Do you think Dale Jr is overrated?
By TreeMarie84
@TreeMarie84 (104)
United States
October 13, 2009 1:28am CST
As a huge NASCAR fan, this question seems to come up quite often when talking with fellow fans of the sport. Do you think Jr is overrated as a driver? Let's take a look at his stats as of Sunday's Pepsi 500 at California.
Dale Jr has 18 career wins in the cup series, 142 top 10's and 8 poles. He hasn't won since Michigan in 2008, why is that? He drives for one of the top teams in NASCAR and has the top of the line equipment. Even Stewart and Newman run with Hendrick equipment and they both made the chase. Jr should be a factor in winning races each week and him of all people should have made the chase.
Dale, is the only Hendrick car not to make the 2009 chase, why? We can't blame it on his age by any means when his teammate Mark Martin is 10+ years older and has won multiple races this season and sits second in the points. Nor can we blame it on being a rookie mistake, as he's certainly not a rookie. Could it be the equipment?
There is always one Hendrick car each season that doesn't seem to run as well as the other three cars. Dale Jr wins the most popular driver award year after year. I honestly believe it's because of his last name. He's great for the sport and has a huge fan base and I personally like him, however he does seem overrated to me. The stats and performance stack against him in every aspect.
So in conclusion, what do all of you think, is Dale Earnhardt Jr overrated? Why or why not?
2 people like this
5 responses
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
14 Oct 09
My thoughts personally, is he is way over rated, and it is his name that Wins him these awards and not his driving capabilities or nothing else. He is certainly not one of my favorites, and nothing like his Father. Personally most drivers who never seem to do anything yr. after yr. would give up and go do something else, but maybe he feels there is still something left in him and eventually his luck will change.
@TreeMarie84 (104)
• United States
14 Oct 09
It definitely is his name that wins him these awards, especially the most popular driver award, someone like Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson or Tony Stewart should have been winning it. Jimmie is my guy and it would have been nice to see him win it since he has been winning races, making the chase year after year and has won 3 straight championships. However, all these Jr fans log online and keep voting and voting and no one else has a chance, it's sickening. He will never be his father, ever, as far as the stats go, it'll never be close. I'd like to see if there is something else left in him but every week he wrecks, gets in a wreck/accident, mechanical problems or something else. I guess we will just have to see if his luck changes but if it is going too, it needs to fast.
@burrito88 (2774)
• United States
14 Oct 09
I have nothing against Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon or even Tony Stewart, but this year I'd like to Mark Martin win the cup championship. He's a class act and it would be nice to see him win it once before he retires, whenever that will be.
@burrito88 (2774)
• United States
13 Oct 09
Seems like something has happened to him over the past few years. His performance has fallen off. Before he had other things he could blame it on. Bad cars. Bad teams. Bad communication. Troubles with his car owner (step mother). But now with Hendrick, most of those problems should be gone. Look how Mark Martin seems reborn. Something is wrong and his aw shucks personality is going to start wearing thin if he doesn't start winning again. He might have to move RJ Motorsports to the cup, just to give himself a cup ride.
@TreeMarie84 (104)
• United States
14 Oct 09
I agree, his performance has certainly fallen off and he use to have a lot of other things to blame it on, now he can pretty much only blame himself, because Hendrick is to me the top team in the Cup Series right now and has been for a while. Mark Martin is definitely reborn, he did a lot better this year so far than I thought he would have, winning races and making the chase and not just making it but he is in the run for the title. I'm sure Rick Hendrick thought things would be different as well since he was signing Dale Earnhardt Jr, not some driver who has no experience and has never won before. Something needs to change soon, I'm not sure what it is since a lot of changes have been made but he needs to improve fast.
@charblaize (1026)
• United States
6 Nov 09
I am a Dale Jr fan, always have been and always will be. I grew up watching his father race and then watched both of them race together. His father was hard on him, but also kept him in check. Dale Sr also said he moved up way too quickly to NASCAR Sprint Cup back then. Yes, Junior had many issues, personal, business, and I feel spiritual. He is always in the limelight, that has to be enough pressure in itself, then dealing with crews, teams, mechanics, new cars, new set ups, it is not easy. Combine all of these and how would you deal with it all? I know I couldn't and it would be very stressful. There are also many cars/drivers out there who also have not won a race for years. Some years are better than others, you can predict who is going to be on top from year to year. I agree with spalladino: you cannot predict mechanical errors or wrecks. Just because you have the top of the line doesn't make it run any better than the other, they still break down and have issues and agree with kgok123 he has too much pressure to be like his father. One will never be Dale Sr. Dale Sr. is one of his own, many may want to be him or like him, though it will never be done. Junior needs to relax, be himself, and focus on his racing. I also feel he has never been the same since his father passing/accident. I truly believe and hope his father is watching over him and will lead him to victory when he feels his son is ready.
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
17 Oct 09
No. I'm a bigtime Hendrick's fan...Jeff, Jimmie and Jr...and Dale has always been a great race car driver. But, he has a new team...both on and off the track...and they're going to need some time to dial in the cars and the crews. If you can't adjust the car right, it's not going to be as fast as the others and you can't predict mechanical problems and wrecks. This is why the Hendrick's cars finish all over the place. Give Dale time...he's as good as anyone out there.
@kgok123 (1)
• Canada
24 Oct 09
I definitely think that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the most overrated driver in NASCAR. However, the guy has such a huge following that you would never dare say any of this within 10 feet of a race. No matter where you go there is always an Earnhardt Jr. fan lurking somewhere. He can do no wrong in the eyes of junior nation. I think as a person, he is a cool guy. But when it comes to the sport he definitely leaves something to be desired when it comes to being a driver. Look at the results that the other Hendrick drivers have come up with. However I do see your point on how there is always a Hendrick car that seems to fall short. Look at Kyle Busch, he wasn't at the top of his game at Hendrick and then he moves to JGR and look at him win! But I really don't think that out of all four of their drivers they would give Jr the short end of the stick. Jr would bring in so many more fans that the other three. Nothing ever seems to be his fault though. An example of this would be the choice to drop Tony Eury, his crew chief and cousin. Dale wasn't bringing in results so it must have been the crew chief's fault. Very interesting when he still isn't showing anything with his new crew cheif.
People just need to grasp the fact that the guy is not and never will be his father. I think maybe if that pressure was removed from him, he could relax and start driving better.
