It’s become quite popular in many circles to rag on Junior as the symbol of all that is wrong with NASCAR. The thinking is that were he to start winning, which admittedly he has not done in quite a while, the fan base would become far more energized and we would stop seeing so many people coming dressed as empty seats at tracks across the land. It also amazes, confounds, and astounds more than a few people how Dale Jr. has managed to maintain his screamingly high popularity in the face of his lack of performance on the track the past few years. Apparently these individuals have never heard of the concept of not abandoning the home team just because they haven’t won in a while.

Setting aside the over the top dewey-eyed  dreamers who look in the mirror and see the future Mrs. Earnhardt, the Junior Nation remains steadfast in its support of a driver that they have adopted not only for his performance on the track over the years, but for his demeanor and manner off of it. Image is everything, so we are told, yet the most endearing aspect of Dale Jr.’s image is that he doesn’t really have one. There are no pretenses, no putting on airs of being a smooth corporate spokesman with Dale Jr., even though he is quite often featured as a corporate spokesman for his various  sponsors. Instead, what we have is something of a ramshackle country boy, somebody who obviously would be far more comfortable not only not being in front of the camera but simply left alone to be behind the wheel doing what he loves doing.

More so than any other individual in any other sport, Dale Jr. is faced daily with the burden of not only being the face of his sport, but in the eyes of many the sole reason for its popularity. Many drivers are known by the fans of NASCAR, and many are supported by them. Outside the sport, however, it is still Junior along with Jeff Gordon who are the most prominent faces, the ones that the casual fans recognize and about whom even those who profess to detest NASCAR are constantly aware. Trevor Bayne winning the 2011 Daytona 500 was a wonderful moment for NASCAR and its fans. Imagine how much more wonderful a win by Dale Junior of the 2012 Daytona 500 would be for NASCAR as a whole.

The question remains whether or not Dale Jr. is still capable of winning races. The answer, of course, is yes. There were some tantalizingly close moments in this past season when victory was genuinely within Dale Jr.’s grasp, yet circumstances beyond his control – like running out of gas – thwarted his efforts to revisit Victory Lane. As a side note, it’s a never ending source of amusement how so many people claim NASCAR is fixed. If it was actually fixed, don’t you think Junior would’ve won a few championships by now?

2012 is definitely a very important year in the career of Dale Earnhardt Jr. While it is not entirely imperative that he win a race or two (or more), and be a factor in the championship, it certainly would be advisable. 2011 can easily be seen as a year where the bleeding was stopped. Now, it remains to be seen whether Dale Jr. and Steve Letarte can take the next step.

There are some organizational issues, outside of Junior’s control, which need to be addressed within Hendrick  Motorsports. Far too often, especially in the latter part of the season, the cars simply weren’t there for any of them Hendrick drivers. There is no doubt that Rick Hendrick is addressing these issues, and it is entirely logical to believe that come 2012 the performance issues will be a thing of the past. At that point, it’s up to the drivers to step up.

While it’s nice to see Dale Jr. pick up the most popular driver award on Thursday, the ultimate goal is to see him next year pick up a different award on Friday. Like, say, a Sprint Cup championship trophy?

The best Victory Lane celebration of 2010.

Given that the NASCAR season has yet to reach its conclusion, it might seem a bit early to write about the year’s highlight. There is however one event, one moment that shines far above all others, and anything that can possibly happen this weekend.

A reminder of this moment arrived on my doorstep yesterday in the form of an “as raced” version of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Wrangler car which he drove this past July in the Daytona Nationwide race. Despite my nickname I don’t buy much diecast these days; not that I’ve lost my enthusiasm for the hobby, but monetary and physical room constraints have taken precedence. Still, when this one was announced for pre-order I jumped on it right away. I had to have this car.

Had to.

Think back for a moment to the race in question, and all that had been building up prior to the drop of the green flag. Here you had NASCAR’s favorite son, the face of the sport, mired in a miserable slump now in its second year. The hateful harpies were in full voice as they screeched their contempt about the man. A hack. A has-been that never was. No talent. Riding on his daddy’s name. No guts.

