Marvin Gentry-US PRESSWIRE
Stupidity. Immaturity. Popularity. All of this describes NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
This time, he is complaining about his failed efforts at Talladega this weekend.
“If this is what we did every week I wouldn’t be doing it. I will just put it to you like that. If this is how we raced every week I would find another job,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said in a Team Chevy press release.
Junior’s ridiculous comments have shown his disrespect for the fans time and time again. A few years ago, he consistently complained that the schedule was “too long” and needed to be “shortened dramatically.” Meanwhile, every other driver seems to be perfectly fine with the 38 week schedule, two of which aren’t included in the points battle.
In the release, the Hendrick Motorsports driver made it clear that he felt the racing wasn’t safe after he finished 20th while being involved in a 20+ car pile up on the final lap.
But, in reality, it’s just racing. It’s the way the fans want it.
There were 54 lead changes on Sunday. A mark that should occur at Super Speedway races.
Besides the high amount of driver’s swapping the top spot all day long, there was side-by-side racing throughout the day for each green flag lap.
Usually at Talladega, the field will be side-by-side for a while, eventually leading to a 35 car single file pack for half the race. However, this race was unusually risky.
Junior does have a point. Anyone with a mind could tell that there was going to be a dramatic wreck in the closing laps. But, Tony Stewart or Michael Waltrip aren’t to blame.
It was a good race. Let’s be honest: the last lap wasn’t what any fan wanted to see. But, it caught the attention of media outlets across the country.
We, as a sport attempting to re-grow its fan base, cannot have our “most popular” driver loudly saying what he believes is wrong, whining like a baby on a weekly basis whenever he doesn’t get his way–especially at his “best” track.
“I don’t care what anybody says for the good of the sport. I mean it’s good for the here and now and it will get people talking today, but for the long run that is not going to help the sport the way that race ended and the way the racing is. It’s not going to be productive for years to come. I don’t even want to go to Daytona or Talladega next year, but I ain’t got much choice.”
