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choke [chohk], verb - to become too tense or nervous to perform well

THE WEEKLY CHOKE REPORT

Earnhardt Junior Wrecks...So Does His Crew!

November 15, 2009 - Phoenix, Az

This morning, long before the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway the #88 team crashed. Four crew members on the way to the race were involved in a spin-out collision in the team van. After being treated, they were deemed 'ok' and were able to work the pit for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Unfortunately the crew's spin out wasn't the only wreck for the Amp Energy Chevrolet as Junior got loose on lap 173 and caused a 10 car pile up and virtually ended the teams day.

After about 25 minutes in the garage the shaky crew managed to get Junior back on the track where he finished a paltry 35th, 56 laps behind the eventual winner, Hendrick team mate and Sprint Cup points leader Jimmie Johnson.

Junior never contended (again) and the best track position he achieved before he caused the crash was 16th. He appeared to struggle on the double file restarts on the Phoenix flat oval, checking up and over compensating on lap on-twenty causing a chain reaction involving eight cars behind him.

Tensions were high in the garage area after the race.

"Number 88 needs to get his head in the race," said a source. "We know he's frustrated by being the low rung on the Hendrick ladder but that don't mean he has to let it affect his driving. He just wants the season to end and everyone knows it."

Junior Nation left the track less then satisfied with the Earnhardt performance too.

"This is the fourth race we've driven to, this season," said Buddy Teegarden from Billings, Montana as he escorted his green and red clad family from the track. "We support Junior, but I'm starting to think maybe he doesn't have the heart to win. Hell, he don't even need to win, we just want him to be in contention once in awhile. He kind of sucks this year."

This year?

"Well, for the last few years."

Johnson was followed in the top five by Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin and Martin Truex Jr. and has a virtual death grip on his record fourth straight Sprint Cup championship.

Junior is one race away from his second winless season in the past three years and over88ted.com expects the streak to continue into 2010 and beyond. We also predict that Earnhardt's crew will make it to Miami without a wreck.... Unless they let Junior drive the van.

A recent poll by over88ted.com asked "I think Junior Nation is..." and "Fun to laugh at on race day" was the overwhelming winner with over 67% of the vote. Dying a slow death came in 2nd with just over 20% See complete results here

Junior Runs Low in Texas

November 8, 2009 - Texas Motor Speedway

Once again Dale Earnhardt Junior found a new way to lose a race when he gambled and lost yesterday at the Dickies 500. Earnhardt hung around the top ten most of the day and then ran out of fuel with only three laps remaining. Crew chief, Lance McGrew gets an F for his first performance as full time team leader as the #88 finished in it's usual middle of the pack 25th.

Capitalizing on superior fuel mileage, Kurt Busch drove his No. 2 Dodge to victory in the Dickies 500, after disaster struck Johnson like a lightning bolt and made a race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup after all.

Johnson suffered a Lap 3 wreck that sidelined his No. 48 Chevrolet for more than an hour as his team made extensive repairs. With a 38th-place finish, Johnson lost 111 points of his 184-point lead in the Chase to second-place Mark Martin, who finished fourth and trails Johnson by 73 points with two races left.

Busch won the race at the expense of brother Kyle Busch, who ran out of fuel three laps short of completing an unprecedented weekend sweep of races in NASCAR’s top three divisions. Busch had won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday and the NASCAR Nationwide Series event on Saturday.

After pitting on Lap 269 of 334, Kyle Busch was leading and trying to conserve fuel when he ran out on the backstretch on Lap 331. “I’m out! I’m out—coming to you!” he radioed to crew chief Dave Rogers, who had replaced Steve Addington on the pit box after last Sunday’s race at Talladega.

That handed the lead to Kurt, who had pitted on Lap 271 and had saved enough fuel to make it to the finish line.

Denny Hamlin took advantage of the pervasive gas shortage to finish second, 25.686 seconds behind Busch, the largest margin of victory in a NASCAR Sprint Cup race since the inception of electronic scoring in May 1993. Matt Kenseth ran third, followed by Martin, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart. Those were the only six drivers to finish on the lead lap, the fewest since six cars finished on the lead lap in June 2008 at Dover.

“I knew what we had for fuel mileage — I was confident in our guys’ numbers,” Kurt Busch said in Victory Lane. “They gave me what I needed to win today. We were fast, we were playing cat-and-mouse with Kyle on restarts — you know, it’s the first true time that Kyle and I have raced each other hard for a victory like this.

“For us to come away and knock him off his sweep — he was trying to go for it — it’s bittersweet. I was rooting for him, but at the same time, this is for us.”

A recent poll by over88ted.com asked "Will Junior Switch Crew Chiefs again in the off-season??" and Jr made it official and signed interim Crew Chief McGrew through 2010 before our poll closed - he must be an Over88ted.com fan! See complete results here

Earnhardt Jr. Leads 9 Laps at Talladega!

November 1, 2009 - Talladega, AL

In what must have been a victory of the soul, Dale Earnhardt Jr. actually led 9 laps in yesterday's Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Each time he crossed the start/finish line the throngs of his blind faithful stood and cheered, but alas, as the race wound down to its spectacular finish Junior was filed back into the pack and finished at 11th.

This past week (in response to our readers poll?) Earnhardt's team hired interim crew chief, Lance McGrew as the full time and permanent guide to the misguided #88 team. According to Earnhardt the team is on the right track. According to the results it's the same old, same old.

The race was strange from the beginning after NASCAR warned drivers not to bump draft through the corners of the famed super speedway. The result was lap after lap of single file "safe" racing. It wasn't until the last 25 laps that the drivers began to attempt to gain position and with 5 laps remaining Ryan Newman flipped his car, causing a red flag while they extracted him from the vehicle. Luckily the high flying crash looked worse then what it was as Newman walked away angry but unscathed.

On lap into a Green, White, Checker finish the Talladega mystique finally jumped up and bit the field as the "big one" happened and nine cars (including #2 in points, Mark Martin) smoked, smashed and spun causing the race to end and giving Jamie McMurray his first win of the season. He was followed by Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton. Points leader Jimmie Johnson finished sixth after spending the day at the back of the field.

Earnhardt Jr. actually finished in front of two of his Hendrick team mates, Martin and Jeff Gordon for only the 5th time this season.

Earnhardt Fries Brakes, Blows Tires, Hits Wall.... Twice!

October 25, 2009 - Martinsville, Va

Dale Earnhardt Jr. started yesterday's Tums Fast Relief 500 at the famed short track in Martinsville in great position: 12th. He was firmly entrenched in the upper third of the field and it looked like his team had figured a few things out about the #88 car before qualifying. They were using a brand new ride and qualifying 12 was a great sign. They were definitely going to contend. The only thing that might keep them out of the top ten would be an error in the pits or an error on the track by Earnhardt or one of his rivals. Leave it to Dale Jr. to ruin a good thing.

Twice in the race Junior blew a tire and put his car into the wall, each time causing a caution. The problem he was having was not being able to stay off the brake enough. Riding mile after mile with constant pressure on the brake causes it to get very hot and eventually this causes tire problems. Most NASCAR drivers know the exact line between gearing down and braking while short track racing, but even then sometimes the brakes can blow a tire... Once.

"Twice in one race is almost unheard of and if Junior didn't have the on-track experience I would have thought I was watching a rookie driver out there." said a source close to the #88 crew. "The guys in that pit box were ticked off, man."

Junior managed to keep the #88 on the track for the last two-thirds of the race and finished 29th while his Hendrick team mates continued to make their presence felt with Jimmie Johnson finishing 2nd, Jeff Gordon 5th and Mark Martin 8th. Denny Hamlin won the race and Juan Pablo Montoya (3rd) and Kyle Busch (4th) rounded out the top five.

So it's back to the drawing board for Earnhardt Jr. and his beleaguered crew as they try to salvage some dignity sometime in the last month of this nightmare season.

Notes: Johnson increased his Sprint Cup points lead to 118 over Martin and 150 over Gordon. Earnhardt currently stands s the 24th ranked driver out of 50 eligible.

A recent poll by over88ted.com asked "Rick Hendrick Should...?" and it's clear NASCAR fans are ready for someone else to drive the number 88 with nearly 82% answering "Fire Dale Jr or Ask him to step down" See complete results here

October 17, 2009 - CONCORD, N.C.

"I'm about to the end of my rope on it," Earnhardt said, after reciting chapter and verse on last week's late wreck at Fontana, Calif., and Thursday night's bewilderingly poor qualifying run at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "I've been riding it out, but I think it comes there comes a point, though, where you don't want to ride it out anymore.

"It's been a long year. I really don't want the year to be over with, because I like going to the racetrack every week and racing, but the last several -- well, all year, it's been so low. The 'highs' have been not very high, and the 'lows' have been terribly low. So that's hard to want to get back up and try again the next week, when you take such a beating, but I don't know what else to do."

Earnhardt's frustration came to a head Thursday. The proximate cause was a 39th-place qualifying run -- after posting the 13th-fastest time during Sprint Cup practice earlier in the day. Last Sunday, a flat tire late in the race at Fontana derailed what promised to be a top-10 run. Earnhardt slowed in front of Elliott Sadler, and contact between their two cars ignited a multicar pileup in Turn 1.

"We come off of Turn 4 at California, and Ryan Newman hit me in the left rear quarter panel and knocked the valve stem out of tire," said Earnhardt, who retired two laps short of the finish in 25th place. "I had a flat tire going down the front straightaway, and I couldn't go nowhere, because I had guys on the inside of me. Elliott didn't know that I had a flat, and neither did the 17 (Matt Kenseth) behind him, and when they got to me, I couldn't control my car anymore. I was out of air in the tire. That was frustrating. I was really upset. I was really, really upset.