Enter Daytona.

Kelley Earnhardt, Dale Jr.’s pragmatic, practical sister, had a plan. The first part involved much the same approach as when she worked out a deal to bring Danica Patrick into the sport. Namely, ignoring the critics. Who first came up with the idea was a bit fuzzy, but she knew what needed to be done to set it into action. No naysayers would distract her from her chosen path.

The 3. In her father’s famous blue and yellow Wrangler colors which he wore prior to becoming the man in black. At Daytona.

Where her father died.

To say it wouldn’t be easy was the biggest understatement of the year. She would have to convince Wrangler, which while boasting of Dale Jr. as one of its spokespersons hadn’t had its name on his car in any fashion for a long while, to come on board. It would involve a coordinated effort between three different race teams, working with individuals with whom professional and even more so personal relationships were at best delicate. However, even with all of the logistic obstacles laid out before her, hers was the easy task.

Her brother would have to drive the car.

This wasn’t 2003, when in a feel-good moment Dale Jr. drove a 3 sponsored by Oreos to victory in the February Busch race at Daytona. This was seven years and seven centuries of racing later. The fresh-faced kid was now a man who looked and often acted like someone fully aware of the burden laid on his shoulders. He was the one accused of being the linchpin of why NASCAR faced declining attendance and viewership. He was the one now being labeled as someone not only unable to live up to his heritage, but even to his own past record. Lose this race, regardless of the reason, and Earnhardt Jr. would endure the doubling of the doubter and scoffers chorus. Win, and it would be dismissed as restrictor plate gimmick racing against lesser competition.

In short, it was a race with nothing to lose, yet one Dale Jr. had to win.

He won.

In a year that’s been filled with far too many tears, some additional ones were shed when the checkered flag was waved as the 3 crossed the start/finish line first.

However, these were tears I didn’t mind.

For one brief beautiful moment, everything was right in NASCAR.

I was deliciously lost in that moment, reveling in the joy of a story no Hollywood scriptwriter would dare propose for fear of being laughed out of town. In a sport where so many things completely out of the participants control can go wrong, none of them did. Someone who had accepted an insane burden carried it all the way into Victory Lane. This wasn’t a moment of mere triumph in stock car racing. This was a triumph in sports the like of which is seldom seen, one where legacy, honor and courage all came together in a timeless moment of gasoline-fueled beauty.

It was everything good about the sport I love.

You can’t ask for more of a highlight than that.

Why Danica Patrick is the Sarah Palin of NASCAR

IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, right, is joined by Go Daddy CEO and founder Bob Parsons, center, and Kelley Earnhardt, vice president and general manager of JR Motorsports, unveils the new GoDaddy.com No. 7 JR Motorsports stock car during an event announcing Patrick’s intention to make her NASCAR race debut next season Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009, in Phoenix. Patrick has signed with JR Motorsports team, owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick, and intends to start in her first NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Feb. 6 at Daytona International Speedway. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The announcement yesterday making what was commonly speculated the past couple of months official, that being Danica Patrick will be running a limited Nationwide schedule for JR Motorsports starting next year with her stock car debut being in the season opening ARCA race at Daytona in February, has been greeted with such a level of histrionics you’d think people in the motorsports world are lying when they express extreme disinterest in Mrs. Hospenthal’s activities. That couldn’t possibly be the case, now could it…

No driver in any series today is such a lightning rod as Danica. With the possible exception of Dale Earnhardt Jr., although in his case the lightning comes primarily in the form of lightning bolts hurled by the Junior Nation at any sportswriter speaking ill of he who drives the #88 Mountain Dew AMP/National Guard Chevrolet. Hell hath no fury like a Dale Jr. fan when their driver is scorned. But I digress; back to Danica.

There’s little in the way of middle ground when it comes to Danica. People either love her for her gumption in taking on the boys, dislike her for her sometimes surly persona and penchant for self-promotion, or really really REALLY can’t stand her. A large percentage of the latter devote an even larger amount of time to expressing this sentiment, be it in assorted sordid columns for various publication channels or in the comments area of same.

