Junior on the rise
Dale Earnhardt Jr. might not need much drafting help Sunday at Talladega because his team has gotten a lot better since last year.
That's the gist of Dustin Long's story in Saturday's paper.
I'm glad Dustin revisted Earnhardt's preseason prediction that he (Junior, not Dustin) would win 6 or 7 races this season. Junior was talking crazy-talk then - remember 2005? [shudders] - but he doesn't seem that crazy now.
Junior hasn't dominated any races, and he hasn't led a lap since Fontana (check out the far right column). But until last week at Phoenix, when he rear-ended Kyle Petty, Junior hadn't done anything really stupid, either. I'm thinking that Sunday will be Junior's coming out party. Call it a hunch.
Mark Ashenfelter strings together Junior quotes at ESPN.com. And Antonette remembers Dale Earnhardt (today's his day in Mooresville) at her place.
Comments (9)
To report abuse of the comment feature on this site, please use the feedback form at the bottom of any page.
Apparently Kirk Shelmerdine's team has gotten better in the last year too. Little E will no doubt be drafting past Shelmerdine, but he's behind the 27 at the start.
Posted on April 29, 2006 6:07 PM
Hey, thanks so much for the shout out. You're alright in my book!
Posted on April 29, 2006 6:40 PM
Junior won't stand a chance because he lost the one drafting partner who has successfully teamed up with him at the restrictor races, Michael Waltrip.
Junior's on his own now and it can be lonely out there. In addition, Junior doesn't have an experienced driver at DEI where they can compare notes like he did with Waltrip.
I pick Jeff G. to win tomorrow, that is unless he can keep his mind off his heroin (emaciated looking) chic looking girlfriend who no doubt has been a major distraction to his career.
Ever since Jeff got the lifetime contract with that felon Rick Hendrick, he's lost the big mo and hopefully he'll get it back this year, starting tomorrow.
Jeff a Hoosier native, not hardly? He exudes California cool.
Posted on April 30, 2006 8:15 PM
Martin Truex, Jr. isn't too shabby at Talledega; he and Jr. have drafted well in Busch races the last couple of years.
Posted on May 1, 2006 9:44 AM
Yes, Martin T., is maturing in the job. But when Waltrip and Junior were drafting at the restrictor races, they were a force to reckon with and brought a lot of excitement to the races.
Last year I could tell there was tension between the two of them probably brought about by the impending dismissal of Waltrip from DEI, and in my opinion this led to the lack of dominance at the restrictor races that DEI had experienced during the prior seasons.
Jeff G.'s 3 Hendrick fellow drivers (10%) of the drivers is gonna be a factor today.
Posted on May 1, 2006 11:13 AM
Another possibility: Everyone else's plate program has caught up to DEI's.
Posted on May 1, 2006 11:33 AM
Nice to see that quality DEI engineering is in full bloom... or is that full boom...
Posted on May 1, 2006 3:03 PM
And the No. 24 commemorated the day by pulling the reverse Earnhardt - going from first to 15th in 2 laps. What happened to your guy, Dude?
Posted on May 1, 2006 3:49 PM
I wish I knew -- no one said anything on MRN and I haven't seen anything online. Maybe I'll find out tonight when I watch the tape.
Posted on May 1, 2006 4:31 PM