"Last night (Thursday) we go out, and we were top 15 in practice, and we went out and tried to qualify, and we're one of the worst cars here. We don't know why or have any answer for it. All the other (Hendrick Motorsports) cars qualified fine, did well, backed their times up in practice, and we didn't even get close. We looked ridiculous last night. So it's like really encouraging one day, and then the next day it's equally discouraging. And that gets really old."

Junior doesn't even know who his crew chief will be next year.

"I haven't talked to Rick about it," Earnhardt said of the crew-chief choice. "I don't have the credentials to make the call. If I told you that I wanted to be with Lance next year, I wouldn't be telling you that out of my knowledge of expertise and talent. I'd be telling you because it's fun hanging out with him. Whoever I work with needs to be dictated. The most success I had was with Tony (Eury) Sr. (Eury Jr.'s father and Earnhardt's long-time crew chief at Dale Earnhardt Inc.), and you know how he runs his ship…

"I don't think I'm the guy to leave that decision up to, because I wouldn't make the right one -- or there's probably better people to make it, especially in the organization, man. There's a lot of smart people around there. I'm just waiting for somebody to make the call, man. Just put the damn team together and say 'This is what you got; this is what you're going to do next year.' I'm just kind of waiting on that to happen."

As he waits, the frustration mounts.

"We just need to run better, and it's not happening," Earnhardt said. "It's not happening fast enough. … Even when we're creeping inside the top 10 like we were last week, it's not good enough. It's really frustrating.

"I feel like I don't have any control. Rick's put me in a great position, but I haven't made the most of it, or for whatever reason, we're just not getting it done."

And they continued to "not get it done" on Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway when the struggling #88 team finished in 38th and sits in 22nd in the season standings. That's two spots behind rookie Joey Logano. Hendrick team mate Jimmie johnson won the Banking 500 to continue his push for an unprecedented 4th straight Sprint Cup Championship. Johnson was followed in the top five by Matt Kenseth, Kasey Khane, Jeff Gordon and Logano.

A recent poll by over88ted.com asked "Will someone other then Jimmie Johnson win the Chase?" and it's clear NASCAR fans are ready for someone else to win with nearly 64% answering "God, I hope so" - and yes, you can only vote once so it wasn't Jr fixing the vote! See complete results here

October 10, 2009 - This week over88ted.com has to let the results speak for themselves:
Three of four Hendrick drivers finished in the top five and Junior finished 25... He's on his way out...right? Enjoy these great shots from the Pepsi 500 and we'll talk to you next week!!

Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge, and Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M/Scotch Blue Ford, crash on the front stretch during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday in Fontana, Calif. Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, slide by in the background. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Audrina Patridge, star of MTV's "The Hills," prepares to wave the green flag to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday in Fontana, Calif. (Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday in Fontana, Calif. Johnson is the first driver to win four NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Auto Club Speedway and the first to win the track's fall race in three consecutive seasons. (Photo Credit: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Turns 50

October 4, 2009 - Kansas Speedway

In his best race of the 2009 season Dale Jr was rewarded with a DNF extending his winless streak to 50 races. This is Junior's 2nd longest winless drought, which started after he ended his longest losing streak of 76 races. After leading his first laps since August and the most this season (41) Earnhardt's pit left a lug nut loose causing the 88 to be black flagged when Jr refused to come back in to get it tightened.

That put Jr down a lap and then he got caught on pit road during a caution and lost another - just a typical day for Jr after the early excitement for Jr Nation.

Tony Stewart cruised to his 4th victory this season after taking 2 tires on what would be the last caution of the race, which just happened to be caused by the #88 car. The quick decision by the Stewart camp got him the win and moved him to 4th in the Chase standings. "He asked me what I thought, I kind of put my vote in, and he said it was exactly what he was thinking," Stewart said. "It made me feel good that we both agreed on the same thing that quick. It was like, to both of us, it wasn't even an option. We pretty much knew what we both needed."

It's starting to sound like a broken record but Team Hendrick dominated with all Jr's teammates finishing in the top 10 as Mark Martin finished 7th to keep him at the top of the standings. Gordon challenged all day and was chasing down Stewart in the closing laps but just ran out of time and finished 2nd. Stewart said he saw Gordon coming fast in his rearview mirror. "He was getting bigger...the big thing was not to drive the tires off. We had a little left, but we didn't leave too much out there."

Gordon, who had a poor handling car at the start of the race was happy with the final outcome...that is until a NASCAR official let him know he gained only one spot in the standings (7th). "That's it? Can't you read it different? Just tell me I'm fifth," he said, however, he still cut his deficit from 122 points to 103.

For Earnhardt, it was just another disappointment in a string of 50 disappointing races, in which he's seen his teammates consistently run up front and win races. With the rumors of an early Earnhardt departure heating up, Dale Jr was hoping to quite them this weekend but ended up just stirring the pot.

"Kasey would be a great fit for Hendrick, he's young, runs hard, has a growing fan base and knows how to win races...I'm not saying it's a done deal but I know first hand there has been talks." said Shaun Corky of Enumclaw, Washington.

It seems Earnhardt Jr can see the writing on the wall as talks heat up between Earnhardt and Danica Patrick.

It's going to be an interesting off season.

Did Earnhardt Race Today in Dover?

September 27, 2009 - Dover, Delaware

Joey Lagano flips several times at Dover

As the second race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup had spills and chills and an uneventful finish, one thing stayed the same: Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 20th. While his Hendrick racing team mates all finished in the top ten (including Jimmie Johnson with the win and Mark Martin 2nd), Earnhardt qualified 24th and never made an impact in moving up four spots by the finish.

The most exciting part of Junior's AAA 400 was when in the latter stages of the race he received the "Lucky Dog" on a caution flag and was put back onto the lead lap. He complained about handling a lot of the day and never factored in any way. It looked like Junior was going through the motions and the fans in the stands saw it that way too.

"We try to support Junior, but it almost seems like he's not trying." said Rod Noster of Bangor, Maine. "He's with Hendrick, so you know he's got the car. He doesn't seem to care anymore."

Maybe he doesn't have the drive (pardon the pun).

"My dad says Junior doesn't like being the last man on the totem pole." said Amanda Childs, age 11 of Dover, referring to his standing with Hendrick Motorsports.

Great point.

Matt Kenseth finished 3rd at Dover, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya and Kurt Busch. Jeff Gordon was 6th.

The most dramatic episode in today's race was when rookie driver, Joey Logano "checked up" in lap 23 and Tony Stewart tapped him from behind causing Logano to spin down the track and then back up to the top where he was broadsided by Reed Sorenson, and sent into 11 broadside rolls before coming to a stop on all four wheels. Logano got out of the car shaken, but without a scratch. We'll see how he reacts in future races.

Logano wasn't sure why the cars in front of him "checked up". Was that number 88 up there?

Over88ted.com wonders if, with Kasey Kahne reportedly unhappy working in the Petty circle, if maybe there will be movement towards getting him on board the Hendrick train. There is no way Rick Hendrick is happy with what he's getting from Earnhardt (Hendrick doesn't get any of Junior's commercial cash). Don't you think Khane would be a better fit with Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne is young, hungry and he can win. Junior has spent the past two seasons showing NASCAR why he is America's most over rated athlete.

A recent poll by over88ted.com asked "How do you like the C.O.T?" and it's obvious NASCAR fans think it's hurting the sport as over 52% think it "Sucks" and over 27% think it's just "OK". See complete results here

Earnhardt Jr. Wrecks.... Again!

September 20, 2009 - New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Mark Martin wins the first chase race in 2009

Dale Earnhardt Jr. hung with the big boys in the Chase for the Cup all afternoon proving that when the pressure is off he is a much better driver. Being the only Hendrick Motorsports driver not qualified for The Chase seemed to give Junior the peace of mind he needed to contend today in the Sylvania 300. Then he remembered he doesn't belong with the big boys in The Chase and he put his car into the wall with 18 laps remaining in the 300 lap race.

A pouty and grumpy Earnhardt blamed his wreck on David Reuitimann, "There's some guys you can run side by side with and some you can't. I forgot he couldn't hold his line. I guess David ran out of talent out there."

It should be noted that Reutimann is 5 spots ahead of Earrnhardt in the points standings.

Of course, replays showed that Junior was drifting down the track as Reutimann came up it as he avoided a collision on the track below him. The crash was 50/50 but the only thing more rare then an Earnhardt Jr. win, is Earnhardt Jr. taking responsibility for his lack of skill. This is Junior's third DNF of the season and according too him none of them are his fault. It must be all coincidence.

"Junior makes mistakes and crashes and it always seems he crashes towards the end of the race when it gets hot out there." said a garage insider. "I don't think he handles pressure well."

One man who does handle pressure well is Earnhardt's team mate, Mark Martin who came away with the win and an early lead in The Chase points standings. He was pushed hard by Denny Hamlin and Juan Pablo Montoya, who appears closer each week to picking up his first NASCAR win on an oval. Another Earnhardt stable mate and defending champ, Jimmie Johnson finished in fourth followed by Kyle Busch.

With nine races left in the season, over88ted.com predicts that Junior will contend in almost every race, but will win zero and go into next season one temper tantrum away from losing his ride at Hendrick to a driver that can win.