This is where the correlation between Danica Patrick and Sarah Palin comes into play. While the two have little in common personally or professionally aside from letting others dodge shards of glass resulting from their ceiling demolition work, there are at least three common threads between Mrs. Hospenthal and Mrs. Palin. First, very few people are neutral about them. Second, the media to put it mildly seldom befriends them. (We’ll get to the third one in a bit.)

The way Danica is slammed around you’d think she was responsible for all that ails auto racing. This will come as news to her new team owner Earnhardt Jr., since usually he’s the one blamed by the media for all that ails auto racing. Or at least the department where cars have roofs. This should make for some interesting competition at JR Motorsports as Danica and Dale Jr. scan the Internet to see which one has the greatest number of negative articles written about them that day. Whoever has the most buys lunch.

Once one gets past the personal animosity aimed Danica’s way, the charge most commonly leveled against her is she can’t drive. One would think her finishing fifth in the IRL points standings this past season during a year when any car not from the Ganassi or Penske stables was a rolling speed bump would answer this, but reality need not apply when it comes to pundits punting around verbiage volleys. While no one will know how she’ll do in stock cars until next year, the hunch is her aggressive style will mesh well with the chrome horn school of driving. Or as it’s commonly known, that which fans lament is no longer prevalent in NASCAR and lament even louder when someone actually employs the rubbin’ is racin’ philosophy.

Now, the third common thread. Both Danica Patrick and Sarah Palin have a lot of fans who adore them regardless of how media elements tell them otherwise. There are throngs of people waiting for Palin at every stop in her book promotion tour not to jeer but cheer, fueled by political and personal admiration. Patrick also has her group of followers, young girls invariably decked out in #7 gear in attendance at every IRL race. They’re there because their heroine is there, the girl who takes on, holds her own against and sometimes bests the boys. They’re there because of how she handles the curves at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, not how she displays them in Sports Illustrated or GoDaddy ads. Now, the young girls will be begging Mom and Dad to go to the Nationwide races in which Danica will participate. They’ll be cheering Danica on while Dad dreams of her and Mom does the same about Dale Jr. Fair is fair.

So, how will Danica do in NASCAR? Who knows. Is her presence good for the sport?

You betcha.

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.

Here’s a thought: might some of the daggers currently being thrown at Dale Jr. by the media be due to the dire straits currently facing professional journalism? Consider the reasons why this may well be so. The mainstream media is in a world of hurt. Newspapers and magazines are shedding staff at a furious pace and in some cases folding altogether. The media owning corporations are drowning in red ink. No one buys print media anymore and no one is buying ads anymore. The businesses that used to run ads in them are no longer doing so because they’ve either found more efficient channels to get their message out or they’re no longer able to buy ads. The individuals that used to populate the want ads now use eBay and Craig’s List. The Internet has now become the vessel of choice for those who prefer reading the news, and advertisers have found it isn’t a good channel through which to spread the message as its users demand their content clean and free.

Also factoring into the environment is how NASCAR itself has hit a bad stretch. Too many dull races plus overall economic woes has equaled fewer fans in the seats and watching the broadcasts along with sponsorship and manufacturer dollars growing scarce. A lot of people who were working in the sport last year are now trying to make their unemployment checks cover the bills. It’s not a good time.

Now, who is the only driver in NASCAR with a fan base so massive it can make perceptible movements up and down in the sport overall depending on its level of interest? Yup, Dale Jr. Who’s been down the past couple of years? Yup again, Dale Jr. So, who’s the easiest person to blame for NASCAR’s woes? You’ve hit the trifecta. Dale Jr.

Irrational though it is, it’s easy to see how the press can subconsciously or perhaps even overtly feel tremendous resentment against Earnhardt. They are scared for their jobs. If interest in NASCAR further dwindles, this combined with professional media’s woes will result in fewer reporters being sent to cover races. And if they’re not at the track, in all likelihood they’re not going to be drawing a paycheck.

Which they’ll blame on Dale Jr. not having had a run lately like the one Kyle Busch has enjoyed.

