A Response To "What Makes Him So Special?"
Written by Patterson Belser, Thursday January 29 2009
Most of my posts and topics that I write about here at Playerpress.com/NASCAR are generally based in some factual basis. I tend to read some news stories, report on the facts, and then throw in my thoughts on the subject about which I have just written. Well, unless the story is just too funny, and in those cases, I will let the news story speak for itself (and really, in the world of NASCAR, these stories do come with some frequency).
Outside of writing for the site, a simple facet by which I live my life revolves around the fact that I tend to not defend millionaires out of shear principle. I figure the millionaires of the world are doing just fine on their own and they do not need the likes me making them feel better about themselves. They are, beyond all other things, millionaires.
But, I’m going to go back on both of these, if only this one time.
Recently, Hopper wrote an opinion piece entitled “What Makes Him So Special?” This spectacular piece of journalism dealt with the general anger as to why Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is nearly canonized, even though he is still alive.
The article actually focused on the people at Memphis Motorsports Park trying to lure Earnhardt, Jr. into racing at their track. But, it devolved, as most of these stories generally do when discussing Earnhardt, Jr., into a character assassination based on one point or another. In this case, it involved bashing the driver for never winning a championship, how he’s finished poorly in the points in recent years, and why someone would want to coerce Earnhardt, Jr. into coming to race at their meager track, especially when there are other drivers who would appreciate the opportunity more.
It is probably no secret that I am, actually, a Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fan. It’s true, I am. I could give you the multiple reasons for this, whether it’s the fact that he is a multiple time winner at my favorite track, Talladega, or simply that he likes hardcore Nirvana (and I have certain reasons to believe it’s not just the popular tracks from In Utero, but that he’s probably a Bleach fan).
I will, though, argue the points as presented in your piece.
To begin, you say that unlike “normal” drivers that, I guess, would be happy to compete for free at any track that invites them, the track in Memphis had to offer Earnhardt, Jr. some form of tithe in order for him to come out and compete. But what you failed to recognize is that the drivers that would come to compete for free would not bring in the crowd and the dollars that Dale Jr. would bring into the track. People will show up to watch him run, regardless. But I don’t think that you will see a huge spike in ticket sales if, say, Paul Menard came to run.
I’ll use a different sport as an example of this fact. Tiger Woods, while winning more championships in golf than Dale has won in Sprint Cup, still gets paid ungodly amounts of money to fly out and play in certain events. Tournament organizers will pay more than the entire amount of the tournament purse in order to get Woods into the field of their event. People want to come out and see Woods play in an event and they will pay for the opportunity. It’s marketing, plain and simple.
So, yes, Memphis Motorsports Park could get other drivers to come compete, possibly, but no one that big. Notice I say “possibly” here. I actually read something today that leads me to believe that this is only a possibility, and that news blurb can be found here. As Kyle Busch (another personality that I happen to really enjoy) points out, drivers aren’t much on going back to smaller races, whether it’s due to the fact that they are lazy, as Busch claims, or if it’s just sponsorship requirements and previous commitments that stop them.
Hopper, you continue to go on your anti-Dale rant by saying that the IRL offered Earnhardt, Jr. a hefty sum of cash in order to come out and run one of their events when he had expressed interest in running one of their events, only for him to refuse. Again, I am guessing that there must have been some conflicting schedule, a prior commitment, or the fact that the guy races for over three-quarters of the year and he didn’t feel like getting into a car he didn’t know very well and looking like a schmuck on the racetrack. Again, pure speculation on my part, but that’s the joy of writing. Now you are correct in the idea that he may never get the chance to do that again, but I doubt it.
Basically, I believe that your frustration with Earnhardt, Jr., like other fans, is based on the fact that he is so beloved but without any real reason to be that way, shown by his lack of a Nextel Cup Championship. I will say that this is somewhat understandable, but the non-believers, don’t seem understand why “Junior Nation” is so strong and adamant about our favorite driver. You could call the Earnhardt, Jr. fan “blindly devoted”, but it is what it is.
The guy was not handed a ride in the series. He actually did have to work for it, and if you will remember, showed that he had talent by winning his championship in what is now the Nationwide Series. He grew up in the shadows of one of the sport’s great drivers, and I would dare to guess that many of us that are Earnhardt, Jr. fans were also Earnhardt, Sr. fans. He has a similar hard-nosed racing style as his dad and also comes across as a regular guy. We always keep up hope that he’ll really break-through and get that elusive championship, just like all fans hope of their favorite drivers.
But, since there is such a large following of a racer that has not won a championship, there will always be a backlash from the non-fans. Meanwhile, you take a guy like Jeff Gordon who stepped up some years back, won some championships, and because of his success and the fact that he was from California and drove a colorful car, had a gigantic backlash from NASCAR fans. You just can’t win in this sport sometimes.
So what makes Earnhardt, Jr. so special? I would say it’s the fact that he’s still a top-tier driver in the largest racing series in America, he seems like he is probably a fairly normal guy and he comes from a lineage that is one of NASCAR’s finest. He gives solid interviews, speaks his mind and seems to have a good time out there generally.
As far as getting offers of food and money to just show up and run at certain tracks is as simple as the guy puts the asses in the seats. An offer of barbeque to come and run is not like getting millions to show up. It should not be thought of as the slap in the face that you paint it as.
To conclude, I’m not saying to jump on the bandwagon because all of the cool kids are doing it. There are drivers out there that I dislike and want to bash (I’m looking at you Denny Hamlin), that that’s the joy of being a NASCAR fan. Besides, if it wasn’t Earnhardt, Jr., there would just be another “Most Popular Driver” who would be in the same position, getting the same offers, and suffering the same backlash.
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2 comments
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True. But he wasn't driving the number 88 camel that year, now was he?
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FTA: "he didn’t feel like [snip] looking like a schmuck on the racetrack" He didn't mind it for the entire season where he couldn't win a race, and didn't even finish most of them due to wrecking. Just sayin'.