A recent poll by over88ted.com asked "I think over88ted.com is?" and it's clear - people like what we're doing here and enjoy the weekly choke reports - 88% vs. 12%. See complete results here

Earnhardt Jr. Could Make The Chase!

August 22, 2009 - Bristol, TN

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished in 9th place after starting 27th in last night's Sharpie 500 at the historic Bristol half mile and in doing so put himself in position to make The Chase... Not the Chase for the Sprint Cup (of course), but rumor has it around the garage area that Junior may be invited to the famed Greased Pig Chase at East Lincoln Speedway in Stanley, NC.

Charlie Hodges of Durham, NC won the last chase on July 18th when he corralled Harley the four year old swine in 17 seconds and immediately called Junior out, "Since Junior can't get a win in Sprint Cup, maybe he outta try his luck down here. Ain't no crew to blame if he loses though." Miss USA NASCAR

The invitation to the Greased Pig Chase would be a welcome honor for Earnhardt who has gone winless in NASCAR's premiere division over the past 44 races and is the only member of Hendrick Motorsports "superteam" with no chance to make the chase for the Sprint Cup. With an appearance in Stanley Earnhardt will at least be able to notch one post season accolade to his disappointing resume.

"Pig chasin' is a fast sport and it's you and the pig with the whole world watchin'." Said Hodges during a phone interview recently. "It's a lot of pressure out there in the spotlight. Junior has shown he can't handle the spotlight. Ain't nowhere to run in the pig ring, man."

Junior was unavailable for comment.

The man who Earnhardt replaced at Hendrick, Kyle Busch took home the win at Bristol for his fourth victory of the year. In doing so he moved into 13th in the standings and has a ton of momentum with two races to go. In a duel to the wire with the venerable Mark Martin, Busch showed emphatically his is still a contender this season.

In a recent poll by over88ted.com 37% of our readers said that Busch would NOT qualify for the chase... stay tuned. See complete results here

The Streak Continues! Junior loses again!

August 16, 2009 - Brooklyn, MI

When Brian Vickers crossed the finish line with his first win of the season Sunday at the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway "Junior Nation" didn't know whether to cheer or shake their collective heads. For the 43rd race in a row Dale Earnhardt Jr. (NASCAR's most over rated driver) could not pull out a win and the throng wearing the #88 team colors seemed almost happy. The reason: Junior finished in third place!

For only the second time this season Earnhardt finished in the top five and for his fans, it must have felt like victory but for the #88 team, while the finish was encouraging on some level it wasn't a win (no surprise) and they are still the only member of the Hendrick Motorsports Team that is winless this year.

“Well, I don’t want to get too excited,” said Earnhardt, who won his last NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan in June 2008 on fuel mileage thanks mostly to a great call by former crew chief, Tony Eury Jr.. “You want to be up front every week like this. You want to be there the whole race. You don’t want to just come up there through the last 50 laps and surprise everybody.

“But we’re working really hard. I’ve never worked so hard to run third. I’ve won races working a whole lot easier than this (not many). But it’s competitive with this car, and there’s not really a real edge for anyone right now.”

Junior was referring to the fact that he spent most of the day languishing in his usual 20-25th position, but pit strategy put him in position to win when many of the leaders had to slow their pace to conserve fuel. The most affected by this was Junior's Hendrick team mate Jimmie Johnson who fell short on fuel after leading most of the race and finished 33rd.

“We’re getting better as a team. It’s just really, really hard to be patient and be mindful and respectful of everybody and hold your tongue every once in a while." Said Junior.

We're not sure what who or what Junior was referring to with those comments but it seems he's intimating that he has more issues with his team and his car. Perhaps he should take a good hard look in the mirror before he worries about holding his tongue because according to our sources there are plenty of people in the garage area that believe the troubles the #88 squad have fall firmly on the shoulders of the driver. With the resources Earnhardt's team have at their disposal they have no excuses (although Tony Eury Jr. might have something to say about that.

Jeff Gordon finished 2nd in the race after gambling on his fuel mileage while Carl Edwards finished fourth and Sam Hornish Jr. finished fifth.

“I really felt confident we were going to make it, even though (crew chief) Steve (Letarte) told me we were four (laps) short when we left pit road that last pit stop,” said Gordon, who passed Johnson (33rd Sunday) for second in the standings. “I shut the engine off so much. I felt like I got us six laps. At least with the caution, I felt like I did. Felt pretty confident I didn't have to conserve a whole lot. Junior was pressuring me a lot at the end. I was waiting, to see if the 48 (Johnson) and 83 (Vickers) ran out. One did, one didn't.”

A recent poll by over88ted.com asked "Who is the best rookie driver?" and Brad Keslowski edged out Joey Logano with 48% vs. 46% for Logano. See complete results here

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Causes Wreck, Doesn't Finish.

August 10, 2009 - Watkins Glen, NY

Dale Earnhardt Jr. cut a corner, lost control, barreled into Reed Sorenson, shot across the gravel and slammed head-on into the wall today at Watkins Glen International Raceway. He knocked himself out of the famed Sprint Cup road race and put Sorenson a lap down without even reaching the halfway point in the race. He later returned 28 laps behind the leaders and finished in 39th position in the race that was delayed for a day by rain. This was the second Sprint Cup race in a row to be delayed.

Earnhardt was running 24th when he caused the wreck that brought out the third caution of the race. He'd started in the 31st position and had effectively moved up before his miscue.

"Every week it's something else!" said a source from pit road. "You give Junior a fast car he wrecks it. You give him a slow car he gets penalized in the pits. Maybe he should go down and get some laps in Nationwide!"

Sprint Cup Points leader, Tony Stewart picked up his third win of the season by holding off a hard charge by Marcos Ambrose whose followed in the top five by Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle. This was Stewart's fifth victory at Watkins Glen and virtually locked him into the top position heading into the last four races before the Chase for the Sprint Cup. It is the opposite of Earnhardt's brutal season which is only getting worse. He was again the fourth of the four Hendrick Motorsports cars in finishing order.

Sprint Cup returns to Michigan next week and that must be good news for Junior, as it is the last place he won a race over a year ago (with the help of his former crew chief, Tony Eury Jr.).

A recent poll by over88ted.com asked "How many top ten finishes will Dale Earnhardt Jr. have the rest of this season?" Not surprisingly nearly 48% answered Zero. See complete results here

Earnhardt Jr. Finishes 28th at Pocono

August 3rd, 2009 - Long Pond, PA

Dale Earnhardt Jr. hung around and hung around before falling in the last ten laps and ultimately finishing 28th in the Pennsylvania 500 today at Pocono Raceway.

Earnhardt started the race in in the 22nd slot and spent the entire race jockeying through the mid twenty positions before his team took a risk on a "fuel only" pit stop with 38 laps to go. That move bumped junior into the top five and he actually hung around the top ten until lap 190. That's when he pulled a "Junior" and slammed his number 88 into the wall, ending his hopes for respectability.

As Earnhardt raced around Pocono in the rarified air (for him) of the top ten you knew he would do something to mess up his chances and of course, he did and dropped like a rock. Again, Junior was the Hendrick driver that finished furthest back for the "Superteam" even though Jimmie Johnson struggled with engine problems all day and fell to three laps back before making a miraculous run and finishing 13th.

Junior is the only Hendrick Motorsports driver that is not in the running for the Chase to the Sprint Cup and with just fifteen races left in the season the Amp Energy #88 team has more questions than answers. Obviously the firing of Tony Eury Jr. hasn't made a difference (surprised?) as the team has dropped even farther in the Sprint Cup points standings to 23rd. For those of you paying attention, that's the bottom half of the standings. With great sponsorship, unlimited resources and a new crew chief there is only one place to lay blame: The driver.

The were more Junior Sucks t-shirts littering the crowd then at any race this season today and they got to see a terrific race with Denny Hamlin holding off emerging Juan Pablo Montoya for the win with Clint Bowyer, Sam Hornish Jr.a and Kasey Kahne rounding out the top five. Hamlin was very emotional after the win acknowledging that his grandmother had passed away this past week.

Sprint Cup moves to the Watkins Glen road course next week so it should be interesting to see what adjustments the #88 team makes in an effort to crack the top twenty.

A recent poll by over88ted.com asked "Do you like the double-file restart" It was our most lopsided poll ever - over 91% of race-fans like it. See complete results here

Earnhardt Jr. Fries Engine, Loses Again

July 26th, 2009 - Indianapolis Indiana - "I think it's something I did."

With those words Dale Earnhardt Jr. slowly drove his steaming, dripping #88 Amp Energy of of the hallowed track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this afternoon at the Brickyard 400. With just 33 laps to go and firmly entrenched in the top ten Junior apparently over revved his engine and broke a valve after a pit stop and ended effectively his day. It was an expected result in as his nightmare season continued and he finished 36th while his Hendrick Motorsports team mates Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon finished first, second and ninth. Sprint Cup points leader Tony Stewart finished third while Greg Biffle and Brian Vickers rounded out the top five.

Earnhardt qualified third to start the race but after the first lap he drifted backwards (as usual) and hovered around the eighth position for the day. Driving a new car, built by new crew chief Lance McGrew the much maligned team needed something good to happen and appeared to have that something going with the new car. But it was not to be at Indy. Unfortunately for the #88 squad they still had to count on their driver to do his part and he didn't pull through.... Again. It was however, refreshing to see him step up and take responsibility for his mess up. While he has messed up a lot this season it's been rare to hear him take responsibility (see Tony Eury Jr.).