Since then, the media mancrush on Shrub has grown greater with every week while the scorn heaped on Dale Jr. has grown at an equal rate.  When you have a driver openly insulting the fan base, plus throwing sideswipes at the like of Mark Martin, and yet he is praised… yeah.

And the media wonders why no one loves them.

P.S.  On a lighter note, adding to Mike Davis’ comment the other day on Twitter (“at JR Motorsports, we break hearts, not guitars”) I will be most disappointed if at the #88 souvenir trailers we don’t soon see a t-shirt bearing the slogan “Kyle Busch thinks I’m crazy.”  ;-)

Seriously.  What is Kyle Busch’s problem?

His latest tirade against Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the stuff of which studies in petulance are made.  Whether it’s a deliberate attempt to reinforce his bad boy image or sniping on the level of a jilted former boyfriend dissing his replacement, Busch continues to embarrass no one but himself with his words.

What does he hope to gain by this?  He’s the one who’s said loud and long he could care less what the fans think.  His actions state otherwise.  They are those of someone who’s aggravated beyond belief that someone else is popular despite their being, at least in the view of the one feeling slighted, not worthy to walk the same earth as the injured party.

It’s been well over a year since Busch was dismissed by Rick Hendrick in favor of Dale Jr.  Since then he’s won a score of races in all three of NASCAR’s premiere series.  Get over it already and console yourself with your trophies.

Busch has also proven himself quite capable of self-destructing at most inopportune times on the track, thus depriving himself of even more wins.  If there is anyone at which he should be directing his anger, it should be himself for being his own worst enemy.

Why should he care if Dale Jr. is struggling?  That much less competition for him.  His delighting in Earnhardt’s woeful performance as of late reveals an inexcusable character flaw: the poor winner.

In short, Shrub is an ass.

He’s not alone.

Enter Ed Hinton, a worn out garrulous hack who’s everyone he’s ever loved that pukes philippics at every opportunity about The Way Things Ought To Be.  Rather like print journalism’s answer to John Daly.  Naturally, Hinton is employed by ESPN, the network that believes sports exist for the sole purpose of self-promotion.  His ringing endorsement of everything Shrub said plus tacked on rips against Dale Jr. (no link, he’s not worth it) was a classic example of what happens when a tired old man who still believes he’s the show decides to play the role of sports writer as tough guy.  Oooh, look at me!  I’m ragging on NASCAR’s most popular driver!  I’m edgy and provocative!  No, you’re just another bozo with bees up your butt, smarting because your sad sack sorry self got shown the door by the newspaper business and blaming Dale Jr. for all your self-inflicted wounds.  Why doesn’t he admit his thought process is “if he was doing better NASCAR would be more popular and I’d still have my old job!”  Probably because he’s afraid he’ll lose his ‘voice of the fan because I say I am’ status.

Kyle Busch and Ed Hinton.  So richly deserving of each other.

I’m with everyone
and yet not

Now that the deed is done and Tony Eury Jr. can no longer be used as the whipping boy for all that ails Dale Earnhardt Jr., time to take a look at the big picture.  For this, indulge me using allegory.

Someone decides to become a runner.  It’s not an easy choice because of everything that’s involved, yet it’s an easy decision.  They come from a long lineage of runners.  They love to run.  And so they select continuation of the lineage, the heritage.

They decide they want to run the mile.  The goal therefore becomes running a sub-four minute mile.  Toward this they start training and working.  It’s a lot of work.  While lineage helps in that they’ve got the best trainers plus workout equipment available anywhere, they alone have to do the work needed to reach their goal.  No one can or will run their race for them.  No one.

After a time they get in shape to where they can run that sub-four minute mile.  They now believe they’re ready to compete with other runners who also have trained and worked toward running a sub-four minute mile.  And so they enter their first meet in the beginners league…

… only to find the competition has trained to run a sub-ten minute mile.

Naturally, they whip up on the other runners.  What’s more, everyone who watches loves them no matter what they do.  Life’s pretty good.

Or so it would seem.

