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Earnhardt Shoulders Heavy Media Mantle

This week’s episode of ‘As Junior Turns’ had NASCAR lead actor Dale Earnhardt, Jr. go from goat to hero to goat again eventually landing the driver in the ‘Principal’s Office’ after a post-race incident with Casey Mears.

Junior went from an also ran to the front of the pack and back to an also ran after yet another week of unfortunate events. Seemingly forever the victim of circumstance, Earnhardt wound up in the wall thanks to a ‘racing incident’ with Mears late in the Phoenix event. That led to some bumping antics on the cool-down lap where Junior dumped Mears and Mears retaliated on pit road.

This all came at the close of a race weekend where Earnhardt was peppered by the media for his opinion about his former team – Dale Earnhardt, Inc. – shutting down his old No. 8 ride, a fixture in the Earnhardt family dating back to his grandfather, Ralph.

To his credit, Earnhardt said all the right things wishing DEI and the No. 8 a speedy return to prominence. Still, it has to be annoying for Earnhardt to have to continually answer questions about matters that have no impact on him. It’s bad enough that he’s constantly in the spotlight with the high beams squarely dissecting every nuisance of his own race team’s performance.

Truth be told, we’re not a big Junior fan and we get tired of hearing about his every twitch. Then again, we can’t be as tired of it as he is. We’re not sure Earnhardt is ever going to be the racing champion NASCAR and his fans want him to be, but maybe, just maybe, his on-track fortunes might improve if the heavy mantle of unreal and unattainable expectations could somehow be lifted from his shoulders.
The ban on the ‘All Junior All The Time’ media obsession would also give fans a break from constantly watching and hearing about someone who has a 23rd-place starting and a 20th-place finishing average this season. Just in case anyone needs reminding, there are 42 other cars, drivers and teams in a NASCAR Sprint Cup event each week, each with plenty of stories more interesting than Junior’s latest lug nut dilemma.
Finally, Some (Shorter) Racing.

After a number of forgettable NASCAR Sprint Cup events this season, the Subway Fit 500K from Phoenix International Raceway had just about everything a stock car racing fan could ask for. There was plenty of side-by-side action with a lot of rough-housing, lead changes and suspense throughout the entire event on the one-mile Phoenix oval. At the checkered flag, Mark Martin scored a very popular victory grabbing his first NASCAR Cup win since 2005.

While all of the above made the Phoenix event interesting, we think the shorter race distance – just over 300 miles – contributed significantly to the show. There was no riding around here for more than four hours with everyone from the front to the back of the field hauling the mail from start to finish. We’ve been saying for a long time that shorter races would make better, more interesting NASCAR Cup events. Cutting the laps/miles for almost every event on the Sprint Cup schedule would help, not hurt NASCAR racing. So would increasing the points rewarded for winning, but that’s a topic and battle for a different day. The Phoenix race was a prime example as to how shorter races would improve the sport. If everything is on the table when it comes to finding solutions to NASCAR’s flagging popularity, this is one topic that should be at or near the top of the list.

Rumor Mill
Eight races into the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the rumor mill is in high gear. This week, Joe Gibbs Racing was denying rumors that rookie Joey Logano would be replaced by Martin Truex, Jr. while Kasey Kahne was hit with talk about his departure at Richard Petty Motorsports. Logano has been the subject of a lot of undue criticism this season. It seems a lot of people think being in the Top-35 in points (33rd) and gaining experience each week isn’t enough of an accomplishment for the 18-year-old driver (remember when drivers didn’t get to Cup until they were in their 30’s?). Logano has been able to keep his head above water despite the NASCAR testing ban that leaves him flying blind at most tracks, not to mention jumping to a new, ultra-competitive division.

To his credit, Logano has also kept his sense of humor. When told of the rumors, Logano stated “I like this saying: the brighter the spotlight on you, the more bugs it attracts.” Funny stuff. Keep digging, kid.

Meanwhile, Kahne – ninth in the points after Phoenix – ‘dodged’ questions this weekend about looking for opportunities other than those provided by Petty Motorsports. Stating he’s “made a commitment to them to race thru 2010,” Kahne indicated he was happy at Petty’s and that he wanted to stay with RPM “for a long time.” We remember a time when the “Silly Season” started in the fall, usually around the Charlotte race in early October. Now, things are just plain ‘silly’ when rookies and guys in the Top-10 in points have to defend their rides and positions with their teams’ just eight events into the season. My, how times have changed.

Many Thanks
It’s been an eventful 10 days around the Close household as a surgery forced us behind the wall for repairs. Just like returning to the race without a bunch of bodywork after a hard crash, we’re back on track after leaving a gall bladder behind among the wrecked parts in the operating room last Tuesday. Slowly but surely, our lap times are coming back up to speed thanks in large, large part to the many calls and e-mails wishing us well. Nothing like a good laparoscopy to let you know just how many friends you have and how many people you touch on a daily basis.

Here’s offering any thanks to all of those who have extended their hearts and friendship to us in our time of abdominal abnormality. It sure is nice to know people care, no matter how much we tick them off at times.

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