Imo after this year if he does not turn it into a winning season this guy has got to go down as the most-over-rated driver in modern nascar racing.this poster kid is on everything to do with nascar and he does nothing each week, with the best cars you can have on any track.I really dont understand why nascar has to have this guy name on everything as imo he is a average driver at best and it time to stop letting this guy be the poster kid for nascar just because of his last name......ck
:lol:
Yep Nascar want Jr to be the face of nascar and it time for him to stop blaming his crew, his car and win, the time is now.We did a thing on the local sports thing here today and a lot of callers said Jr need to either race cars or quit and let his bar clubs come 1st.He was handed everything on a silver platter and to this date had did nothing in most eyes...ck
agree jr is overrated but seems tony and pit crew not helping situation much as they have lot of problems on pit road and car setup. with johnson and gordon on team should not have any setup problems as they are running great and have had years with to work on setup with car specs.
jr has also made a lot of mistakes in pit from missing his pit stall to overrunning it and having to be pushed backward to pit.
believe will see more changes in jr's team trying to get him to top but sooner or later they will see he just does not have the talent.
jr has also made a lot of mistakes in pit from missing his pit stall to overrunning it and having to be pushed backward to pit.
believe will see more changes in jr's team trying to get him to top but sooner or later they will see he just does not have the talent.
To call JR. an average driver is wrong IMO. I consider him a very, very good driver who's had a great career so far.
He dominated and won 2 Busch series championships in 98 and 99. He is 5th in all-time Busch series wins with 22.
He won the cup all-star race in his rookie season. He won the Daytona 500 in 2004. He won 5 straight races at Talladega. He has 18 cup wins, which is 39th on the all-time list.
In my opinion, he is the 2nd greatest restrictor plate driver of all time, his father being #1.
He finished 3rd in points in 2003 and 5th in 2004, a year that included 6 cup wins. He's made the chase 3 out of 5 years.
He's not as good as his father, but average is not the word for this guy. I think he has enough driving talent to some day win a championship. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but he is a championship level driver, in my opinion.
He dominated and won 2 Busch series championships in 98 and 99. He is 5th in all-time Busch series wins with 22.
He won the cup all-star race in his rookie season. He won the Daytona 500 in 2004. He won 5 straight races at Talladega. He has 18 cup wins, which is 39th on the all-time list.
In my opinion, he is the 2nd greatest restrictor plate driver of all time, his father being #1.
He finished 3rd in points in 2003 and 5th in 2004, a year that included 6 cup wins. He's made the chase 3 out of 5 years.
He's not as good as his father, but average is not the word for this guy. I think he has enough driving talent to some day win a championship. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but he is a championship level driver, in my opinion.
I'm not a big Earnhardt JR. fan, but the stats speak for themselves.
An average driver doesn't win a race or 2 a year in my opinion.
JR. is a great driver who will get ragged on by the fans until the day he wins a championship.
I will agree that at times he hasn't been as focused on racing as he should have been, it seems, but that was when he was younger.
You all have a right to your opinion, but no way is he an average driver. He's had a great career so far and will continue to win races and possibly a championship.
An average driver doesn't win a race or 2 a year in my opinion.
JR. is a great driver who will get ragged on by the fans until the day he wins a championship.
I will agree that at times he hasn't been as focused on racing as he should have been, it seems, but that was when he was younger.
You all have a right to your opinion, but no way is he an average driver. He's had a great career so far and will continue to win races and possibly a championship.
HM yes but you take those same average guys you talk about and put them in the same cars Jr had over that time and they could been just as good or better, the bottom line with the cars Dale Jr had over that time period he is average.If his name was not Earnhardt for his record over those yr, nascar was not be close to pushing this kid to be nascar face. ck
i agree heartman. clearly ck isn't a junior fan. probably
a toyota or ford boy lookin' to ruffle some feathers here,
lol! but really, average drivers don't achieve what you listed
above. the kid is 34 yrs old. he has a longgg wayyy to go. not
exactly mark martin like 'yet'....50 years old, 28 yrs of racing...0 championships!
hno:
First off I've never been an Earnhardt fan (Sr or Jr) but it seems that Jr. is getting jumped on because he is popular...not over-rated.
As for his driving ability he is not great, may never be, but he is not void of talent. To me a Top 10-12 driver in the Cup Series is pretty darn good no matter who you are or how you got there.
No other driver at DEI had even come close to the numbers he put up there, and to be honest I never thought that DEI was comparable to Hendrick or Gibbs but Jr. was competitive with those teams.
Also, just going on 2008 numbers, Jr's first year with Hendrick was just about a carbon copy of Kyle Busch's 3 years there. Kyle averaged(per year) 1.3 wins, 10 Top 5's and 17 Top 10's. In 2008 Jr. had 1 win, 10 Top 5's and 16 Top 10's.
The thing with Jr. right now seems to be communication and his ability to relay information to his crew as to how to make the car better. Whatever the problem is it has been magnified this year. If that problem can be improved I think you will see that team improve, but that maybe a big IF.
As for being popular, Dale Jr. was like the heir to the throne, the crowned prince if you will, of NASCAR. Also since he did show some ability and had a great personality, the allegence his father had of course transfered to him.
His family name is synonymous with this sport and their following is huge so of course he would be the "poster boy" for NASCAR and a host of other things because that is what sells(love it or hate it), and the Earnhardt nation is fiercely loyal as is most of the die-hard NASCAR faithful.
Even though he may not be the best out there, I have no problem with his popularity, he adds a lot to this sport for more than just his name. If you don't believe me go to a race and see what the fans are wearing, nearly 1 out of every 2 will have 88 stuff on. A good many of those I'm sure don't just back him because of his name, its because he's a likable guy who can drive a race car. You take away Jr. you'll have hundreds, if not thousands more empty seats each week.
As for his driving ability he is not great, may never be, but he is not void of talent. To me a Top 10-12 driver in the Cup Series is pretty darn good no matter who you are or how you got there.
No other driver at DEI had even come close to the numbers he put up there, and to be honest I never thought that DEI was comparable to Hendrick or Gibbs but Jr. was competitive with those teams.
Also, just going on 2008 numbers, Jr's first year with Hendrick was just about a carbon copy of Kyle Busch's 3 years there. Kyle averaged(per year) 1.3 wins, 10 Top 5's and 17 Top 10's. In 2008 Jr. had 1 win, 10 Top 5's and 16 Top 10's.
The thing with Jr. right now seems to be communication and his ability to relay information to his crew as to how to make the car better. Whatever the problem is it has been magnified this year. If that problem can be improved I think you will see that team improve, but that maybe a big IF.
As for being popular, Dale Jr. was like the heir to the throne, the crowned prince if you will, of NASCAR. Also since he did show some ability and had a great personality, the allegence his father had of course transfered to him.
His family name is synonymous with this sport and their following is huge so of course he would be the "poster boy" for NASCAR and a host of other things because that is what sells(love it or hate it), and the Earnhardt nation is fiercely loyal as is most of the die-hard NASCAR faithful.
Even though he may not be the best out there, I have no problem with his popularity, he adds a lot to this sport for more than just his name. If you don't believe me go to a race and see what the fans are wearing, nearly 1 out of every 2 will have 88 stuff on. A good many of those I'm sure don't just back him because of his name, its because he's a likable guy who can drive a race car. You take away Jr. you'll have hundreds, if not thousands more empty seats each week.
