at Hendrick Motorsports, a new Crew Chief with whom he already had a good relationship, and some good testing where their communication could be given foundation.  For the first time in a couple of years, Dale Jr. heads into Daytona as a possible contender for wins, not just a dark horse.  Some commentators are already picking him as a possible favorite for Daytona.

I understand that a win on a restrictor plate track would not solve all of Dale Jr.'s problems.  He must prove competitive week after week, including improvement on intermediate tracks.  His ability to produce with an ill-handling race car has to return instead of continuing to fall to the back when tires begin to slip.  He has been able to do so in the past, but the missing factor for the past few years has been confidence.

Perhaps when Junior moved to Hendrick Motorsports he thought things would be easier.  Perhaps he began to think he could at last get a championship or two and satisfy his father's fans.  If so, the let down of the past two years would obviously be sobering.  With only one win in the 88 car and only brief periods of being competitive, Earnhardt Jr.'s time at HMS has been lackluster to say the least.

During the questions at Hendrick during media week, I finally came to the conclusion we all should have in 2000 when he was a rookie.  He is not his father.  His memories of his father are not all tied to racing and his abilities at racing should not all be tied to his father.

Hopefully, as we prepare to remember his father after 10 years, we will understand that he remembers his father every day.  Hopefully as we watch him race at Daytona we won't only think of the 3 car, but will appreciate his personal talent.  Hopefully Dale Jr. has come to realize he can still be the driver his father would have wanted: Dale Earnhardt Jr. at his best, not a copy of himself.


Read more by Joseph Davis at The Spotter Stand and follow him on Twitter @the_Bumpdrafter

Posted in: Dale Earnhardt Jr,Daytona,Nascar,Nascar Blog,Racing,Rick Hendrick,Sprint Cup,steve letarte