In a recent poll take by over88ted.com 42% of voters felt that in 2010 the best move for Junior to make might be taking a year off to do some soul searching while just 19% felt he should stay with Hendrick. Speculation is that Mr. Hendrick must be feeling that way too. Junior will be the only driver on the "Super Team" not to make the Chase for the Cup and will probably be the only driver not to win a race. The newest member of Hendrick Motorsports, the venerable Martin has won four races this season and at age 50 is making Junior look like the over the hill driver. Johnson and Gordon are consistent as ever this season and you have to wonder what the relationships are like on the team.

"There is definitely tension in the garage," said a source. "Losing week after week does that and when everyone on the team knows that the problem is the driver, well..."

Junior is such an important brand for NASCAR that he has been beyond reproach for a long time, but the clock is ticking. Eventually the excuses will end and Hendrick will get another Super Driver for his Super Team. Greg Biffle anyone? Kasey Khane?

While the crowd at The Brickyard was peppered with 'Junior Sucks' t-shirts (available on this website) the fans still love him and they still buy lots of his gear, but realization is taking hold and expectations have dwindled. Bob Michan of Evensville Indiana said, "We don't miss this race and my whole family are Junior fans. We love him, but we don't expect him to win races anymore. We just think he's a good guy but not a great racer."

Hendrick 7...Earnhardt Jr. 0

July 11th, 2009 - Chicagoland Speedway, IL

Mark Martin cruised to his 4th victory of the season and brought Team Hendrick it's seventh top finish this season...however, none have come from the struggling 88 team. In a yawner where Jr Nation had nothing to cheer about Dale Jr cruised mid-pack, never challenged and scored only a small victory by leaving with the 88 car in one piece.

It looked like Martin was going to have an easy finish with the laps winding down and Jeff Gordon (with fresher tires) several seconds behind but oil from Kyle Busch's blown engine brought out the seventh caution on Lap 261, setting up a double-file restart with two laps left. Mark Martin opted for the outside lane with Gordon beside him to the inside and Martin got an excellent jump when the green flag waved and pulled away for the win.

Junior started the race thirteenth and never did much to challenge, the only excitement came when Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Chevrolet cut the left rear tire of Paul Menard's Ford on Lap 227 of 267, causing a multicar wreck in the tri-oval that eliminated the cars of Jeff Burton and Scott Speed...Jr. lost two spots and finished fifteenth when the checkered flag waved for his teammate Mark Martin. "That was fun," Martin exulted after climbing from his car. "That's what life's all about right there. These guys (Martin's No. 5 Chevrolet crew) deserved to win. We could have parked the car (Friday) with an hour left in practice. I knew it was awesome.

Jeff Gordon finished 2nd "What an incredible call Steve (Letarte) made," said Gordon, who is second in the Cup standings, 175 points behind Stewart. "And the whole pit crew that did a fantastic job getting us off pit road with four tires. Then it was just a battle, maneuvering through traffic, cars slipping and sliding all over the place.

How much longer can Rick Hendrick overlook the failures of Dale Jr? Well, if his teammates continue to win regularly probably not much longer. The T-shirts, hats, stickers and other merchandising is starting to slow and that in itself has blurred a lot of poor finishes, however, change is coming...and Jr Nation may be lonely on race day.

A recent poll by over88ted.com asked "What should Dale Earnhardt Jr. do in 2010?" The clear winner was "Take a year off and do some soul searching" with over 43% of the votes...the next closest was "Go into broadcasting" with 25% - how scary is that!? See complete results here

Earnhardt Jr. Wrecks at Daytona

July 4th, 2009 - Daytona Beach, FL

dale earnhardt wrecks at daytona july 4th

When the smoke cleared after the multi car pile up on lap 78 at the Coke Zero 400 last night, eight cars were damaged and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was out of the race. He'd been running in the 25th position at the time he got smashed into the wall hard enough to render the #88 helpless, but his race to that point had already been hopeless.

Junior started nineteenth when the green flag dropped to start the race and proceeded to pick the wrong line, dropping like a dead squirrel in a mud bog to 33rd. He then languished between 20th and 28th until he was mercilessly put out of his misery on lap 78. He finished officially 38th.

The next 81 + laps went by without incident as Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson led the field through the high banks of America's favorite track on 4th of July. The last lap was a different story however. Stewart was passed by Busch and for w second it looked like the race might be over, but the former Sprint Cup champion was not to be denied and tailed his former Gibbs team mate into the final turn he made a move to pass high, but Busch cut him off, he dipped low and Busch slammed the door again, but when Stewart immediately moved up the track Busch adjusted too late and slid into the fender of Stewart causing his #18 to spin violently into the wall where he momentarily lost contact with the track before Kasey Kahne slammed into his rear end. Just when it looked to be over, rookie Joey Logano t-boned Busch on the drivers side sending debris in all directions. Busch, amazingly walked away unscathed but was unavailable for comment.

While the field was in chaos behind him, Stewart gliding across the line for his second victory of the year.

"That's not the way I wanted to win it," said Stewart, tempering his celebration. "Kyle helped us out all day and to see him wreck like that at the end makes it hard."

kyle busch wrecked by tony stewart at daytona july 4th

kyle busch wrecked by tony stewart at daytona july 4th

Meanwhile Earnhardt Jr. continued to separate himself from the Sprint Cup Chase by dropping to 21st in points. He now sits behind Logano, the rookie.

Before the race Kenny Wallace implored Junior on national television to "please win one, because we need you to save our sport". He compared Earnhardt to Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan.... Please.... The only thing Earnhardt has in common with Woods and Jordan is his tax bracket. There is a difference between being NASCAR's most popular driver and NASCAR's most important driver.

One word describes Woods and Jordan: Clutch. They get it done time and again with pressure on. Ice runs in their veins and they are champions.

If Woods and Jordon are clutch, then what is Junior? Fried clutch? Junior has zero championships and can't seem to get out of his way. He has shown that when the pressure is on he misses his pits, causes a crash or puts his car into the wall.

While 'Junior Nation' loves their guy, the growing majority of fans are cooling to the Earnhardt hype and recognizing the skill level of NASCAR's top drivers. Drivers like Johnson, Stewart, Edwards and Busch. Jeff Gordon and Earnhardt might as well be from different planets when you talk about NASCAR's most important drivers.

The point is, while Junior is always an interesting topic and a lot of people love him, to compare him to virtual gods of sport is just silly and Wallace needs to get real. So does Junior. He should start thinking about 2010.

A recent poll by over88ted.com asked "Which reality TV show would you most like to see Dale Earnhardt Jr appear on?" The overwhelming winner was "I Survived a Japanese game show" with over 40% of the votes...the next closest was "I'm a celebrity get me out of here" with 24% See complete results here

The Streak Continues, Earnhardt Jr. Loses in Loudon!

June 28, 2009 - Loudon, NH

Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran in the top ten all day long and even flirted with the top five yesterday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, then the rains came and so did the inevitable loss. Earnhardt finished thirteenth when the race was cut short after 273 laps while the field was cycling through green flag pit stops. Junior and his #88 team chose to pit with the leaders on lap 151 and that opened the door for rookie driver, Joey Logano to sneak into his first Sprint Cup victory.

In a race marred by caution flags and an eight care pile-up Earnhardt actually finished one spot ahead of Hendrick Motorsports team mate, Mark Martin. That's two races in a row where he wasn't the lowest finishing Hendrick car, but it the thirteenth place finish was only enough to move Junior up one spot, to nineteenth in Sprint Cup points. With nine races remaining the chances of Earnhardt making the chase are infinite.

"Junior knows it's over," said one veteran crew member. "He's known it most of the year and so has his crew. No one over there is happy."
A crowd of over 100,000 watched as Jeff Gordon finished second after running up front all afternoon, and Kurt Busch was next. They were followed by David Reutimann, Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Sam Hornish Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne.

A recent poll by over88ted.com asked "What do you hate more?" The overwhelming winner was Dale Earnhardt Jr's excuses with 60% of the votes...the next closest was FOX's Digger with 35% See complete results here

Its Official: Dale Earnhardt's Season Is Over!

June 21, 2009 - Sonoma, California

Short tracks, mile and a half tracks, super speedway's and now a road coarse. It doesn't seem to matter what the length, shape or surface, the number 88 Chevrolet team can't seem to get it together. It doesn't matter who the crew chief is, the spotter is, or the guy that brings the water on that long stick. All that matters is who the driver is and it's Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Yesterday at Infineon he hung around and hung around (actually creeping into the top ten for a minute and a huge change of pace) but with ten laps left in the Toyota/Savemart 350 somehow Junior found a way to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and was wiped out, dropping to the back of the field where he eventually finished in 26th.

So, at this time over88ted.com would like to officially declare Dale Earnhardt Jr's season - over. Let's face it, mathematically he can still make The Chase, but the reality is, that at 277 points out of 12th place in the standings (and the last spot in the Sprint Cup chase) there are just too many better drivers ahead of him to get there and only ten races to get it done.

Junior is headed in the wrong direction.

Earnhardt makes too many errors on the track and too many mental mistakes in the pits. He gets nailed for speeding on pit row or misses his pit box. He makes poor judgments on the race track and costs his team points. Junior is the only Hendrick team member not in the top twelve and he's the only Hendrick driver not to win a race this year. He does however, lead the team in endorsements and TV commercials. NASCAR's most popular driver isn't going to be at the big party this year and we wouldn't be surprised to see him struggle to make the cup for the rest of his career.