I’m with everyone and yet not
Just wanted to be myself

The runner wonders what’s the deal.  Lots of questions; answers not nearly as easy to come by.  Should they continue to train hard to maintain that sub-four minute mile for which they worked long and hard despite the competition not being anywhere near that level?  Do people love them for them or their heritage?  No denying it’s lots of fun; sure do enjoy the play time and money that comes with it.  But still they wonder.  Are they as good as the people say they are, or are they shining brightly solely as compared to the people they’re whipping up on?  Questions, questions.  Questions to self.  Questions of self.  And yet they continue to run.

Swallowed
Followed
Heavy about everything
But my love

Now it’s time to step up to the big leagues.  Sure, the competition is going to be a lot tougher.  In fact, it’ll be the first time they’ve faced real competition.  Still, it’s something they have to do.  They want to prove they belong.  They want to prove they’re good enough.  They want to prove they’re not there riding the coattails of their heritage.  Sure, they still want to have fun, maybe take it easy now and then.  That doesn’t mean they don’t want “it.”  They simply don’t see “it” as something to obsess over.  And so they enter the competition.  And they do all right.  Certainly not like it was before, where everything was comparatively easy.  But still, all right.

For a while, anyway.

Swallowed
Hollowed
Sharp about everything
Except yourself

Suddenly, the runner is no longer part of the heritage.  They are the heritage.  Now in addition to those who love them no matter what, they have those demanding they be their definition of who and what the heritage was.  Swell.

Still, they do all right.  Not the best, but far from the worst.  They win their share of races.  Life’s still good despite the expectations.  Good enough is… well, good enough.

Until one day when they discover it no longer is.

Piss on self-esteem, forward, busted knee
Sick head, blackened lungs and I’m a simple selfish son

The questions they once thought were behind them are now coming back amplified.  Are they still capable of winning?  Have they lost their edge?  They still love their fun time and toys, but do they love them too much and they’ve become an impediment to their running?  They’ve never liked being told what to do.  Okay, maybe they’ve been a bit spoiled, a bit pampered.  Do they need to somehow divest themselves of that and admit they need someone firmly guiding and directing them?  They can in all likelihood coast, for at least a while, on what they’ve done and their heritage and the promise of what they might do… well, maybe not that.  No one seems to believe in what they might do anymore.  In fact, they’re not sure they believe in that anymore.

They’re not sure they believe in anything anymore.

Swallowed followed, heavy about everything but my love
Swallowed oh no, I’m with everyone and yet not
I’m on everyone and yet not, I’m on everyone and yet not,

Got to get away from here, got to get away from here
Got to get away from here, got to get away from here
I miss the one that I love a lot, I miss the one that I love a lot
I miss the one that I love a lot

Somewhere deep inside, they still love to run.  At least they think so.  Or hope so.  They’re not sure.  Has that love been strangled past recovery?  Has their reacting to the demands of others by painting them with the same brush applied to their longstanding dislike of being told what to do become manifested in no longer caring about when, how or if they run?  Have they been thinking they’ll show “them” by consciously or subconsciously sabotaging their running regardless of the personal, let alone professional cost?

They know this is far bigger than running.  They need answers to the questions.  Now.  They know they need peace, and healing, and learning how to accept authority’s role in their life.

I wonder if they know how and where to find these things.

I earnestly pray they find or reembrace the One, the only One, who offers these things.

For only then will they rediscover their love of racing.

Only then.

We too miss the one that we love a lot.  Hope he returns soon.

[video http://www.diecast-dude.com/gac/bush_swallowed.flv nolink]

CONCORD, N.C. (May 28, 2009) – Hendrick Motorsports today named Lance McGrew as interim crew chief of the No. 88 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team of driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. beginning with the June 7 event at Pocono Raceway.  Team manager Brian Whitesell will lead the team this weekend at Dover, Del.

“Our performance hasn’t been where it should be,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports.  “It’s impossible to pin that on any one factor, but a change is the right decision at this point.  We have a plan in place, and we’re going to move forward with it.”

