12:17 AM
JD
With that in mind, I have to reflect on the 2011 season for one of the most talked about new driver/crew chief pairings made in the 2010 offseason, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte. As everyone remember, Steve Letarte was moved from the #24 team of Jeff Gordon to help refocus the quickly derailing Cup career of most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
While the two began the season with much expected by some and little predicted by others, just how did the 2011 season stack up for Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Well, overall, there is much to be happy about. Junior seemed more capable, more communicative, and less unravelling for pretty much the whole season. His overall willingness to apply continued focus and work through problems helped the team have only 2 DNF's and finish 7th in the Chase, his best Chase finish since 2006, despite having no wins and only 4 top 5 finishes.
Another positive for the 2011 season is that on average, Junior had better finishes. His total average finishing position was 14.5, slightly better than his 16.8 career average. The total average for the season was weakend, however, by his turbulent late summer stretch and a decent Chase performance. In the first 15 races of the season he finished better than his average at 12 and had an average finish of 10.7.
Some of the negatives for this past season have to include the fact that he only led 2 laps during the Chase. In fact, Earnhardt Jr. led less laps this year than any season since he joined the series full time in 2001: just 52. "Team Earntarte" will definitely have to focus on this stat in the offseason to improve on the win column (still 0 for the duo despite two runner up finishes). Although the 88 car did seem a bit more racy this year and spent much more time inside the top 10 than last year, they have to lead more laps in order to have more opportunities to lead last laps.
Part of what I, all-knowing as I am, believe was one of the teams issues this year is that they did not often unload very fast, meaning they had to make many adjustments to get the car fast. In the early season this often did not finalize until late in the race, allowing Junior to push forward to snag a good finish. This is most evident in the fact that Junior had an average starting position this season of 19.6. Although Earnhardt Jr. has never been known for posting top 5 qualifying runs week after week, if the team can improve on this number by being better prepared prior to arriving at the track, the overall outcome for the weekend should get better.
I should say that I do not believe this is a particular downfall of Earnhardt Jr. or Letarte, but that it is a product of a newer driver/crew chief combination that needs time for the maturation of communication and knowledge of the driver's handling preference. This is somewhat shown in the difference in qualifying during the first half and second half of the season. In the first half, the 88 team average a starting spot of 21st and had bettered that average by 3 to 18th for the second half of the season.
I fully believe this team will be successful and will win and that success will come in the 2012 season. Surely "Team Earntarte" will not be satisfied with just 7th in the points when they left so much on the table this season. Knowing they finished better than Gordon and only 14 points behind Johnson should only push them to see just how much more success they can have in the coming season. I know all the "Jr Haters" will undoubtedly give me much grief for this post, but that is fine, I am sure there is plenty of server space at Blogger to accommodate all of your loving comments, just please keep it clean!
Posted in: Dale Earnhardt Jr,Dale Jr Crew Chief,Hendrick,Jeff Gordon,Jimmie Johnson,Nascar,Nascar Blog,nascar news,NASCAR Race Results,Sprint Cup,steve letarte
6 comments:
More often than not, when Junior finishes inside the top ten, he follows it with a year outside. I could be mistaken, but I think this is only his 5th time in the top ten in thirteen years. Certainly he's got to have another year in 2012, he's got less than five years left to get in done.
Its true there is a huge difference between the younger ones and the old ones. Even though they are in from a longer period of time. Younger lot are finishing before they do.
Drug and alcohol test
All I can say is why waste your time pulling for someone that does not have the drive to be champ or even win for that matter. He does enjoy all the millions he makes as being Mr. popular. Mark this down "he will never win a championship because simply put he is not good enough". I don't hate Jr, but I do feel sorry for him.
Well, anonymous, can I call you nony? You pull for someone because you believe they can win and because you admire how they do what they do. I think Junior can win, maybe I'm wrong, maybe not. But I also like pulling for someone who doesn't cuss at reporters or make a habit of shoving other cars (or trucks) into the wall. Is he good enough to win a championship? Well, probably 15-20 of the drivers are good enough given the right team dynamic. But most never will. It's not that they aren't good enough, rather that it's just that hard to do.
Your right JD he is definitley not his Dad. I have seen Dale Sr. do all that you said, cuss and put innocent people into the wall. Again I don't hate Jr. and I dont like Kyle Bush either (which, believe it or not, is the most tallented driver out there even at 25 years old). He and his brother have anger issues.I do beleive other drivers deserve more regconition based on track performance not who your daddy is/was.So your telling me if my favorite driver is Joe Nemechek to have faith he may win or be champ one day.Thanks JD, I will go out and buy a hat and t-shirt for the Daytona 500. Lets go front row Joe.
AAhhh, very well put Nony... But I did say top 15-20 drivers and the last time I checked Front Row Joe ain't on the front row no mo.. I also said that "Given the right team dynamic." I doubt that Triad Racing Technologies is knocking on the door of their first win any time soon.. Hate to let you down, since I'm sure it was true Joe Nemechek support and not sarcasm. The only person I ever saw Dale Earnhardt put into the wall that was innocent was Terry Labonte and I think he was slightly embarrassed at how that turned out. The two other people that many fans think of are Rusty Wallace and Darrell Waltrip who both would admit that they were no where near innocent.
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