With all the lights turned towards him, Junior is wilting under the pressure and according to our overrated poll last week 60% of race fans are more sick of his excuses then they are Fox's irritating cartoon rat, Digger. That is saying something.

The rest of the field put on a great race yesterday with Enumclaw, Washington's Kasey Khane picking up his first victory of the season and on a road course followed by points leader Tony Stewart, Marcose Ambrose, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin.

The season is really heating up, but its over for number 88. No wins in over a year and no chase this year.

It's Officially One Year Since Earnhardt Jr. Won a Race!

June 14, 2009 - Brooklyn, Mich

One year has gone by so quickly. Like the blink of an eye, thirty-six Sprint Cup races have passed and in that time Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn't crossed the finish line in first place at the end of a race. A year ago, Junior had just broken his 76 race losing streak, was on top of the Sprint Cup points and was Rick Hendrick's new golden boy. How times have changed. Let's look back for a moment on everything that has changed over the past year:

• Barack Obama is president
• The economy crashed
• Mark Martin won two races for Hendrick
• GM filed for bankruptcy
• Tampa Bay Played in the World Series
• A-Rod did steroids
• Tony Stewart left Gibbs Racing
• Junior fired Tony Eury Jr.
• A new Terminator movie came out

Well, you get the idea.

After yesterday's fourteenth place finish at the Lifelock 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Junior sits at number eighteen in Sprint Cup points and has one victory in his last 113 races. That means Earnhardt Jr. wins in .0088% of races he enters. That is ugly. With his new crew chief in place Junior's average finish is 15th and he has shown a consistent pattern of qualifying between 12th and 25th, driving up to the top ten and then fading towards the middle of the pack. After one victory in 113 races you have to say that these poor performances aren't an apparition. What you see is what you get. An average driver at best.

While Hendrick team mate Mark Martin rolled to his 2nd victory of the season, Earnhardt's other two Hendrick team mates made their mark on the race. Jeff Gordon finished second but Jimmie Johnson fell to 22nd after leading the race and then running out of fuel on the next to last lap.

With Johnson out of the way it looked like Washington State native Greg Biffle seemingly had the race won, then he fell short on fuel mileage with less then a lap remaining and Martin and Gordon blew by him. Denny Hamlin finished third followed by Carl Edwards and Biffle coasted into a fifth place finish. Points leader Tony Stewart finished in second place.

Earnhardt Jr. remains the only Hendrick Motorsports driver out of the Sprint Cup Points top twelve (-255 from the final spot).

A recent poll by over88ted.com asked "Who should Hendrick replace Dale Jr with?" The overwhelming winner was Brad Keslowski who received 40% of the votes...the next closest was David Reutimann with 16% See complete results here

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Continues to Fade in Pocono

June 7, 2009 - Pocono, PA

tony stewart wins first owner driver race

Dale Earnhardt Jr. started today's Pocono 500 in the 18th position riding high from his 12th place finish last week and proceeded to go backwards finishing 27th in the 200 lap race and dropping to 20th in Sprint Cup point standings.

From the outset Earnhardt complained about not being able to handle the car at one point muttering over the radio, "This thing's all over the place, man. I can barely keep on on the track"

Of course these are the same refrains we were hearing before Junior made the change in crew chief's two weeks ago and the same complaints we'll hear every race all season long from him. To give Junior a little credit, all the drivers talk about their cars to their teams to let them know if their 200 mph rockets are tight or loose and reporting other mechanical issues.. Rarely does a driver say, "It's perfect," but when you blame your teams struggles on the crew chief you are basically saying "we can't get the car right."

At some point you have to look at the driver.

Unfortunately the #88 team can't put someone else behind the wheel so the losses will continue to mount this summer. You have to wonder whether Rick Hendrick (owner of Hendrick Motorsports) is starting to second guess his decision to work with Earnhardt Jr. Junior is clearly the least talented driver on the Hendrick team and regularly finishes behind his teammates. The success of Kyle Busch (formerly of the Hendrick team) and the addition of the venerable Mark Martin has put the magnifying glass on Earnhardt and he's wilting under the pressure.

Hendrick Motorsports expects wins, top tens and cup points and with his 27th place finish Junior has all but guaranteed that the #88 team will miss the Sprint Cup chase for the second time in three years. At least they sell a lot of gear...

Many speculate whether the team would be better off if they dumped the #88 team after 2009 and brought in a promising young driver like Brad Keslowski or Scott Speed and let them learn from the champions on the Hendrick Motorsports team. Rumors around the garage area are that Junior rarely even speaks with Martin, Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon. He should, he could use the help.

While Junior was doing what he does today Tony Stewart got his first cup win with his new #14 team, starting from the 43rd spot and grinding his way through the entire field. Carl Edwards, David Reutimann, Gordon and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five.

There was major speculation on the last three laps as many of the leaders would run out of fuel, but somehow Stewart conserved his and crossed the start/finish line in victory.
“Breathe easy, boys, we’re gonna make it,” Stewart radioed to his crew as he rolled through the final corner. “God, I’m proud of you guys. You make me look like a genius in here.”

“We didn’t tell you how to save gas,” crew chief Darian Grubb retorted.

Stewart did that on his own, and he did so masterfully. He took the No. 14 car number to Victory Lane in a Cup race for the first time since Dec. 8, 1968, in Montgomery, Ala., when Bobby Allison beat Richard Petty to the finish line by four feet. Not that the No. 14 has run all of them, but the Pocono 500 was the 1,329th Cup race since Allison’s win.

The win was Stewart’s 34th in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series and his first since acquiring an ownership interest in Stewart-Haas Racing before the 2009 season. This is the first Cup win by an owner/driver since Ricky Rudd won at Martinsville on Sept. 27, 1998.

A recent poll by over88ted.com showed 57% of race fans agreed with Eury Jr's firing. See complete results here

New Crew Chief, Same Junior

May 31, 2009 - Dover

After a tumultuous week highlighted by the firing of crew chief Tony Eury Jr. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the #88 team was ready for a fresh start. They got a new beginning, but the end result was the same: a finish outside the top ten.

Junior coasted across the start/finish line at the Monster Mile in Dover to finish in 12th place in the Autism Speaks 400 and nearly 20 seconds behind his team mate and race winner Jimmie Johnson.

``We've got to do this a lot,'' Earnhardt said. ``I don't want to give ourselves any credit yet until we can perform at this level more consistently but I'm really proud of my guys today.''

Everyone involved with the #88 team and Hendrick Motorsports tried to put a positive spin on the 12th place finish and the way new crew chief, Lance McGrew called the race but the reality is that when a Hendrick Motorsports team is happy finishing out of the top ten it shows just how far that team has fallen.

One Earnhardt crew member was almost giddy following the race, "Man, that felt good. We're on the way back!"

Back? From where? It's been almost a full calendar year since Earnhardt won a race (due to a great call by Eury Jr.) and that's the only race he's won over the past three seasons. Making the crew chief change won't hide the defects in the driving ability of Junior and as this season plays out that fact will become more and more evident.

``One of the things I liked about Lance is I felt like I was in the pit box with him all day, and I felt like he was riding with me all day,'' Earnhardt said. ``That was a good feeling. Hopefully we can keep that up.''

Listening to the exchanges over the radio you could tell Earnhardt and McGrew you could hear the effort's to communicate and maybe that's what Junior needs, but at the end of the day unless Earnhardt starts landing in the top ten with regularity and maybe wins a race eventually McGrew will just be another victim of Junior's on-track ineptness.

Meanwhile Johnson had the best car on the track today and passed Tony Stewart with two laps remaining in a thriller.

``We just couldn't hold off Jimmie,'' Stewart said. ``He was like a freight train coming. I don't know how it gets much more exciting then that''

With his second place finish Stewart took over the Sprint Cup points lead.

Stewart was followed in the race by Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch and of course Junior in 12th. Woo Hoo!

We have a winner! In a nail-bitter Poll on over88ted.com our visitors determined that Jeff Gordon has the Hottest NASCAR Driver wife (although, the picture we used may have influenced votes). With our closest results yet, Gordon's wife beat out Allmendinger's with a vote of 52.9% to 47.1%. See all the poll results here.

No More Excuses. Eury Out As #88 Crew Chief!

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — As predicted by over88ted.com, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has fired his crew chief Tony Eury Jr. Eury Jr. was removed as crew chief of Earnhardt's No. 88 team Thursday. The two are cousins and have worked together during Earnhardt's entire career.

``It seemed the harder we pushed, the more it unraveled,'' team owner Rick Hendrick told The Associated Press. ``We need a new reason to get up and go to the track each morning, and the chemistry had broken down between them to the point where we just needed a fresh start.''

The pair left Dale Earnhardt Inc. last season to drive for Hendrick Motorsports. But despite driving for NASCAR's top team they have one win in 48 races with Hendrick and are 19th in points. They hit rock bottom with Monday's 40th-place finish at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Team manager Brian Whitesell will be the crew chief this weekend. Lance McGrew will take over in two weeks on an interim basis as Hendrick decides on a long-term plan for NASCAR's most popular driver.

After Monday's rain-shortened race, Hendrick's commitment to the pair had clearly waned following months of steadfast support.

``I kept waiting for the break, kept waiting for something positive to happen,'' Hendrick said. ``Monday sure didn't help. I was talking to our guys and I just said, 'It's time, we've just got to do it.'''

Unfortunately, Hendrick can't afford to fire Earnhardt, the vastly over rated driver that is very popular, but a consistently poor performer on the track. He had to do something so now Earnhardt has no excuses and no place to hide.

