Most Everything You Read About Dale Jr. Is Wrong, But If You’re A Fan You Knew That Already

Been a while since I’ve ranted, although this one is toned down due to my wanting to run it at the Examiner as well as here. That said, I do believe I got my point across…

Deep within the recesses of my iPhone’s iPod section is a lengthy playlist titled “For When You’re In One Of Those Moods.” It’s an assortment of tunes covering several genres, all bound together by a common thread of serving as musical comfort food for moments when thoughts are introspective or perhaps a touch wistful; a whisper melancholy.

Or as is the present case, more than a touch surly.

I’ve opined more than once about how in the eyes of many being a NASCAR fan immediately makes you the rat bastard of sports fans. If you haven’t been told more than a few times your passion is for rednecks driving in circles you don’t get out enough. It comes with the territory. You learn to ignore the ignoramuses and carry on.

It rankles a bit when you hear the above from the media, but again you shrug it off. Further, you learn how to sort wheat from chaff when it comes to the media directly covering NASCAR. Some are professionals, committed to getting the story right every time. Others believe they are the star of their own movie and should be featured in yours as well. Their intent is to be the focus of attention as opposed to the sport and those who actually deserve the spotlight, namely drivers, crew chiefs and team owners along with everyone else who makes it happen.

There also exists within the media a carrion consuming contingent; pseudojournalists intent on selling print media or pushing site visits to the highest possible level. This is accomplished via generating heat by first inventing garbage, then setting it on fire. Truth, honesty, accuracy: these have no place in this cesspool. Slam out the smears and scrape all slimy residue from same off the resulting paychecks so they won’t clog the ATM upon deposit.

Usually content to invent love life scenarios for assorted third-tier celebrity drama kings and queens who crave any form of attention they can muster, this week the unfunny jokers have turned their sewage pumps in NASCAR’s direction by boldly proclaiming Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on the personal skids, bedeviled by personal demons and besotted with drink.

Not true, says all parties concerned. Earnhardt Jr. denies it. Actual friends and neighbors of Dale Jr., as opposed to the unnamed “friend” upon whose fantasies… er, reports the story is based, deny it. The issuers of the aforementioned sludge are too busy counting their profits for the week to comment. You were expecting them to actually say something, perhaps?

Steer manure slingers are going to be steer manure slingers. It’s what they do. It’s their paycheck. Where it becomes distressing is when members of the at least in theory legitimate media give such bilge water a veneer of legitimacy by passing it on without challenge or criticism. When called out for their actions, the defense is “hey, don’t blame me, they said it — I’m just sayin’ is all.” This, in their mind, releases them from any responsibility to vet the story with the same level of authentication one at least hopes they use on stories they themselves compose.

The fact this story involves Earnhardt Jr. adds another element to the mix that wouldn’t be present if the driver in question was a middle of the pack runner. It’s not much of a stretch to state that as goes Dale Jr. so goes NASCAR. He is its biggest star. He puts fans in the seats and in front of their televisions. He sells the merchandise. His is the name the casual fans recognize. In NASCAR, Earnhardt Jr. is The Man. Period.

There’s no disguising the fact Dale Jr. has had a miserable season. No wins. No Chase. A crew chief change. Every screeching harpy there is ripping on him 24/7. The pressure, unspoken and otherwise, on him as the reason attendance and viewership is on the wane. When you step back and take a look at the big picture, the story this year isn’t what’s wrong with Earnhardt Jr. It’s that he hasn’t been the lead story on the evening news for all the wrong reasons.

It used to be that being a member of the Junior Nation meant you’d be ridiculed for being a mindless drone following the masses. Now it’s the snark of how can you possibly root for this guy. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen the intelligence of Dale Jr. fans openly questioned by members of the media, usually print, for continuing to support their driver. Don’t you know he’s not only not all that, he’s nothing at all but a family name, goes the cackle. He’s a loser. Why follow a loser?

Quite simple, actually.

He’s not a loser.

Going through a tough stretch? Obviously. Struggling with adapting to the new car and its ultra-finicky nature? Certainly. Ready to pack it in out of frustration? Not even.

There’s no question Dale Jr. has been frustrated and angry this year. Who wouldn’t be, watching his teammates battle for the championship while he’s never knowing what’s going to go wrong in any given race? Yet Earnhardt Jr. has pressed on, and there have been signs of legitimate hope 2010 will not be 2009 redux.

Consider this past Sunday at Texas. Yes, there was the gaffe at the end where crew chief Lance McGrew didn’t get Earnhardt Jr. onto pit road in time and he ran out of gas. It happens. It’s a dreadful mistake, but it happens. Before then, McGrew had been making all the right calls and Dale Jr. had been enjoying a solid run. The kind you build on.

For whatever reason, the media consistently misses that Earnhardt Jr. fans genuinely like the guy. NASCAR fandom has never been based solely on performance. It embraces personality and character. Dale Jr. fans have taken their driver to heart over the years. They’re not going to abandon him, and they wisely turn a deaf ear to those who insist they should do so.

To be a member of the Junior Nation these days is an act of defiance. It’s an attitude that tells myth-creating muckrakers and smug mainstream media members alike to assume their proper place at the bottom of the food chain, one where fans alone rule. The fans have said Dale Jr. is our man. We’re sticking with him. We’ll be there when he gets back to Victory Lane and title contention.

Right now, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his fans are in one of those moods.

Be ready for the coming day when the mood will considerably brighten.