Dale Earnhardt Jr. may love to race more than his legendary daddy did.
Junior thinks of nothing else but racing, said Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.
No one drives harder than Little E in NASCAR. Kyle Busch may be faster, may drive a loose car better, but when it comes to being up on the wheel, every race, every week, Earnhardt is there at the top—of the list and, most times, on the track, where he enjoys the high line.
So, with fear and trepidation and with the knowledge I may be targeted by a nation—the Junior Nation—I have to ask Earnhardt: “What the heck were you thinking about on Lap 124 of the Daytona 500 last weekend?”
Two races into the Sprint Cup season NASCAR’s most popular driver is 35th in points. It’s not the worse start in his 10-year career, but it’s close. In 2007, he crashed and finished 32nd in the opener at Daytona, followed by a 40th at California due to engine problems.
This year, he caused a big crash and finished 27th at Daytona and was 39th at California due to engine problems.
It’s the negative vibes that surrounded the finishes. Earnhardt made two rookie-like mistakes on pit road to put him a lap down at Daytona, and then was vilified by many of his faithful fans after causing the 10-car wreck that took out many of the top cars.
Maybe things will turn around this week at Las Vegas, where Earnhardt always gets good odds because of his popularity. He has twice finished second there, including last season when he had one of the best starts of his career.
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