Whitesell and Rex Stump, Hendrick Motorsports’ lead chassis engineer, have been assigned to support McGrew on a full-time basis.  Whitesell, who won two of seven races as Jeff Gordon’s interim crew chief in 1999, will join McGrew and team engineer Tom Stewart on the No. 88 pit box to assist with race strategy.

“We’re going to put our full resources toward improving the situation and winning races,” Hendrick said.  “It’s going to be a collective effort that includes all of our drivers, all of our crew chiefs and all of our engineers.  Everyone in our company will be involved on some level.”

Tony Eury Jr. will move from the crew chief position into a key role with Hendrick Motorsports’ research and development group.  Eury posted one victory, one pole position, 19 top-10 finishes and 11 top-fives in 48 races with the No. 88 team.

“I have mixed feelings, and that’s just natural,” Eury said.  “But I enjoy working at Hendrick Motorsports, and this is where I want to be.  I’ll do whatever I can to help all of our teams and try to be a part of another championship.  I think a new challenge will be good.”

“Tony and I talked through this last night,” Hendrick said.  “I want him here, he wants to be here, and he’s going to be a big contributor to our future success.  I have an unbelievable amount of respect for the job he’s done and for the caliber of person that he is.”

McGrew, 41, earned the 2003 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship with driver Brian Vickers.  He won the October 2006 Sprint Cup race with Vickers at Talladega, Ala., and most recently led Cup rookie Brad Keselowski to a seventh-place finish May 9 at Darlington, S.C.

As a crew chief, McGrew has posted victories in all three of NASCAR’s major touring series: Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck.  He has won races with drivers Vickers, Jeff Gordon, Ricky Hendrick, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and most recently Tony Stewart Feb. 14 at Daytona Beach, Fla.

A native of Baton Rouge, La., McGrew has experience working with Earnhardt.  Last season, the pair ran three Nationwide Series races, posting top-10 finishes April 5 at Texas Motor Speedway and May 24 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.  They also finished 15th on March 8 at Atlanta.

Thoughts on all this ASAP.

I do think that Junior is certainly talented enough to win championships.

– Ray Evernham; 2/23/09

Anyone who watched the in-car of Dale Earnhardt Jr. during the Coca-Cola 600 Marked Down To 340 ½ noticed how he was spending a lot of time turning right to go left.  And then turning left.  And then right again.  And then back to left.  Problem was he: 1) wasn’t on a dirt track; 2) was turning right-left-right-left within the same length of time as a sugared up three year old’s attention span.  The end result was every time you saw an out-car shot of the #88 it was fishtailing around like a 6V slot car on a 12V track and the controller stuck in the full on position.  Not exactly conducive to going fast.  Or anywhere except backwards.  The jet dryers had better lap times.  Digger could tunnel his way around the track faster.

The above would be tolerable if the car in question was a solo effort built and sponsored by the boys at the Dew Drop In Bar Grill and Garage (don’t ask what they use as cooking oil for the deep-fried mystery meat) being driven — if you want to call it that — by by Billy Bob “The Bungling Butterball” Bashcrash.  But it’s not.  It’s Hendrick Motorsports.  Godzilla to NASCAR’s Tokyo.  It’s Dale Freakin’ Earnhardt Junior.  Winner of eighteen Cup races.  And before anyone trots out the worn-out tripe about how everything’s been handed to him since he was conceived and he’s not that good blah blah blah, kindly be reminded the name above the window net has yet to factor in the finishing order of any race.  Plus, when you have a car so bad that David Pearson in his prime couldn’t have made it run any better the driver is not the problem.  When you have a multi-zillion organization with a record of successes piled atop each other, that’s not the problem.  It resides elsewhere.

Specifically, atop the pit box.

Consider the other three Hendrick driver-crew chief combinations.  Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus are the standard by which all such duos are judged.  Mark Martin and Alan Gufstason have clicked.  Even Steve Letarte, who will never be mistaken for the next Ray Evernham, has dramatically improved from last year with Jeff Gordon riding atop the standings as a result.

And then there’s Tony Eury Jr.

