It all started that day
in May when he made the announcement he would be leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) at the end of the ‘07 racing season.
The crush of the media has rarely let up since. Whether it was the perceived feud with his famous step mom, or the subsequent
announcement he would be joining Hendrick Motorsports (HMS), every move he’s made has been subject to a level of scrutiny
usually reserved for the President of the United
States.
Frankly, I applaud Junior
for taking the high road. He’s stayed cool under fire since day one. He publicly asked the media to lay
off Teresa Earnhardt (step mom) when she was taking a lot of heat for her decision to keep the No. 8.
Earnhardt said, "I think
it's about time we give Teresa a break. She makes the decision on that number because she owns it. And as much as I
am disappointed and frustrated over the fact that I don't get to keep driving the No. 8, the stuff that I read on the Internet
and the stuff that I'm hearing is going on -- the remarks about her, directed toward her -- I don't think anybody deserves
that.”
Considering his impending
departure from DEI and the issues they have had, he could have easily poured fuel on that fire and flamed the willing participants
into more rumor and innuendo. Instead he stepped up and defended the boss lady. Not only is he cool, but he’s
got class.
The level of his coolness
became apparent when, around lap 45 of the Talladega race, he came over the radio
and asked if any one knew the score of the Washington Redskins game. That’s even cooler than his “Crazy
mutant desert guys” commercial or his hip-hop Chevy spots.
Here he is, riding around the
biggest, fastest, scariest, edge of your seat, track in the sport, at 180+ mph, in a car that nobody really knows how it’s
going to perform on this particular piece of asphalt, and he’s asking about a football score. Man, is that
cool or what? He’s even cool for saying it is not cool to throw beer cans at Jeff Gordon.
2006 StockCar Review.
