[NASCAR] Junior is no Lance Armstrong
I guess my disgust with Dale Earnhardt Junior has finally blossomed. I've long thought he was a spoiled brat who has gotten where he is because of his father, and not his talent. Examples are finding himself in a top notch team with one of the best sponsors in the business. Granted Junior has talent, but he hasn’t had to drive junkers like say Johnny Benson or Ricky Craven. Without the awesome restrictor plate program at DEI, Junior would have only half of his wins (6 out of 12 wins were at Talladega or Daytona). Even Michael Waltrip has 4 wins, all at restrictor plate races, under the DEI Banner.
What further pisses me off about Dale Junior is his "loyal" fan base. It seems to me that he really hasn't proven himself yet as a champion. What I really think is that many Dale Sr. fans have converted to Junior fans just because of the last name. I question how much similarity there is between the two drivers. From my perspective, there is little similarity other than the general shape of their respective car numbers. However, at races, instead of seeing the old sea of black, it's now red.
But the final straw that peaked my dislike for Junior was his recent racing accident in California. This selfish trek has convinced me that he is NOT committed to winning a championship. This past week, Junior lost 60 additional points to Jimmie Johnson -- because Junior's relief driver, Martin Truex, put the 8 into the wall and was generally a back marker. I have no beef with Truex, in fact, he seems like a pretty talented kid -- but perhaps a bit over his head. I now see that John Andretti will be anxiously awaiting the call-up as Junior's relief driver. Andretti, even with the top notch equipment, is sure to lose additional points to the 48.
Under the new chase for championship system, Junior very well may win the Nextel Cup championship this year. However, I'd contrast Juniors "me-me" attitude with Lance Armstrong. If you follow the frog race of stinky cigarette smoking Euro-trash, you'd note that Armstrong utilized and elevated his team, who were completely committed to helping him winning the 6th consecutive Tour de France victory. Junior playing grab-ass in California, racing a Corvette, and getting hurt -- certainly is not demonstrating his commitment to DEI or the 8 team. Someday Junior may grow up and be a great champion, at this point he is nothing more than Tony Stewart without the temper and a big gaudy championship ring.
What further pisses me off about Dale Junior is his "loyal" fan base. It seems to me that he really hasn't proven himself yet as a champion. What I really think is that many Dale Sr. fans have converted to Junior fans just because of the last name. I question how much similarity there is between the two drivers. From my perspective, there is little similarity other than the general shape of their respective car numbers. However, at races, instead of seeing the old sea of black, it's now red.
But the final straw that peaked my dislike for Junior was his recent racing accident in California. This selfish trek has convinced me that he is NOT committed to winning a championship. This past week, Junior lost 60 additional points to Jimmie Johnson -- because Junior's relief driver, Martin Truex, put the 8 into the wall and was generally a back marker. I have no beef with Truex, in fact, he seems like a pretty talented kid -- but perhaps a bit over his head. I now see that John Andretti will be anxiously awaiting the call-up as Junior's relief driver. Andretti, even with the top notch equipment, is sure to lose additional points to the 48.
Under the new chase for championship system, Junior very well may win the Nextel Cup championship this year. However, I'd contrast Juniors "me-me" attitude with Lance Armstrong. If you follow the frog race of stinky cigarette smoking Euro-trash, you'd note that Armstrong utilized and elevated his team, who were completely committed to helping him winning the 6th consecutive Tour de France victory. Junior playing grab-ass in California, racing a Corvette, and getting hurt -- certainly is not demonstrating his commitment to DEI or the 8 team. Someday Junior may grow up and be a great champion, at this point he is nothing more than Tony Stewart without the temper and a big gaudy championship ring.
1 Comments:
If racing fans rooted for drivers based purely on broad-based success, Ryan Newman would be kicking Jr's ass, hands-down. Newman has almost the same number of wins, but they span a wider variety of race tracks, not just restrictor plate races. Junior just has the added benefit of a popular beer sponsor, a famous dad, and logo that resembles the famous slanted 3.
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