In a year plus Eury has yet to demonstrate the ability to either set the new car up correctly for its initial run or make the proper in-race adjustments.  Regardless of track or conditions, week after week he can’t get it right.  His tempestuous professional relationship with Dale Jr. has been chronicled ad infinitum. That’s not the issue.  Earnhardt has learned how to shut up and drive.  Rick Hendrick has seen to that.  The problem has been and continues to be he’s not being provided with a car that’s drivable.

So what to do?

The current state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue.  Like it or not, as goes Dale Jr. so goes NASCAR.  He does well, NASCAR does well.  He’s a rolling speed bump, NASCAR suffers.  Period.  Also, consider how it has been made clear over the years Earnhardt needs a strong authority figure to keep him settled and focused.  Add these together and one name emerges.

Ray Evernham.

It’s easy to think of reasons why Evernham won’t be Dale Jr.’s crew chief.  There are most likely contractural issues stemming from what once was Evernham Motorsports, now Petty Motorsports.  Is he too burned out from that experience to want to re-enter the fray, preferring to hang out on the farm with Erin Crocker.  Would he want to bear the expectations that would come with being entrusted with Earnhardt’s return to glory and nothing less being acceptable.  Would he be able to do the job and make the COT, an inherently fickle beast prone to running loose which is the exact opposite feel to what Dale Jr. prefers, something Earnhardt can successfully drive.  This is anything but a slam dunk.

And yet it is precisely these questions that might make the situation sufficiently enticing for Evernham to take the job if offered.  He is a crew chief at heart who tried ownership, found it wanting, and left the sport under something less than elegant circumstances courtesy of his botched handling of his personal relationship with Crocker plus the aforementioned burnout.  What better scenario could there be for the ultimate comeback story than the opportunity to be the man who led Dale Earnhardt Jr. to a championship?

Only Evernham knows the answers to these questions, and if there have been ay discussions between the involved parties they have been kept well hidden.  That said, there is no disguising the unacceptability of things remaining as they are.  A change is desperately needed in the Sputtering Rocket 88 camp.  Why not go for a bold one?

Earnhardt and Evernham.  It’s worth a shot.

Seriously.  What is wrong with these people?

Last Saturday night at Darlington was yet another embarrassment in a season filled with embarrassments.  Overshooting his pit box (at least he didn’t miss it entirely — again).  When the other three Hendrick cars were charging forward Dale Jr. was in full retreat as he disappeared from sight.  Great adjustments on the car there, Tony Eury Jr.  The only way Dale Jr. got air time during the latter portion of the race, since the primary focus was on the action up front, came via a spin and crash apparently caused by a butterfly sneezing on the Mt. Dew can.  Or hitting a wet spot on the track where someone had thrown their Mountain Dew in disgust.  Whatever.  The end result was another miserable race in a year when this has become the norm rather than the exception.

In interviews, Dale Jr.’s mixture of aw-shucks country boy and confident racer has been replaced by a stammering near incoherency as he speaks in sentences so fragmented it’s easier to win a round of solitare with a deck that has a card missing than figure out what he’s trying to say.  His voice and demeanor is that of a whipped puppy scared of its own shadow out of fear any action on its part will bring about the next beating.  Why?

Why can’t Eury Jr. learn how to set up the new car?  It’s not like he’s out there flailing away on his own with no one to turn to for help.  Steve Letarte struggled mightily last year with the COT.  This year he knows what to do.  Chad Knaus seldom makes a misstep in the initial setup or adjustments during the race.  Alan Gustafson and Mark Martin have clicked to the tune of two wins and a championship caliber run.  There is no excuse for Eury Jr. not knowing what he’s doing.

Physical, mental, emotional, psychological, spiritual… I don’t know.  I don’t know what the problem is.  It’s getting ever closer to the point where I don’t care what the problem is.  All I care about is that something is very wrong and it needs to be fixed.  New crew chief, shaking up the team, someone getting through to Dale Jr. with a solution for what’s dragging him down (personal recommendation: a little churchin’ up never hurt anyone).  Whatever, whoever.  But fix it.  Now.  For the good not just of the Junior Nation but all of NASCAR, fix it.  Now.

Please.