(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)
Say this for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., he sure knows how to cuss. Heaven knows that he has had many reasons to cuss!
It’s been a tough few years for Junior. As if it wasn’t hard enough living up to his last name, he’s had difficulty adjusting to the new Car of Tomorrow, and has only managed one win since 2006. This year, things were supposed to be different, but he’s still consistently inconsistent.
oving up in the field at Bristol is like shoving your way through an airport-security line; it can be done, but it takes effort and patience. Junior had worked his way up into the top 10 when he got tagged with a speeding penalty that forced him to shuffle back into the pack.
The issue was Bristol’s ultra-tricky pit roads, which demand precise handling and even more precise speed management as drivers wind around the tight turns. Speeding penalties are common, and Junior, after being marched like a disobedient first-grader to timeout, grew ever more angry.
“Don’t lay down on me, bud,” crew chief Lance McGrew said, and Junior exploded.
“I can’t lay down here!” he said. “This is Bristol. I don’t ever [expletive deleted] lay down. Don’t ever say that again on the radio. Don’t need the whole world hearing that.”
McGrew kept calm, but Junior was clearly seething.
But still, for as angry as Dale, Jr. got, he still managed a seventh place finish Sunday. That finish climbed Dale Jr. into 8th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings.
Additionally, this should put to bed the contention that Dale Jr. is not serious about racing. Anybody that gets that angry has some serious passion for his work! Mark this day, Junior Nation, this just might be the day that things start to turn around for the #88 AMP Energy/National Guard team!
What is your opinion?
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
