Earnhardt Jr. Haters Are Fuming

After a week off and some relaxation, the NASCAR stars were back to action at one of the world's most loved tracks, Indianapolis.  With a dwindling amount of races left to the Chase cutoff, teams were looking to make a move and either gain bonus points to begin the Chase or to make their way into the Chase by way of victories.

At the top of the story pile, as usual, was Dale Earnhardt Jr.  He was looking to top his best Brickyard finish (6th), become only the second 'son' to win in a 'father/son' combination, to tie Jeff Gordon for most consecutive lead lap finishes in the Modern Era, and to further solidify himself near the top of the standings in preparation for the Chase.  Some 400 miles and a small amount of side-by-side racing later, Earnhardt Jr. finished the day completing 3 of his 4 goals.  Although his teammate, Jimmie Johnson, piloted the 48 to a dominating win, his 4th at Indy, Dale Jr. finished 4th and took over the Sprint Cup Series points lead after Matt Kenseth was collected in a late race collision. 

And the smoke begins.

Although Earnhardt Jr. has had a great season, by many measures his best ever, there have always been and will always be those who cannot stand the attention and following he garners.  Whether those people are former fans that had their feelings hurt by his poor performances from 2006-2010, or they are die hard Kyle Petty fans who only wish their 'son of a legend' favorite had the same ability, they will not be happy.  They are more than willing to pile-on criticism whether Junior is finishing in the top-5 or if he has a bad race and finishes outside the top-10.  They call him "Over88ted", under-talented, rookie, and more.  There is even an Over88ted.com, dedicated to pointing out every Dale Earnhardt Jr. mistake.  And they range from low level, blogging hack to 'Sr. Bleacher Report Analyst', and even a "Journalist" for the Charlotte Observer.  Thankfully, there are also sites like 88-Central, a NASCAR forum website where Junior and NASCAR fans can vent!

This weekend, as Kenseth's car, and points lead, went up in flames, the on-air personalities for ESPN simply pointed out that if the race were to finish as they were running Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be the new points leader.  That fact so aggravated the Junior haters that Charlotte Observer writer, and blogger at ThatsRacin.com, Jim Utter tweeted "Can we wait until the race is over before we crown Dale Junior champion?", which he followed with "Dale Junior is NOT the former, current or future points leader."  Sounds like a particularly impartial NASCAR journalist.

As blogger Jay Busbee wrote in his Yahoo Sports blog, "From The Marbles", the Junior haters are having to "dig deeper."  Some of them are flat speechless, choosing to hold their tongue while praying for a misstep on which to pounce.  Some, not unlike Mr. Utter, are in apparent denial.

Oh, and for the Over88ted.com site?  They have a clock that counts how long it has been since driver 88 has won...  It did not get updated after Michigan, surprisingly enough.  Instead it clicks on, like a town clock above a deserted town square.  It's funny what jealousy can do to people...

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Why The Dislike For Danica?

Among NASCAR faithful, there are always discussions as to who the best is, who is strongest on certain types of tracks, and who is getting close to winning. Rarely do fans and commentators alike flat out say that someone is undeserving of a ride. However, this is exactly what some people are doing/have done with the talk of Danica Patrick getting a limited ride in 2012 with Stewart Haas Racing in the Sprint Cup Series.

It is understandable that some fans and reporters would be unimpressed by her IRL career. One win in seven seasons is hardly impressive. To make it worse, she had nothing but horrible finishes in her first partial season with JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series- all but one finish was outside the top 20.

But even so, it is unlike NASCAR to outright say someone is undeserving of the ride. That is what Kyle Petty, former Sprint Cup driver and son of the “King” Richard Petty, said as a commentator on Speed during Sprint Cup coverage on Friday. Petty inferred that there were other drivers more deserving of the ride and that she (Patrick) has not yet beaten Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch in the Nationwide series.

One might remind Mr. Petty that there were several drivers on Sunday that could not beat Edwards or Busch on Saturday. Those would include J.J. Yeley, David Stremme, Erik Darnell, Jason White, Andy Lally, Landon Cassill and others. Not to mention half of the Sprint Cup regulars for that matter. In fact, I’m not sure even Kyle Petty ever beat Kyle Busch or Carl Edwards. I’m not saying he or the others aren’t good drivers, it’s just not practical to say that unless a driver beats NASCAR’s current best in the NNS that they should not get a ride in the Cup series.

Now don’t get me wrong! I do not think Patrick is going to take NASCAR by storm, at least, not on the track. I do not discount her and say that she should do more to prove herself than say Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish, or any others who have attempted the move to NASCAR.

In my previous posts I showed how Patrick has improved her finishes in 2011 over 2010. She has not posted a lower finish on any return trip to a track which shows she is adapting and learning. Will she be able to step into a Cup ride and immediately compete for top 10’s? There aren’t many Cup drivers that could do that if moved to another team, so how is that a sane assumption?

If anything, NASCAR fans and reporters should allow Patrick to make it or break it on her own. Don’t hold her in contempt simply because she seemingly gets some “passes” off the track due to her looks and her sex. Would Paul Menard have been given a ride at DEI if he did not come with his father’s sponsorship money? Would Kyle Petty have made it to the Winston Cup Series had his father not been the “King”? No. But that does not mean that the two could not drive, nor does it mean that they were unworthy of a ride.

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