Junior Needs a Good Run
By Sam Atwell
Talladega is one of the tracks that drivers fear the most, or it used to be. They all feared the “big one”, but now they are small ones, all thanks to the COT. Sure the possibility is there, but I believe it will be another lackluster race in a lackluster season.
One driver, who loves Talladega, needs a great run (a victory) on Sunday. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is in desperate need of some good news. A rumor circulated last week that a crew chief change had been negotiated with the #5 team; it was a done deal according to some “source” inside Hendrick Motorsports. The rumor was proven false by a real source and a credible website. The point remains, something needs to happen to shake-up this team. My apologies to the Junior Nation, but it isn’t all Eury Juniors’ fault. The mistakes that have happened to this team on pit road are all on the driver, a tremendous lack of concentration. Don’t get me wrong there have been bad calls for adjustments and slow pit stops; this team is not focused at all.
Even though there have been public shows of support I have to believe that the management at Hendrick Motorsports is taking a long hard look at the 88 team. I believe a change is coming and the only place it can come is on top of the pit box. Eury Junior is the man on the 88 team. He is the leader, he is the head coach, he bears responsibility for the on track performance and he will ultimately pay the price for the lack of performance. Dale Junior can protest all he wants, but if he truly came to Hendrick Motorsports to win races and championships, it is time to buy into the Hendrick program 100%; it is working for the other three teams.
Could this be the weekend for Dale Junior to pick up his first win of the season? You bet he could, will he? Nope. I think it will fall to one of his other teammates to get the win on Sunday. Jeff Gordon is awfully good at Talladega, along with Jimmie Johnson. There is a dark horse out there for me, not really a dark horse, but Tony Stewart very well could win on Sunday. The Stewart team is poised for a victory and it is just a matter of time for him to get his first win as an owner/driver.
Like I said before this is a track that some drivers fear, lets see if Talladega Superspeedway stands up and fights back!
Tags: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson
April 24th, 2009 at 11:47 am
You wrote:
“My apologies to the Junior Nation, but it isn’t all Eury Juniors’ fault. The mistakes that have happened to this team on pit road are all on the driver, a tremendous lack of concentration.”
How are improperly installed (read as “loose”) lug nuts the driver’s fault? Does he jack up the car, run the air wrench, change the tires?
And then after you say it isn’t Eury Jr.’s fault, you write this: “Eury Junior is the man on the 88 team. He is the leader, he is the head coach, he bears responsibility for the on track performance”
C’mon, at least attempt to be a little consistent with your thoughts and remarks. Poorly written article.