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Earnhardt Sr.
Leaves Legacy of Losers?
May 1, 2007
Jay Staton - SCR
The facts are as follows: Jeff Gordon gets his 77th victory - one
more than the late and great Dale Earnhardt Sr., and is pelted largely by Dale Earnhardt fans, both Junior and Senior, with
cans and other objects, in protest.
To attempt to understand this behavior,
a little history is in order.
Dale Senior rose through the short
track ranks, as rough as they came. When he made it to Cup level, he was racing against the legends: Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough,
and Bobby Allison among many others—and while those drivers were tough, Dale Sr. was tougher.
Before Earnhardt arrived, there was
an understanding among the ten or so winning teams and drivers that they would cruise around for the first 400 miles or so,
and then race for the final 100. And they respected their own equipment and that of their competitors. Even “feuding”
drivers avoided putting the other guy hard into the wall, because they did not want their own equipment torn up the following
week.
This was not the case with a young
Dale Earnhardt Sr. He drove every lap as if it were the last and was going by you or through you (and on dozens of occasions
he did just that). When Richard Childress’ racecar engines could stand up to Earnhardt’s right foot, and the front
suspension was not damaged (fenders were, of course, a non-issue), Dale became virtually unstoppable.
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Many have forgotten that Dale’s
driving resulted in the loudest and the longest “Boo’s” of that era, and not for one or two races, but for
years!
However, the fans did not throw objects
over the fence at his racecar.
Earnhardt Sr. mellowed along the way
and although tough to the end, his heart and his following strengthened and he won seven championships.
Jeff Gordon is an entirely different
personality from a different era, and is sort of the polar opposite of Earnhardt. He climbed behind the wheel of a Hendrick
Motorsports Cup Car at a young age and was a polished act long before his first NASCAR interview. He drives smooth and smart.
During his time with Ray Evernham as crew chief he also was virtually unbeatable and is undeniably at the top of his game.
Gordon has won four (4) championships
and earned 77 victories in a series that now has virtually no independents and which GOOD teams are fighting to maintain 35th
in the point standings.
Finally, Earnhardt Junior himself
congratulated Gordon’s tribute to Dale Sr. (recall that Gordon paraded a black “3” flag after the race in
Dale Sr.’s honor after his 76th victory at Phoenix).
“So why the cans”, you
may be asking?
My
guess is that the fans believe that their guy, or guys (Jr. & Sr.), are
somehow being disrespected by Jeff Gordon (unbeknownst to him, of course), and that they are showing the Earnhardt’s
support by their actions. Which is, of course, a figment of their imagination, and although it seems to be popular, it nevertheless
remains fictional.
Unfortunately the truth is that they
are an embarrassment to The Sport, to Budweiser, to Earnhardt Jr. and most of all to Dale Sr. - who no doubt would not have
wanted to leave a legacy of “BEER-CAN-CHUCKING LOSERS” as his trademark.
Consider this: Recall that when Dale
Sr. won his seventh championship - matching the number accomplished by Richard Petty, the Petty fans respected and congratulated
Dale. Richard Petty is “The King”-- and always will be, and it is because
he AND HIS FANS are first and foremost a class act.
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Amazingly, there is something even
sadder than the real insult to the Earnhardt Legacy.
Like all other forms of hate, this
behavior and the mindset that goes with it is ultimately most damaging to the one doing it—high blood pressure, excessive
drinking, and many other things follow, none of them good—in this case, ironically, the damage is to the Earnhardt fans
themselves...
There were perhaps 1,000 cans and
objects thrown at Talladega
after Jeff Gordon notched his 77th victory. That is but a fraction of Earnhardt fans that are in the stands. Most are proud
of both Earnhardt’s skills on the track, their honesty off the track, and respect the efforts of the other drivers -
Gordon included, as well.
If you are one of these fans, consider
being the one to ask the rowdies to calm down-- Not only in honor of your hero’s, and not only for your friend’s
sake, but most importantly, do it because your heart tells you to.
Somewhere from
far above, Dale Sr. just might look down with that crooked grin and be proud of you, a member of the legacy that he truly deserves.
Questions, Comments;
Email Jay
The views and opinions in this article are that of the writer(s) and not necessarily
that of SCR
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2006 StockCar Review.