The world gets to see just how bad he can be.

Earnhardt and Eury spent Tuesday and Wednesday testing on the road course at Virginia International Raceway. Hendrick told them he was splitting the two when they returned Wednesday evening. He said they needed time to adjust to the split.

``I don't know that they were 100 percent, but by this morning, both of them said they were good,'' Hendrick said. ``I don't think they felt good when I told them, but I think they'll feel better as the days go on.''

Although they opened their first season at Hendrick by winning the exhibition Budweiser Shootout and a Daytona 500 qualifying race, Earnhardt didn't win a points race until the 15th event of the year. That was at Michigan, his only victory all season.

Still, consistency put him at the top of the title contenders when the Chase for the championship began. But Eury and Earnhardt moved away from what got them into the Chase and finished last in the 12-driver field.

This year, Earnhardt opened with two pit-road mistakes in the Daytona 500 that put him in position to later trigger a nine-car accident. The pit-road errors have plagued him most of the season, but the poor showings have spilled onto the track as well.

But what would you expect from NASCAR's most over rated driver. See more breaking news here

Earnhardt Finishes 40th!

May 26, 2009 - Concord N.C.

The Coca Cola 600 finally ended yesterday nearly a full day after it was supposed to start and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished in 40th place. David Reutimann was proclaimed the winner bringing the deluged and never-ending weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway to a merciful end.

The race was scheduled for 400 laps, but due to the horrible, soggy holiday weather and endless rain delays it became clear that the full race wouldn't be run.

Junior was never a factor in the race as he hasn't been a factor in nearly four years. He complained from the first lap about the handling of the #88 and fell behind by two laps and was unavailable for comment after the race. He stands at 19th in the Sprint Cup standings as we approach the half way point in the season.

The Dover race is next and Earnhardt Jr. is expected to finish in the bottom third... again.

Sitting under her Amp Energy 88 umbrella, Suzy Schultz of Rock Creek N.C. said, "It doesn't look like Junior's gonna be in the chase this year. It just gets worse every week."

The top three finishers yesterday--Reutimann, pole sitter Ryan Newman and Robby Gordon--remained on the track when NASCAR threw the sixth caution of the race on Lap 221 after a shower hit Turn 2. Six laps later, the race was red-flagged for the fourth time. Carl Edwards and Brian Vickers, who each took two tires under yellow on lap 222, finished fourth and fifth.

“It certainly wasn’t the prettiest win,” said Reutimann, who won the race with his father, renowned short-track racer Buzzie Reutimann, in attendance. “Rodney Childers made a great call and told me to stay out.

“When you envision winning your first Sprint Cup race, this is not exactly the way you envision it. But these things are so hard to win, we’ll take it any way we can get it. … It’s fun, but I felt like I was down on pit road for a month (waiting for NASCAR to call the race).”

Reutimann gained two positions to 13th in the standings, trailing 12th-place Mark Martin by six points.

“Obviously, their crew chief made an awesome call,” an elated Michael Waltrip said of the No. 00 Toyota team’s effort. “David and I have been in position to win races before, and fate took it away from us. So I look at this as payback.”

The man that Earnhardt replaced, Kyle Busch led a race-high 173 laps but was victimized by rain for the second straight NASCAR event. On Saturday night, he had the dominant car in the rain-shortened CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race, which Mike Bliss won by conserving fuel and staying out until a storm hit the speedway.

Busch passed Newman on Lap 3 and thereafter dominated the green-flag segments of the race, which were run between interruptions from intermittent thundershowers. Newman lost track position when he had to bring his No. 39 Chevrolet back to the pits to tighten a lug nut under a competition caution called on Lap 41.

A recent poll by over88ted.com showed that 34% of race fans believe Junior can stay at Hendrick as long as he wants, while the same number of fans (34%) believe this will be his last season with NASCAR's top team. See all the results here

Earnhardt Jr. Loses Focus, Race At Darlington

May 9, 2009 - Darlington S.C.

Under a full moon the Hendrick Motorsports race team dominated the Southern 500 tonight at the fabled Darlington Raceway. Four Hendrick drivers finished in the top ten, but none of them were Dale Earnhardt Jr. who started in the 26th position and finished 7 laps down in 27th after losing focus, drifting up the track, bumping Reed Sorenson and then spinning himself out of the race with 25 laps remaining.

Earnhardt teammates Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson finished 1st and second followed in 3rd and 4th by the upstart Stewart-Haas team of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman. Hendrick ace Jeff Gordon rounded out the top five and rookie Brad Keslowski, driving for Hendrick after his win two weeks ago a Talladega was solid throughout and came in 7th showing skill and maturity beyond his years.

The Lady in Black lived up to her name on this night when a record 17 caution flags where waved and surprisingly only one of those were caused by Earnhardt. He spent the bulk of the race at or around the 20th position, but staying on the lead lap although generally 15 to 20 seconds behind the leader. With 40 laps remaining Tony Eury Jr. gambled correctly and kept the #88 on the track while the leaders headed to pit road and Earnhardt re-started in 7th position. Unfortunately he spun his tires on the re-start and drifted back to 10th and then hit the wall with 38 laps to go, dropping back to 16th.

With 25 laps remaining Earnhardt finally made his usual BIG error when he unexplainably drifted into Sorenson and wiped out.

"It looked to all of us like he was frustrated and probably just lost focus for a second out there. You can't do that." Said a source in the garage.

"Maybe he was looking at the moon. It was super pretty." Said Katrina Hill of Atlanta who traveled to Darlington to see her hero. "I love Dale Jr. but it's getting so that every week he does something to screw it all up."

Earnhardt hasn't seen the winners side of the checkered flag in 32 straight races and is the only member of Hendrick Motorsports that has yet to win a race this season, That includes the rookie Keslowski (although his win at Talladega was not as a member of Hendrick Motorsports).

Earnhardt appears stuck in the 18th position in the Sprint Cup point standings and as the poor performances continue to mount so will the pressure on the #88 team and their over rated driver. Gordon, Johnson and Martin are all in the top 12 and Keslowski looks to be the real thing.

A recent poll by over88ted.com showed that 34% of race fans believe Junior can stay at Hendrick as long as he wants, while the same number of fans (34%) believe this will be his last season with NASCAR's top team. See all the results here

"Rick Hendrick wants wins and championships and if your don't give him that, you race for someone else. Ask Casey Mears." said a member of another Sprint Cup team. "Shoot, if Rick let Kyle Busch go, what do you think he thinks of what he's getting from Junior other then a guy that sells a lot of t-shirts? It's all about wins and #88 ain't winning."

Kyle Busch Still Owns Dale Earnhardt Jr.

May 3, 2009 - Richmond, Virginia

Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued his streak of mediocrity on Saturday night at Richmond International Speedway when he started the race on the one mile oval in the 25th position and finished in 27th behind winner Kyle Busch.

Earnhardt currently sits in 18th in the Sprint Cup point standings and after a flash of potential at Talladega last week he settled comfortably into his usual and expected showing last night although he actually finished higher then Hendrick team mate Jimmie Johnson for a change. Junior never led the race or challenged the top ten. It was a ho-hum performance for Junior Nation.

"It didn't seem like like he was in the race." said Kathy Kasper of Richmond as she tightened up her #88 windbreaker and walked forlornly from the grandstands.

The story of the night was Busch who swept the nationwide and Sprint Cup races this weekend and the victory Saturday night was his third cup win of the season.

Busch got to the finish line 2.751 seconds ahead of Tony Stewart who made a late pit stop for tires and worked his way up through the field in the final 50 laps. Jeff Burton survived a medley of wrecks to finish third. Ryan Newman came home fourth and Mark Martin fifth.

“I hope the team enjoys this as much as I do,” Busch said in victory lane. “It’s just amazing, man. It’s so cool. The car wasn’t perfect all night—it was good, but it wasn’t perfect. I knew that when we had practice (Friday). I kept telling (crew chief) Steve (Addington), ‘It doesn’t feel bad, but it’s not perfect.’

“Steve made the right call on when to pit and when to take four tires versus two tires or no tires or whatever, and it really paid off for us there at the end to be able to have that long run like that and not to have to deal with the 14 (Stewart) and the 31 (Burton). I knew they were coming.

Sam Hornish Jr., Jamie McMurray, Gordon, Casey Mears and Juan Pablo Montoya completed the top 10. Gordon pitted for the last time on Lap 274 and faded in the closing laps as his tires lost grip.

With Stewart finishing second and Newman fourth, fledgling Stewart-Haas Racing posted its best combined finish of the season.

“I’m not sure we had a second-place car, but we got there at the end,” Stewart said. “We were toward the back of the lead-lap cars, and we had a chance to come in and put four tires on it. The guys did a really good job all night in the pits. They really made us up a lot of spots.

“We had about 20 or 30 laps less on our tires than everybody else did, and that gave us an advantage.”

Virginia native Denny Hamlin, who finished 14th, surrendered control of the race during a pit stop under caution on Lap 274. Up to that point the No. 11 Camry had led 148 laps, but a lug nut problem on the right front dropped Hamlin from first to eighth for a restart on Lap 279.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and company just go back to the drawing board.

