a Tale Of Two Dales ~ Why This Year Is Different For Earnhardt, Jr.8/06/2014 |
“It was the best of times; it
was the worst of times.” Certainly an enigmatic opening to
one of the greatest literary classics ever penned, but also, in our world of
NASCAR, the purest of descriptions of different times at Hendrick Motorsports
for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., a perfect diorama
of now…and then. Currently, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
sits atop the points standings, or would should NASCAR’s version of a post
season begin on this day. He has just
secured his third win of the year, winning the second race of the season at
Pocono to match his victory there earlier in the season, and of course has the
Daytona 500 jewel on his crown as well.
He has as many wins on the circuit this year as any other driver, and
has emerged as a legitimate contender for the 2014 Sprint Cup Series
Championship. Indeed, the best of times. Long-time fans of the favorite
son of the favorite son of Kannapolis, North Carolina, however, know it has not
always been this way for their driver since his arrival on the step of Rick Hendrick’s front door.
Things were promising, to be sure, as the relationship started out, when
Dale won the Budweiser Shootout in his first outing with his new team in
2008. Later that season, there was that
Father’s Day win at Michigan, when Dale had enough fuel to stay in the lead and
on the track when everyone else needed to pit. And then….nothing. Exactly four years of
nothing. The was an entire Presidential
term full of subpar performance, mediocre finishes, revolving doors of crew
chiefs and team members. There were no
victories, and over that four year span, only 28 top-ten finishes. The fans were taking it hard. To be sure, the worst of
times. How bad? It was bad enough that Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
would have completely understood if he were released from his duties at
Hendrick Motorsports. “That was never a day where I thought he was going to fire me,”
Earnhardt said. “But he had every
right. I don't think anybody in this
room or in the garage would have thought much of it or been surprised: We just weren't running good. Things were bad. As good as they are now, it wasn't a good
time. “So I would have, me being an owner, understanding that situation,
understanding how it is being on the driver's goes, I know, I knew I was in a
precarious situation. But I'm not trying
to bring that to light, I just felt like at any moment that that could have
happened. “But I'm glad he saw it through.
He's that kind of guy. I've seen
him do it with other people. I've seen
him do it with drivers, seen him do it with other employees and help them get
to where they want to go, potential-wise.
When he believes in somebody, he sees something special and he usually
is right and they end up accomplishing their goals.” So, then, those four dark years
pass, and in 2012, the winless streak is broken, at the same race, and at the same place as his last win. For the longest time it was, “Jr. can only win on fuel mileage.” Then it was “Jr. can’t win at all.” And
finally, “Jr. can only win at Michigan.”
That’s what you would have heard, should you have been listening to
Anti-Junior Nation. Enter Steve Letarte. At the beginning of the 2012 season, Steve Letarte was brought in to be Earnhardt’s Crew Chief, and
Earnhardt began to think back to what had been the plan from when he first
joined up with the Hendrick program. Earnhardt recalled: “When we went to work together, we envisioned
all this, all these great things happening.
And we came out of the gate winning races and it looked like we were
going to have this awesome career together.
Then we went through struggles and he had every right in the world to
replace me with another driver and nobody would have said a thing about it. Because we weren't running good
enough and it would have made perfect sense to everybody if he would have went
that route. But he stuck with me and
said we were going to make it right.
We're going to make it right. And
he put me with Steve and I think that Steve was in a place where he was looking
for something new and I was definitely needing
something new, and it worked out. I was,
it was a touch and go there for a while, but we have worked, we have done some
good things together and we have continued to get better and we finally are
realizing that potential and doing the things on the racetrack that we dreamed
about doing when we first started working together.” The win at Michigan came in June
of 2012, under Letarte, and on the heels of 3
consecutive top ten runs. There were
more and more great runs as days passed, and you could feel the winds of change
blowing stronger. And then, in the
closing races of 2012, Dale let us all in on a little secret. After some hard crashes, and one especially
tough hit against the unforgiving concrete walls of Kansas during a practice,
Earnhardt revealed that all of his cheese may not be properly affixed to his
cracker. In short, he had a concussion
and was going to sit out for a few weeks to try to heal. Dale did return for the end of the 2012
season, but could only look ahead to 2013, which statistically was sound. A rewarding 22 top-ten finishes awaited him
along with ten top-fives. But the wins were not there, although
opportunity had brushed a knuckle across the door a few times. And now we’re in 2014, and
Earnhardt is having his best year since 2004. Why?
Maybe it’s the new rules. Perhaps
it is the changes to the car? Maybe it
is the incentive to win before the impending exit of Steve Letarte,
who has directed his career path to the television booth for the 2015 season
and beyond. Maybe everything has finally
aligned. Ask Dale. “I've never been as close to my team, the relationships that he, me and
Steve and Jason and Kevin and all the guys on the team have, Adam, everybody,
I've never had the relationships work this well. I was really close to the guys on the 8
team. Obviously, a lot of those guys are
family. I still have great relationships
with them. But I think I'm smarter about
my friendships now, you know. When I was
younger, it was more about, how can this help me or it was a little -- I was
not as concerned about helping them and being their friend as I was about them
being my friend. So I think I'm better
at being a friend these days. My
personal life's great. Me and Amy have got a great relationship and a good home
life. My mom and everybody at home's been awesome.
So everybody's sitting at home right now waiting for us to get there, so
when we get there, we'll see them and that's a great thing.” When asked what his simple joys
were, there were four, and they are easy to understand. “My simple joys? Amy, the Redskins, my family, and drinking a cold beer.” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is in a
simpler place now. By not looking for
what is best for him, he has found what is best for him, with the energy
focused mostly on what matters the most.
The distractions, one would hope, are far in the past. So, as our story closes here, we can be
reminded of the closing of another story, the opening lines of which opened this
column. Reflecting on Earnhardt’s new
outlook, we look to those closing lines. “It is a far, far better thing
that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far,
far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” A Tale Of
Two Dales… Until next
time, my friends…
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