Earnhardt Jr. creating buzz with latest success
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JOLIET, Ill. - Dale Earnhardt Jr. is back in the top 12 in points and all is well in NASCAR. Well, not exactly, but many would suggest this is a step in the right direction.
Having the sport's most popular driver challenge for a spot in the Chase - which he has missed twice in the past three seasons - creates a buzz that not even double-file restarts or "Boys, have at it" can generate.
"He's like the Lakers or the Boston Celtics," NASCAR Chairman Brian France said earlier this year about Earnhardt's importance to the series. "He is the major franchise in the sport."
Earnhardt re-energized fans last weekend, winning the Nationwide race at Daytona in a Wrangler-sponsored No. 3 car that honored his father. That event was the most-viewed Nationwide race on ESPN.
The following night, Earnhardt finished fourth in the Cup race on TNT. It marked the first time in five races this season that TNT's ratings were up from the same race a year ago.
Coincidence? Possibly, but it's hard to think that a surging Earnhardt didn't help draw some attention to those events. And to the sport.
"Nobody wants to get back to where he was as a very, very high-performing driver (more) than Dale Jr.," France said earlier this year. "If he does (return) to that high level, it'll help NASCAR. No question about that."
Yet, there have been. Many have questioned Earnhardt during his two-year winless drought in Cup. Earnhardt has seen and heard the derisive comments. They've impacted him.
"I shouldn't take it so personal," Earnhardt said after his Nationwide win at Daytona last weekend. "When you work so ... hard ... you're working your (rear) off to try to get somewhere, do the best you can to do your job. For anyone to ever wonder whether you're giving it all you got (upsets) you."
The questions will persist until Earnhardt wins and returns to the Chase. His journey could overshadow talk of changes NASCAR is considering to the Chase next season to make it more dramatic.
Earnhardt heads into tonight's race at Chicagoland Speedway 11th in the season standings, seven points ahead of 12th-place Carl Edwards .
Doug Duchardt, vice president of development at Hendrick Motorsports, counters Earnhardt's estimate, saying personnel changes made in the offseason are working well. "We put some new pieces together with the team on the engineering side," Duchardt said. "I see that communication and that relationship with Dale and those guys, along with his relationship with (crew chief) Lance (McGrew) has continued to grow."
Even so, Earnhardt, who will start 25th tonight, admits that with eight races left until the Chase field is set - after the Richmond race in September - he's nervous.
"I'm nervous about losing points and not making the Chase," he said. "Just having a bad week. I don't think I'm any more nervous about it then I usually am. Everybody hates to fail."
Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long @news-record.com
LifeLock.com 400
When: 7:30 p.m. today
Where: Chicagoland Speedway
Distance: 400 miles (267 laps on 1.5-mile speedway)
TV/Radio: TNT/WBRF-98.1, WTQR-104.1, WBAG-1150, WKXR-1260
Pole-sitter: Jamie McMurray
Last year's winner: Mark Martin
Forecast: Partly cloudy with a high of 83 degrees
Lineup: Scoreboard, B5
* NASCAR's "major franchise" is in the top 12 and fans are watching.
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© 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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