MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 26, 2016) – Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been a car owner for quite some time, dating back to 2002 when JR Motorsports raced a local street stock. You’d think, with hundreds of races under his belt, that he’d be used to watching his cars race for victories and championships.
You’d think. It turns out that NASCAR’s most popular and visible driver is just like the rest of us fans watching the races on TV, and he might be a little more nervous than the rest of us to boot.
“I just watch as a nervous fan, or owner,” Earnhardt Jr. said on the weekly The Dale Jr. Download podcast on Dirty Mo Radio. “I’m watching the same broadcast everyone else is. I don’t have any direct line of communication with the team at the track. It’s pretty nerve-wracking, particularly the new [Xfinity Series] Chase is definitely a new perspective from being an owner, watching your cars trying to compete in a Chase format is new.”
Of course, in years past he has had other things to do most of the time - like competing in the Chase for the Sprint Cup as a driver - but being out of his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for the remainder of the season, he finds himself tuning in on a regular basis. One part he has found he doesn’t like all that much is the points-as-they-run graphics.
“I’m not really watching too many broadcasts, up until I’ve been out of the car, so I’m seeing a whole new perspective on the broadcast,” he said. “I’m seeing the points as they run, and I’m like, ‘Man, I don’t want to know that! Get that off the screen!’ It’s so nerve-wracking.
“I’m starting to learn as I watch these broadcasts that I need to be a lot more diplomatic and understand that there are people who like points as they run, and there are people who like to see the miles per hour in qualifying, and I like to see the time. I’m starting to understand I can’t have it exactly like I want it. I guess if it wasn’t there, points as they run, I’d probably say, ‘I wonder what the points are…’ It’s funny. I was so nervous. I just want to get to the end and see what happens!”
Of course, the news from the graphics was good this weekend from Kentucky Speedway, as JRM driver Elliott Sadler and the OneMain Chevrolet wound up in Victory Lane. That resonated on many levels for the team owner.
“I was thrilled,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “We played the strategy really well. [Crew chief] Kevin Meendering and those guys put Elliott in a great position late in the race to get a win. It’s been so tough between us and the Gibbs guys all year long. The Gibbs cars are fast every week, most of the time faster than anybody else. It’s so exciting when we can get a win. I was thrilled.”
Sadler and Earnhardt Jr., along with JRM general manager Kelley Earnhardt Miller, have been friends for more than two decades, and when Sadler signed to come to JRM late last season, it was with the hope that Sadler would return to Victory Lane early and often.
“It’s great to see Elliott sort of reinventing himself a little bit here and having some fun,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “When we got together, to work and race together, I was hoping this would be the outcome, that he would get to Victory Lane and we would be able to give him what he hasn’t been able to find at these other places he’s been. It seems like it’s working out.”
Meendering merited some special mention from the boss as well.
“Kevin Meendering is doing an amazing job,” he said. “He was my lead engineer for many years. I have tons of respect for him and think he’s going to be one of the leaders in the garage area as a crew chief on the Cup side in years to come. He’s got an awesome career to watch and look forward to. It’s working out. Hopefully, we can get through the next couple of races and get our guys into the next round and keep on truckin’.”
While Sadler was in a great position to win, teammate Justin Allgaier had to battle back from crash damage late in the race and finished ninth in his TaxSlayer.com machine. Josh Berry had some bad luck as well and battled back to finish 13th in the No. 88 SunEnergy1 Camaro.
The performance left Earnhardt Jr. with high hopes heading to Dover for the second NASCAR Xfinity Series Chase event this weekend.
“Elliott and those guys seem to be peaking at the right time, and I hope Justin [Allgaier] and his group can understand the information and what they can learn from what Elliott and those guys are doing to help themselves improve a little bit,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I know Justin has three second-place finishes, so he’s real eager to get that win this year, and no better time than in the Chase, obviously.
“They have had real good speed this year,” he continued. “We’re going to Dover this weekend, which is a track that I thought we ran extremely well at this year. Alex [Bowman] was in position to win and all our cars were in the top five for most of the race.”
He’ll be there to see it in person, too.
“I’m actually going to go to Dover and watch the race, be on the pit box, moving around and aggravating everybody,” he said with a chuckle.