So I am going to grow some kahona’s and ask the question that probably should dare not be asked…
So if you were living under a rock…and I’ll admit it with the hum dum of my cousin’s high school graduation/party these past weeks, I have been MIA with my NASCAR obsession lately…you should have known by now that Dale Earnhardt Jr. broke his winless streak this past weekend with a win in the Michigan Lifelock 400 Race.
Of course, some wins don’t come without controversy because now some media outlets are reporting that some of the drivers were upset that on the last few laps of the race that Jr. was running past the pace car. Race Officials warned Jr. about staying behind the pace car and he continued to drive past the pace car for a second time.
So my gut is telling me, Jr. didn’t get punished because he’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. That’s it!
As Jr. said post race, “It is what it is”
So now here’s where I will probably piss a lot of people off, mainly because I don’t like seeing “0 Comments” after each post, so feel free to yell at me, but I have to ask:
What is the hype about Jr. except for his huge marketability and his last name?
I will probably be considered a “new fan” considering most of you have probably been watching NASCAR since before I was born, but I would like to hear what the veteran fans have to say about this and maybe give this “newborn NASCAR fan” a different Point of view.
Read more of my thoughts here.
June 17, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Excellent question and point, racekitten, though you probably know this is not a rational sport (are any??) and emotion runs high with the mythic favorites. NASCAR’s banked track was never meant to offer a level playing field, and some names mean more money to NASCAR — Dale Jr. being the loudest. Did you hear the screaming going on at Michigan on the final couple of laps? Take the race away from that volume? No way. I’m not sure they would have taken the race away from any driver for such an infraction — a spanking, maybe, but not a trophy — but there’s just too much to cash in on such a mythic finish to quibble with rules. My opnion. Thanks for yours.
June 17, 2008 at 9:42 pm
I have been wondering the same thing….(ducking cans and bottles).
June 17, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Can you imagine the lynching party if Jr was penalized for passing the pace car, and Brian Vickers, who is still hated by Jr Nation because of the way he won at Talledega in 2006, was allowed to win? In a Toyota? At Detroit? NASCAR’s employee health care costs would go up so far it would cause another rise in ticket prices.
Many of Jr’s fans are real race fans who identify with the public part of Dale Jr’s personality, and like the way he drives, and enjoy watching him race. The others are relatively new fans who started watching out of morbid curiousity after Dale Earnhardt died, and, either Earnhardt was the only name they new, and they decided to stick with it, or they are bandwagon jumpers.
June 18, 2008 at 2:53 pm
(Throws bottle and cans two fisted, as hard ats she can at all of you. All the while sucking them down so she has more to throw.)
How dare you speak of Jr. in those tones! Don’t you know he is the very, very, very best, most awesome driver ever to live besides his dad? And he is sooooooooooooo
cute! Single too. Don’t you be dissin Our Driver!
His Daddy was controlling those decisions from Heaven so Jr. could win the race on Father’s Day. That’s a damn fact. Besides
June 18, 2008 at 3:00 pm
DANG COMMENT THINGY. OR do you have Jr. fans blocked so they can’t comment?!!
I was sayin: Besides that, Jr. was only trying to save gas when he pass that lap car , and it was in the way. He didn’t do anything wrong. If another driver did it, and made our Jr. lose, then they would deserve to be black flagged and banned from a few races. That’s a fact too.
So there.
You bad Jr. hater’s.
Why don’t you just stop writing anything and find a hole to crawl in, or go back to writing about something intelligent, like Wraslin.
June 18, 2008 at 3:02 pm
See? Now I gritted my teeth so hard cuz I am so mad I broke a front tooth. I am sueing you.
June 18, 2008 at 3:17 pm
[...] is a certain post, over yonder at some blog, and they dare ask why Jr. should be considered a good driver. Why wasn’t he penalized when [...]
June 19, 2008 at 12:29 am
Calm down, Clance’! That’s a pretty good imitation of some Jr Nationites I know of, though
June 19, 2008 at 3:32 am
**lol**
I am just feeling mischievious. You know me.
I was thinking about going to Infield Parking and posting a link, but then I thought:
Uh oh! Race Kitten may not understand my humor.
She said she wanted comment’s…
June 19, 2008 at 3:33 am
Go Tony!