NSCS: Three Races In, We are Seeing Actual Progress for Dale Jr
By: Toby Christie
I know it is nothing spectacular. I know it isn’t anything amazing. However what we have seen for the no. 88 Chevrolet this season is progress. Now I know what you are saying… Am I nuts? Earnhardt sits 15th in the driver points standings after three events this season, and in a car he is expected to compete for championships no less.
So how is this progress?
Simple, last season at this time Earnhardt was hanging out 29th in the point standings… Have we somehow forgotten that? How have we completely erased how abysmal last season was for Earnhardt?
At no point last season did it look like Dale Jr. was competitive. You could even see it in his eyes when he would be interviewed. Earnhardt was visibly shaken emotionally and physically by the struggles that came his way in 2009.
Let me put this in perspective. The highest Earnhardt got up to in the point standings last season at any point was 15th… that means after the Daytona 500 this year he had reached a ranking higher in the points than he had been in all of last season. Not only that, but after three races this year he still has matched his best ranking spot from all of last season.
Oh and Earnhardt finished second in dramatic fashion in the Daytona 500, which equals his season best finish of second in last years Aaron’s 499 at Talladega. If not for a broken axle at California, we’d most likely be looking at that no. 88 in the top-12 in the point standings right now. You can’t argue that what we are seeing is not “actual” progress. Sure I know he hasn’t won in 60 races, and he hasn’t set the world on fire with incredible consistency, but the fact of the matter is that Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 2010 season is already much better than 2009 was… and we are only three races in.
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when is people gonna get it the 88 team is just an R/D team ,they will probillly blow the engine this weekend an then will be in 25th or 26th in points,i wasted all of last year sundays,saturday nights just to watch the88 run 20th at the best of times,will not be watching the races until i here the 88 is up front an contending fo the win ,an another thing hendrick motorsports 4th team always ran mid pack,just look it up, hope jr soon figures that out before its to late,an chad will get caught sooner or later,an they say all teams are are on the same page with information,what a joke,wheh chad fines a way to get faster he keeps it to himself,he woent share ,he gets paid to win,rick can fool some of the people some of the time ,,but he cant fool all of the people all of the time,used to enjoy watching nascar.
@Al, Couldn’t agree more!
Last spring Nascar Now started reporting that Tony Jr. was making Jr.’s car with 2007 DEI spec cars. When he was removed, RH said that he was going to ‘fix’ Jr.’s cars. I believed him. During the week the crew chiefs were switched, Nascar Now reported that since Jr.’s cars sent to Dover were the old T. Jr. cars and that HMS sent a truck with 2 of the newer HMS chassis to switch out. Those cars never made it to Dover. Instead they made a big deal out of the ‘brains’ at HMS were working on Jr.’s car…the OLD chassis cars. This year Jr. has had 2 new never been raced or tested cars, California & now Atlanta. Las Vegas was a the first car Lance made for Indy and was a very good car. I do not believe Jr. will ever be truly competitive as long as he is at HMS, and the sooner he is out the better. If RH wanted him competitive he would have hired Addington as his crew chief. Jr. certainly brings enough money into HMS to pay for it. He is not a ‘charity’ case. I no longer believe a word RH says about making the 88 competitive. Fool me once shame on you, fool me 2 or 3 or 4 times, shame on me.
Also, today Mad Mike on Robby Gordon said; “And it’s rather odd on the timing too. RGM hires Jay Lupo, the car chief on the #24 Hendrick car, and suddenly Robby’s having all these problems and receiving all this harassment. What happened? Did Big Rick call 1-800-WAA-AAAH and complain to his good buddy The Emperor of All Things NA$CAR that Robby hired Lupo out from under him? Considering Hendrick is having to cut back on his expenses, it goes back to the old saying of money talks.” Did not realize that Hendrick was running out of money like everyone else, but it might explain why Jr. is running new unraced & untested cars. Couldn’t afford to see it through.
Marybeth