Was Junior crazy?
For climbing behind the wheel of a torn-up No. 5 car on Sunday, that is.
Lars Anderson of SI called the whole thing bizarrre, but says the stint in the 5 car will help Junior in contract negotiations with DEI. (Psst, Lars: If Junior leaves DEI, he'll go to Gibbs, not DEI.)
Richard Durrett of the Dallas paper says Junior coulda gotten hurt. Remember, the 5 car was a little beaten up from wrecking the 8.
Jeff Hammond over at Fox Sports hits on something interesting: "Dale Jr. is a very unique individual, caught between two eras. He loves the past, and he's driving in the present."
Here are the race notes if you want unabridged Junor.
So was Junior nuts for driving the 5?
Comments (5)
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Hey John,
I think people are making a mountain out of a mole hill here just becasue it was Jr. If Kenny Wallace got in that car no one would have said boo, and it would have heurt him more in the points than Jr since his team isn't securly in the top 35, or the top 43 for that matter.
Jr did the right thing regardless of what others think. The bigger story here is where was Kurt? Sure there was a miscommunication, or so they say, but still, wouldn't you as a driver stay around with the team at least for a little while just to make sure the car is indeed done for the day or to lend a hand? As the saying goes, "There's no 'I' in team".
Posted on April 17, 2007 10:29 PM
That's a good point, Bob, re. Kenny Wallace. Then again, Kenny Wallace doesn't have the sponsor issues that Bud Junior does.
As far as Kyle goes, I guess he thought his car was DOA. He smashed it up pretty good. Guess no one thought to tell him to stick around. Then again, he should have asked someone in authority (like his crew chief) before he bolted.
Posted on April 17, 2007 11:45 PM
I have to agree with 4ever3; the bigger question is where was Kyle Busch? The driver should always stick around unless he was hurt or unable to drive due to illness, etc.
I don't have a problem with him driving another GM car and neither team has any sponsors that compete with each other. It would have been different if the #5 were sponsored by Miller or Coors.
Now if Jr. misses the Chase by 3 points to the #5 after the fall Richmond race some people might feel differently.
Posted on April 18, 2007 11:48 AM
If someone reports that Junior has Frosted Flakes for breakfast that will probably mean he has already signed with Hendrick. Can't we just point out that it was a cool gesture by Earnhardt or a puzzling move by Shrub and move on? He drove ten laps in a torn up car. This reminds me of the guy in Office Space that makes a mat with different conclusions that you can jump to.
Posted on April 18, 2007 2:27 PM
I don't think he was nuts. I think it was a pretty classy move. It also made Baby Busch look pretty silly. We may never have known that Little Brother had even done the dire deed had Jr. not raced the #5 car.
My only concern about him driving the car , is the same as Mark stated. It would suck if when it came to making the Chase, Baby Busch beat Jr. into the 12th spot by 3 points. God forbid. Jr. earned some good Karma there I hope.
RE: Jr. moving to Hendricks? LOL.
Posted on April 19, 2007 11:13 PM