Dale Jr On Kyle Comparisons To Dale Sr: ‘Personalitywise, They’re Totally Opposite’
May 09, 2008
CIA Stock Photo Inc.
Yes, they are similar on the track with their aggressive styles.
Off the track?
“Personalitywise, they’re totally opposite,” Earnhardt said Thursday between practices at Darlington Raceway. “Give me a break. You know my dad better than that. Give my dad a little more credit.”
The conversation came up at the end of Earnhardt’s hauler chat. It was a continuation of the incident between Earnhardt and Busch battling for the lead in the closing laps at Richmond.
Both drivers have said it was the product of hard racing. Many fans, particularly those upset that the accident extended Earnhardt’s losing streak to 72 races, believe it was the result of Busch’s driving like the senior Earnhardt did to earn the nickname “The Intimidator.”
“He’s fast. He’s running well. He’s quick. He’s aggressive,” Earnhardt said of the 23-year-old Busch. “This is Dale Earnhardt from ‘89 and earlier. See, Daddy quit doing that stuff after a while.”
Busch is in a similar love-hate relationship with fans. That he’s in a brewing rivalry with Dale Jr., the driver who replaced him at Hendrick Motorsports this season, only intensifies that.
“We’ve sort of pinned ourselves in that situation with the changes that we’ve made,” Junior admitted.
“In that situation, I guess Pidge felt personal about it,” Earnhardt said. “But it was important that we didn’t show our tails. We don’t want to embarrass ourselves."It was a bad deal. Wasn’t nothing I could do after the race was over with to change how bad a deal it is.”
Busch has won twice this season in the Cup series and leads the standings. He has won seven times for Joe Gibbs Racing among the Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series. He was fastest in Thursday’s first practice.
Dale Jr. can’t concern himself with the comparisons to his father or to him.
“Mentally, you handle your business and you don’t let it become a distraction,” said Earnhardt, who was third-fastest in the first practice. “If Kyle outruns me or beats me or wrecks me and wins the race, I can’t let that … I’ve got to go out next week and concentrate on what I’m doing.
“If I start trying to outrun him and beat him in every practice just to prove a point, I’m going to start wadding up race cars. He’s fast. He’s an amazing race car driver with a lot of talent.”
He’s just no Dale Earnhardt, at least off the track.
| 
|