In further news: In a over88ted.com recent poll 73% of readers thought Junior's poor finish in Phoenix last week was completely his fault while 24% blamed it on Casey Mears, 10% blame Tony, 3% blame the tires and 1 % blame his crew.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. blows it at Talladega

April 26, 2009- Talladega

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a win for the first time in 29 races within his grasp with two laps left at the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Super Speedway today but made the error of riding the inside line on the coat tails of Ryan Newman and was a mere spectator as Carl Edwards and eventual race winner Brad Keslowski blew by on the high side (Jr's favorite line). In what was the most exciting race in years Edwards attempted to block Keslowski's pass on the inside but was late, made contact and his car went airborne at 200 mph, clipping the front of Ryan Newman's car and slamming upside down into the fan protection fencing where it disintegrated before sliding to a violent stop about 200 yards from the finish line.

Keslowski coasted across the stripe for the win followed in second by Earnhardt Jr. in his best finish of the year. Newman somehow rolled across in third with the windshield destroyed by the flying Edwards #99 seconds before.

There were four major crashes in the race and two of them took Earnhardt's team mates, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and mark Martin out of the race so Earnhardt was guaranteed to be the highest finisher for the team for the first time this season (and probably the last). Junior stayed towards the front for most of the race and led for twenty laps. He also only made one major driver error besides the decision to follow Newman on the last lap. On lap ninety-six Earnhardt attempted to pass below the yellow line and had to drop to the rear, but he had enough car to move to the front, keep his nose clean and stay in the race. Junior Nation was also encouraged by the fact that Earnhardt Jr. actually finished the race without missing his pit box as he's been prone to do all season and did again last night in the Nationwide race he found a way to lose.

"Gosh, he almost won. Did you see that"? hollered Rick Thomas of Birmingham as he packed his remaining thirty three cans of beer into his #88 cooler. "It's about time he got a top five, man! But when is he gonna win one?"

The talk in the pits after the race was of the incredible crash of Edwards and all of the drivers were relieved he was unscathed but not happy. "NASCAR keeps putting us in this box (referring to the yellow line rule) and they're gonna do it until someone gets killed."

"I thought he might have seen that gopher on the infield and crashed." said Junior to the confusion of press row.

In further news: In a over88ted.com recent poll 73% of readers thought Junior's poor finish in Phoenix last week was completely his fault while 24% blamed it on Casey Mears, 10% blame Tony, 3% blame the tires and 1 % blame his crew.

Earnhardt Jr. Wrecks and Blames Mears

April 19, 2009- Phoenix

On lap 300 of 312 the real Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally arrived when he spun himself out after colliding with former Hendrick team mate Casey Mears last night at the Sprint Cup Subway 500 in Phoenix. Earnhardt finished the race 31st while Mears finished 20th. Earnhardt then showed his consternation after the race by seeking Mears out and slamming into him during the cool down lap, to which Mears followed with a jolt to Earnhardt's rear end.

The irony of the situation is that while these two underachieving drivers with big last names were skirmishing Mark Martin, the man who replaced Mears on the Hendrick racing team this year and the man who replaced Junior as the third best driver on the team this year pulled out his first victory in nearly four years. That leaves Earnhardt as the only Hendrick driver without a win in 2009. Surprised? Don't be.

Earnhardt actually led the race two different times but couldn't seem to hold on and faded after lap 255 when Martin passed him. Junior Nation groaned collectively as he slipped into the field and his complaining about his tires on the one mile flat track seemed in-step with his pattern of blaming all of his racing problems on everyone but himself.

Earnhardt obviously felt Mears was in the wrong when he was spun during the race, but it's hard to support that with his recent history of erratic driving.
Martin became the oldest driver to win in the series since Morgan Shepherd won at age 51 on March 20, 1993 at Atlanta. Martin's victory was his first since Oct. 9, 2005 at Kansas and his first since joining Hendrick Motorsports to start the 2009 season.

Tony Stewart ran second followed by Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle. Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., David Reutimann, Sam Hornish Jr. and Carl Edwards completed the top 10.

Martin took the lead from Earnhardt with a pass off Turn 2 on Lap 256 of 312 at the 1-mile flat track. He increased his advantage over Stewart to more than 4 seconds before Earnhardt and Mears tangled in Turn 4 on Lap 301.

Stewart's teammate, Ryan Newman, stayed out on old tires and took the green flag in the lead on Lap 307 but quickly faded. Martin was back in front before the cars got back to the start/finish line and began to pull away. He was .734 seconds ahead of Stewart at the finish.

"No burnouts for me," he radioed his crew. "Just a backward Polish victory lap for my man Alan Kulwicki."

With Stewart right behind him on the restart, Martin said he couldn't waste any time getting by Newman.

"Tony would race me clean, but he would race me crazy, too, to get a win," Martin said. "I knew I had to go."

The last 50-year-old to win a Cup race was Morgan Shepherd in 1993 at Atlanta. Harry Gant holds the record as the oldest driver to win a Cup race. He was 52 when he won at Michigan in 1992.

Before Martin, only three drivers 50 or older won Cup races: Gant, Shepherd and Bobby Allison.

The praise poured in from every corner of the garage for Martin, who is widely considered to be the greatest NASCAR driver to never win a championship.

The race left Stewart still seeking his first victory as an owner/driver at Stewart-Haas Racing, but the runner-up was encouraged by his progress.

"We're so close," Stewart said. "We're going to win one of these soon. [But] I'm glad see Mark get this win. He deserved it. He had the fastest car."

Series points leader Jeff Gordon finished 25th after his crew failed to secure a lug nut on the car during a pit stop on Lap 233. He lost 77 points off his advantage in the standings and now leads second-place Johnson by 85.

OTHER NEWS - Over88ted.com ran a recent poll asking "What's Wrong With Dale Jr.?" - our poll showed more than 83% think Jr is simply over rated while 13.5% think it's his Crew Chief. See all the results here

Driver Error Costs Earnhardt Jr..... Again!

April 5, 2009 - Texas Motor Speedway

The season long saga continues for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the #88 Sprint Cup team. It seems to be the same story every week: Fast car, poor driving, mediocre finish and today the story ended with an ugly 20th place finish in the Samsung 500 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Earnhardt worked hard in the early part of the race charging into the top 15 and staying on the lead lap. Then Earnhardt's pit problems started. First he left a lug nut on the ground during a stop on pit road and had to re-enter the pits. On his pass through Junior apparently "didn't see" his pit box and drove right by it to the disdain of his team and Junior Nation. Moments later he arrived in his pit box for a third try and they got the lug nut on and Junior worked toward the top ten after the re-start...

On the next caution embattled crew chief, Tony Eury Jr. gambled and only took right side tires putting Junior in first place for the re-star and the bleachers at Texas Motor Speedway shook with the anticipation of the #88 running up front. Unfortunately when the green flag dropped Junior made contact with Kyle Busch and dropped to eighth, having led the race for about three -seconds.

Finally, with forty-one laps to go and his car starting to move through the field again, Junior put the car into the wall and dropped a lap down. He was never a factor after that and word around the garage was that Earnhardt was somehow distracted when his car broke loose.

"I heard that when he missed his pit box and when he hit the wall he was looking down the track for that groundhog again... What's his name, Digger?" said one source. "He wasn't paying attention. He's obsessed with that thing and we all know it."

Junior finished last among his Hendrick Racing team mates for the second week in a row with Jeff Gordon breaking a career long 47 race winless streak crossing the finish line first followed in second by Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin in sixth. Greg Biffle finished third and Tony Stewart continued to surprise with his new team placing fourth.

Meanwhile Junior Nation continues to wonder what's going on with Dale Jr. and many are starting to realize what people in racing circles have known for years: Junior is the most over rated driver in NASCAR and possibly the most over rated professional athlete in America. Reports are that Junior's merchandise sales are down this year as race fans begin to second guess who's colors they should be wearing in 2009 and beyond.

Earnhardt can't hide behind Tony Eury Jr. His driving flaws become more magnified each week and his pit errors are becoming laughable. Was Casey Mears this bad for Rick Hendrick?

OTHER NEWS - Over88ted.com ran a recent poll asking "What's Wrong With Dale Jr.?" - our poll showed more than 83% think Jr is simply over rated while 13.5% think it's his Crew Chief. See all the results here

Junior Pops To Another 2009 Loss

March 30, 2009 - Martinsville, VA

On lap 43 of the Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 Dale Earnhardt Jr's shifter popped out of gear and had to be held in place by a bungee cord for the remainder of the race. This is the kind of race day mishap that every Sprint Cup team deals with on occasion, but when you're Dale Earnhardt Jr. it's the kind of mishap that you can use to blame on another week without a win.

"I was calm because we've had it happen before, and I knew we could get a bungee cord on it," Earnhardt said. "I just hated to lose all that track position. I knew we were going to have to put that bungee cord on there and lose a bunch of track position in the process. That hurt us pretty bad. But we were able to get something out of it."

With an eighth place finish in his pocket Junior has to be feeling a little bit better about himself after his team endured another week of scrutiny by fans and the media and vultures continued to circle around crew chief, Tony Eury Jr. who seems to get all the blame for Junior's poor performances.

Junior finished last among his Hendrick teammates Jimmie Johnson, 1st, Jeff Gordon, 4th and Mark Martin, 6th. Denny Hamlin, 2nd and Tony Stewart, 3rd, rounded out the top five.

After dropping all the way to 38th, Earnhardt moved through the field and actually got up to third place about halfway through the race, but when the lead pack began to reach traffic, Junior started complaining about the size & shape of his break pedal and how it was hurting the ball of his foot - apparently that was too much for him to deal with and he backed off.

