Junior Is Happy With Tenth Place?
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009The NASCAR Shop Opinion:
In a March 3, 2009 article on the Los Angeles Times’ website, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was quoted as saying “We ran better than 10th most of the day.” Earnhardt Jr. continued, “We put ourselves behind a couple of times, but these are the kind of runs we need in the next five or six weeks to sort of get ourselves back up in there for a chance at the Chase.”
Are you kidding me? Apparently Dale Jr. is quite content with being a middle of the road driver and, in fact, aspires to be one this season. He currently is ranked 29th in the standings, 192 points behind leader, Jeff Gordon, and has quite a few spots to climb if he stands a chance at being in the top dozen. Only the top twelve drivers in points after 26 races will qualify to compete in NASCAR’s late-season Chase for the Cup title playoff over the final 10 races.
Jimmie Johnson, winner of the title the last three years, has also had a troubling start to the 2009 season. He is currently sitting in 19th place after three races, 145 points behind his teammate, Jeff Gordon. Johnson, however, has demonstrated the ability to come back after a slow start. He was virtually in the same place after three races last season before winning his third consecutive cup title.
His reaction was decidedly different than Dale Earnhardt Jr’s. “We had the best car,” Johnson said. “It was just unfortunate that I just got a little too aggressive and I piled it up.”
That’s the attitude of a winner. Earnhardt Jr. needs a little more fire in his belly if he is ever going to hold a candle to his late father’s accomplishments. The Intimidator has to be rolling in his grave!
The NASCAR Shop Quote of the Day: “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordon
