TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Junior Under Radar As Season Approaches

ADVERTISEMENT

By TONY FABRIZIO

afabrizio@tampatrib.com

Published: February 7, 2009

Updated: 02/07/2009 12:12 am

DAYTONA BEACH - Dale Earnhardt Jr. hadn't even climbed out of his car after winning last year's Budweiser Shootout, and his fans were already counting his future championships.

Never mind that their guy hadn't won his first championship, or that the non-points prelude to the Daytona 500 really isn't a good predictor for how the season is going to go.

Earnhardt had joined Hendrick Motorsports, which meant he was on even footing with the likes of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. The Shootout victory was confirmation that the gifted offspring, held back by his equipment at Dale Earnhardt Inc., would dominate.

Well, Earnhardt - who starts ninth in tonight's 31st Shootout - didn't dominate. He followed with a ninth-place finish in the Daytona 500 - deflating, considering he won the Shootout and a 150-mile qualifying race - and a one-victory season.

He did have a strong first half, posting 15 top-15 finishes and staying ahead of Johnson and Gordon most of that time. But after making the Chase for the third time in his career, he faded down the stretch and finished last among the qualifiers.

At 34 and entering his 10th full season, Earnhardt is actually flying under the radar among the title contenders - well, as low as the sport's most popular driver possibly could.

"I was real happy with how we started last season," Earnhardt said. "We were actually one of the better teams in our stable for the first two, three months. Then, the second half of the season was a steady stream of disappointments, especially in the Chase.

"That was frustrating not being to compete like we did at the start of the year, because we always work hard and I always try to drive hard."

Earnhardt returns with Tony Eury Jr., the cousin/crew chief to whom he remains fiercely loyal despite the fact they have won only two races together since they were reunited in late 2005.

A four-day hunting trip to Missouri with their uncles Robert and Jimmy Gee allowed the cousins to decompress, but there was little discussion of racing.

They'll begin their ninth year together in NASCAR's top level - the fourth with Eury as crew chief.

"We're just looking forward," Eury told reporters during the NASCAR preseason media tour in North Carolina. "We've got that one year under our belts, we've got the notes from the racetracks we've been to, so we've just got to go back and capitalize on the things that we had mistakes with."

Daytona is one place where Earnhardt need not rely much on notes. The 2004 Daytona 500 champion has won 12 times on the storied 2.5-mile tri-oval - twice in Sprint Cup points races, twice in the Bud Shootout, three times in qualifying races and five times in the Nationwide Series.

It's the place where his father, seven-time Cup champion Dale Sr., had his heart broken time after time before finally winning the Daytona 500 in 1998 and losing his life on the last lap of the 2001 race.

Earnhardt says he thinks about him constantly.

"Sure, why not?" he said. "This place Daytona doesn't really bring it out. I just think of him every day because that was part of my life. He was an awesome S.O.B. He is fun to think about.

Earnhardt hasn't won many races at Hendrick, but he has won over his teammates. Gordon and Johnson, who have combined to give the organization seven of its eight championships, say Earnhardt selflessly contributed to their success last year.

Hendrick newcomer Mark Martin has always been an admirer.

"When you've got somebody that's the stature of Dale, Jr. with his popularity and expectations and people pulling at him as much as they are, you never really know what to expect, how easy or difficult they're going to be to work with," Gordon said. "But he was fantastic, very open, great at describing the car and the setups and knowledgeable.

"And Tony Jr. impressed the heck out of all of us, how well put together he is at organizing the team and dealing with Junior and being able to put him in his place when he needs to and being a real crew chief. Just like Steve Letarte: It's tough to be a crew chief for a four-time champion, and it's tough to be a crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr."

Even after last year's fadeout, Earnhardt says he feels less pressure than he did a year ago.

"I feel a little more comfortable and a little less concerned," he said. "Going into season with a new team, man, you really wonder how it is going to work out. We kind of have an idea we are a pretty good team.

"We make a few adjustments, do some things right, catch a few breaks and we are a great team. We are going to try to make that happen this year."

Reporter Tony Fabrizio can be reached at (813) 259-7994.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT