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JENSEN: Earnhardt Making Right Move
Written by: Tom Jensen   
06/12/2007
Mooresville, NC
 
Dale Junior is focused on winning, and the move to Hendrick is aimed squarely at making sure that happens. (LAT photo) » More Photos





Well, whaddya know? Dale Earnhardt, Jr. really did change his number to 6.7 after all. Metaphorically, at least

NASCAR's most popular driver once starred in a TV commercial in which he staged a mock press conference where he told his fans that he and his crew liked to shake things up every now and again, so they were changing his car's number from 8 to 6.7. This had the effect of causing mass panic all through the Earnhardt Nation, who upon hearing the news immediately began changing their tattoos, repainting their homes and cutting down shrubbery shaped in the form of an "8."

At the end of the commercial, Earnhardt says it was all a joke and no harm done, right? But Wednesday's blockbuster announcement that Earnhardt is joining Hendrick Motorsports is no joke and one that more than a few of his fans will find very, very hard to swallow. Compared to joining forces with Hendrick, Earnhardt changing his number to 6.7 in the commercial was a walk in the park.

For Earnhardt, there's not much question that it's the right choice. Hendrick has won exactly half the NASCAR Nextel Cup championships since 1995 – six in 12 years, for those of you keeping track at home – and the team has been on an astonishing roll this year with 10 victories spread among four drivers in just 14 points races so far. They are the dominant team this year and have been contenders pretty much every year. Since the start of 2005, Hendrick has won more races than DEI has in its entire existence. In fact, Hendrick drivers Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson each have won more Cup races than DEI as a team has in its history. Note to Kyle Busch: Call Brian Vickers to see how well getting off the Hendrick gravytrain has worked out for him.

On the basis off on-track performance, it's impossible to describe Earnhardt's choice as anything other than absolutely, positively the correct one. He's going to a great team, one that will give him the tools to win, tools he never had at Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

The Earnhardt faithful, well, that's another story entirely. The Earnhardt Nation, taken as a collective group, hates Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt fans hate Hendrick more than the Hatfields hate the McCoys or Paris Hilton hates Lindsay Lohan. Earnhardt diehards are the very same folks who pelted Jeff Gordon's cars with trash after he won at Phoenix and Talladega. These are the fans who have cartoon characters peeing on the numbers 24 and 48 in the rear windows of their pickup trucks. The same ones who believe that every time NASCAR throws the caution it's to make sure that a Hendrick driver wins that race.

No, Junior driving for Hendrick will not play well with the Earnhardt faithful, who are suffering a shock to the system as radical as finding out that Dubya really liked the French or that Rush Limbaugh was a card-carrying member of the communist party and
a cross-dresser at that.

In short, race fans, especially card-carrying members of the Earnhardt Nation, are in for a period of readjustment in this Brave New World, where Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will be a teammate with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, heretofore the faithful's Public Enemies No. 1 and 2.

Change is a bitch, but then again, every NASCAR fan ought to be used to it after the year we've had so far.

So far, we are 14 races into the 36-race season and already in 2007:

NASCAR has expanded the field for the Chase for the Nextel Cup and changed the way points are adjusted for the Chase.

Toyota has begun racing in Nextel Cup, though not with much success.

The Car of Tomorrow has become the Car of Every Other Race or So, and, as of next year, the Only Car in Nextel Cup.

Mark Martin is only racing a part-time schedule this year, as are Kyle Petty, Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte.

Greg Biffle's new-for-2007 sponsor has announced plans to leave the sport and his new-for-2007 crew chief lasted just 11 races before being replaced at Roush Fenway Racing.

Martin Truex, Jr. has won more races this season than Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards – combined.

NASCAR has handed out 100-point penalties to Michael Waltrip, Earnhardt and Kurt Busch, which if memory serves is three more 100-point penalties than they've ever handed out before.

Three races have been postponed a day by rain and a fourth was ruined by rain.

William C. France has passed.

All told, it's been a year of radical change in NASCAR and Earnhardt joining Hendrick is simply the latest example of that. It's a great career move for Earnhardt, a talented, likeable and enormously popular driver.

And while the Earnhardt Nation may be angry and confused right now, my guess is all will be forgiven with, say, five or six victories next year and a serious run at the championship.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SpeedTV.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel




» More Photos

A lifelong gearhead, Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDTV.com. Tom also contributes a weekly automotive review and covers the Barrett-Jackson Collector car auctions and other special events for SPEED. Jensen has been writing about NASAR and Automotive tops topics for more than 15 years and is the former managing editor of National Speed Sport News. He is the recipient of the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award and numerous other journalism awards. Jensen's latest book is "Cheating: An Inside Look At The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit Of Speed."