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| “You know they're going to crash..." |
The meek may indeed inherit the earth, but
they won’t win races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Case in point? Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who
played it safe late in Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 en route to a disappointing, 26th-place
finish.
Earnhardt had a strong car Sunday, leading 26
laps and running among the leaders throughout the event. He was at the head of
the class when David Gilliland’s blown engine put the field under caution on
lap 151, and ducked onto pit road in search of tires and a much-needed splash
of fuel. He restarted 13th, but soon fell to the back of the pack,
never to be heard from again.
As the laps wound down, the packed Talladega
grandstands braced for a patented, late-race Earnhardt charge. He did mount a
brief assault in the outside lane, but when Josh Wise slid into the three-wide
line and slowed his roll, Earnhardt shockingly elected to throw in his cards.
“We had an opportunity
to get a run, we took it; but we got blocked by the No. 98,” he recalled. “And
with two (laps) to go, you’re not going to get another run.”
So while Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle and Clint
Bowyer battled for the victory, NASCAR’s perennial Most Popular Driver
languished in the back, leaving fans to wonder what had become of the driver
who dominated Talladega so often in the past.
"We came
out too far behind," said Earnhardt of his final pit call. "It's hard
to drive up through there. The track is three-wide forever (and) I just didn't
feel confident we could do it without getting in a crash.
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| "...and I can't afford to wreck anymore here." |
“You know
they're going to crash and I can't afford to wreck anymore here,” he said,
recalling the October 2012 Talladega crash that sidelined him for two races with
a severe concussion. “You've got to pick your battles, and I felt like we were
better off not getting in a wreck. Them other guys were way more aggressive... so
I just sat there and watched the wrecks until the end of the race.”
With a win
already in hand and a spot in the 2014 Chase essentially secured, Earnhardt can perhaps be forgiven for saving
his car – and his health – for another day. It’s not, however, what his loyal legions
of fans expect, especially at a track where his legendary father once drove from
18th to first in the final three circuits.
There is little comparison between Earnhardt the elder
and his stock car driving son, and that’s fine. “Junior” is a kinder, gentler
soul, more introspective and less aggressive, both on and off the race track. And
Sunday, he showed a side of himself that the Old Man rarely (if ever) displayed;
a willingness to accept defeat and live to fight another day.
“We’ve already got a win,” said Earnhardt afterward, “(and)
I’ve been in too many late-race wrecks. I didn’t want to be no part of it. There
were three or four (crashes) we dodged pretty good, so we’ve got a car in one
piece.
”We’ll go to Daytona and do
it a little bit different, where we aren’t pitting and giving up all that track
position at the end.”
Curious to hear what the folks that were sick of hearing "it was a good points day for us" will say about the "We’ve already got a win,” alternative. I agree with him completely with these new rules. He had a good run and leading a good line along the outside - with I believe Carl Edwards - when the 98 jumped out of line and brought the whole thing to a screeching halt, so Jr. bailed out and fell back. With 5 to go, Carl crashes and finishes 30th with a torn-up car. Jr's finishes 26th and the car is unscathed - sounds like the better option.
ReplyDeleteJr only missed 2 races when he had the concussion after the 2012 fall Talladega race, not 4
ReplyDeleteHe was doomed after the call to pit. With a win in hand I'm a little disappointed that they didn't go for it on fuel. They probably would have won the race if they'd stayed out and if they ran out, I'm not sure the finish would have been much worse. After the 98 blocked his run I think he made the right call. A concussion could have derailed what is potentially a championship season.
ReplyDeleteI dont' think you can "worry" about concussions and be a race car driver.
ReplyDeleteI'm a Jr. fan. I was a Sr. fan, and I've been following Jr. since his AC Delco days. When a driver admits that he laid up, doesn't NASCAR have an obligation to enforce its new edict? Drivers are supposed to give 100% all the time or something to that effect.
ReplyDeleteI'm more concerned with pointing out a ludicrous rule than throwing Jr under the bus...
You have always said, in defense of not having a rule that punishes drivers for "intentionally" wrecking someone, because there is no way to prove intent. The 100% rule is the exact same type of rule. You can't prove that a driver didn't give 100%. The rule was put in so NASCAR could cover their a-- after Richmond '13.
What happened in the interview after Sunday's race was, Jr admitted to not giving 100%. By not doing anything, NASCAR has made that a hollow rule. How do you tell the next guy that doesn't give 100%, when he's penalized for saying he laid down in a post race interview, that its consistently enforced?
I just don't get it.
-Steve
Livermore, Ca
He laid up for 2 laps -- out of 499. So he raced his ass off for 497 laps. Give him a break people.
ReplyDeleteHe laid up when he had to attack. It's the points-racing ethos at work again.
ReplyDelete