Earnhardt remains a long way from where he would like to be this season, but by salvaging the eighth-place finish he at least continued a climb in the point standings that has been steady since he began the season by finishing 27th and 39th, respectively, in the first two races.

Sprint Cup moves to Texas Motor Speedway next week next weekend and we'll see if Earnhardt continues to wilt under the heat this season.

Junior Puts Nation To Sleep

March 23, 2009 - Bristol, Tennessee

Dale Earnhardt Jr wins game of pool - or did he just not lose?

After a week of deflecting questions about the competence of his crew chief and cousin Tony Eury Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr. went out and finished fourteenth and was never a factor in the Food City 500 yesterday in Bristol, Tennessee. He sits at 19th in the current Sprint Cup standings.

Last week in Bristol, the question arose as to whether Junior's on track struggles were because of Eury. Junior, ever the loyal cousin (at least in public) bristled at the questions saying, "Tony is the only crew chief for me." Unfortunately for the #88 car and its team it doesn't matter who the crew chief is because the driver has a big name but a little talent.

Eury isn't the person responsible for Earnhardt's ongoing pit problems such as speeding, missing his stall etc. He also isn't responsible for Junior's blown tires or his on track behavior. Remember Daytona? Eury is in a tough spot, because no matter how well the car is set up or how efficient the crew is on race day, his driver is marginal at best. Remember, it was Eury's decision to leave Junior out on the track to gamble on fuel in Michigan last season that got Junior his only win over the past three Sprint Cup seasons. Unfortunately for Eury, the crew chief's face isn't on t-shirt, bobble-heads, underpants and jeans commercials so if the marginal driver is marginal someone has to pay.

Yesterday, after the start of the race Junior immediately began complaining about being tight and never seemed to get it right. He was forced to start in 43rd place due to an engine problem after qualifying 34th and actually moved up pretty well. It looked to all the world that he had enough car to make a top ten run, but he seemed to struggle in traffic and settled again for mediocrity.

Kyle Busch won for the second time this season and continued to cement the fact that Hendrick Racing made a huge mistake letting him go after 2007 to replace him with NASCAR's most over rated driver, Earnhardt. Denny Hamlin finished 2nd, Hendrick teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon came in 3rd and 4th followed by Kasey Kahne. The fourth Hendrick car, Mark Martin's #5 crossed the line 6th.

Heading into Martinsville next weekend Junior Nation must be biting it's nails as it appears the #88 team is on a crash coarse for implosion. Rick Hendrick expects his teams to win races and make Chases and isn't getting the results it wants. Junior Nation expects results too (though we don't know why) and they're starting to get vocal.

"What's wrong with Junior? Doesn't he know how to win?" sobbed Kay Neville of Nashville. "He doesn't even make any noise on the track except when he messes up."

OTHER NEWS - Over88ted.com ran a recent poll that showed 67% of NASCAR fans think Fox's Digger character is ridiculous, while just 14% approved of the colorful cartoon.

Junior Ecstatic over Win Sunday!

March 15 - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrated a rare victory Saturday night when he beat Mike Dunham of Chapel Hill, North Carolina in a game of billiards. Dunham, a former road worker with a history of alcoholism scratched on the eight ball while going for the victory shot and Junior took advantage with the automatic win.

13 people were present at Time-Out's Sports Bar and many of the onlookers were stunned with the victory as Earnhardt so rarely pulls out wins of any kind. But on this night he was up to the challenge and thrilled his fans when he did a victory back-flip off the side of the table ala Carl Edwards.

The match started out well for Dunham as he sunk his first four shots and Earnhardt scratched twice, blaming his pool cue for lack of tip structure and then the level of the table claiming that it was leaning to the left. Dunham didn't respond as he was focusing on finishing a pitcher of lager and chasing it with shots of whiskey.

After Earnhardt put in a string of three solid colored balls he said to no one in particular, "Real. Comfortable. Jeans."

When the game got down to each players final ball, Earnhardt took what he called a "pit stop" obviously hoping that he could somehow pull out a victory through the error of his opponent (sound familiar) and that's what happened. The alcohol caught up with Dunham as he waited for Earnhardt to return to the table and was off balance when he took his fateful final shot.

"I just couldn't focus." a dejected Dunham said. "I couldn't believe he waited until that point in the game to go take care of his business. He took forever and it really stopped my momentum but I guess that's how he rolls."

When asked about the strange timing of his "pit stop" Junior responded, "Pit strategy is as big a part of the game as making the shots. You gotta deal with it, man. I'm just so happy to win at something... I'm ecstatic!"

Then Earnhardt left to celebrate his win. He knows Bristol is next week and Mike Dunham won't be his opponent .

Dale Earnhardt Jr. poses after his victory on Saturday night.

OTHER NEWS - Over88ted.com ran a recent poll that showed 67% of NASCAR fans think Fox's Digger character is ridiculous, while just 14% approved of the colorful cartoon.

Junior Finishes 11th. Blames Digger.

March 9, 2009 Atlanta

Atlanta- Security officers were called to action at Atlanta Motor Speedway late Saturday night when there was a report of flashlights moving around on the track's grass infield at turn three. It was 3:17AM when the officers arrived to investigate and what they found were two men shining lights onto the sod surface. When officers approached they found the flashlight bearers to be none other then NASCAR's most over rated driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his crew chief and cousin Tony Eury Jr.

"I asked them what they were doing out here so late and Junior told me that they we looking for that gopher on TV... Digger." said Officer Robert Banks. "He said he just can't figure out how that little furry fella get's those camera shots and he was worried that having a gopher so close to the track might be dangerous to the drivers."

The two members of the Hendrick Racing Team were sent back to their motor homes without incident, but the late night hunting expedition seems to shine light on Earnhardt's failure to crack the top ten in the Kobalt Tools 500 in Hampton, Georgia today. He started 20th and finished 11th and stands at 24th in driver points after four races. Kurt Busch took home the victory with a dominant car all day and Earnhardt's Hendrick stable mate Jeff Gordon finished second followed by Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Brian Vickers.
Series points leader Gordon passed Edwards on Lap 329, trailing Busch to the finish line by .332 seconds. Gordon extended his lead in the standings to 43 points over Clint Bowyer, who ran sixth.

"Good things come to those who wait," said the race winner, after running a victory lap in reverse around the 1.54-mile speedway. "We waited over a year and a half with this [new race car] to find a good package, and we've had that to start off 2009."

This is the second year in a row the Busch brothers have won back-to-back races. Kyle won June 22 at Infineon and Kurt won the next week at New Hampshire (and then Kyle kept the Busch family in Victory Lane with wins in the next two races, at Daytona and Chicago).

"That's neat," Busch said of the back-to-back wins with Kyle, who also won the spring race in Atlanta in 2008. "I've got to hold my end of the bargain, because Kyle's on the gas right now. I've got to thank guys like Carl for racing me clean at the end, and Jeff Gordon was strong all day.

Earnhardt experienced wheel problems with 48 laps remaining in the race and joking threatened to attack his crew with a hammer over the in-car radio. After the finish Earnhardt was asked about his late night adventure and he said, "When I saw that they were letting that Gopher get so close to the track I knew there was gonna be problems and look what happened today. First Mark (Martin) blows out a tire and then my left rear gets bit. I know it was Digger. We gotta do something about that Gopher, man."

Tony Eury Jr. was unavailable for comment.

Earnhardt appeared tired going into the race, probably due to his lack of sleep but drove a steady race and for the first time this season didn't make any mistakes on the track or on pit road.

"It was nice to see him run the whole race without causing any wrecks or messing up in the pits." said Annie Boylston of Peach Tree, Georgia. "I love Dale Jr. but he hasn't been himself for a long time."

The word of Junior's search for digger circulated through the garage area and the stands today and was met with some chuckles. "Does he really think there's a real Gopher?" asked a driver that asked not to be named. "I guess that doesn't surprise me."

Over88ted.com ran a recent poll that showed 67% of NASCAR fans think Fox's Digger character is ridiculous, while just 14% approved of the colorful cartoon.

With the Sprint Series taking a week off before Bristol perhaps Earnhardt will use his break to do more hunting. We'd all appreciate it.

Junior Only Makes One Pit Error in Vegas!

March 2, 2009 Las Vegas

The National Guard #88 team had the fastest car in the Shelby 427 at Las Vegas Speedway yesterday. Unfortunately Dale Earnhardt Jr. was driving it and when he was cited for speeding on pit row in the 58th lap and penalized with a drive through he effectively ended his Hendrick Team's chances... Again.

In three weeks of the young NASCAR season Earnhardt has made three critical pit mistakes and blown up an engine although in Las Vegas he did make chicken salad out of chicken poop with a tenth place finish. Unfortunately, his team seems to be wading in poop and there isn't much salad to go around.

Kyle Busch, the man Junior replaced on the Hendrick Racing Team (do you think Mr. Hendrick regrets that?) won his first race of the season at his home track edging Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton , David Reutimann and Bobby Labonte. The race set the track record with 14 caution flags thrown for 66 laps and was run under picture perfect 70 degree weather.

Earnhardt didn't lead any laps and looks to continue to disappoint Junior Nation and week after week by taking superior equipment and mixing it with his inferior skill set. Nobody in NASCAR seems surprised through. "His car was just plain fast," said a source in the garage area. "It just seems like every time Junior gets a really good ride he does something to mess it up. We all notice it."

Next week the Sprint Cup Series moves to Atlanta and while mediocre results for Junior seem eminent, you can bet his car will be fast.

"Just wait until next week!" Yelled Pauline Hostler of Las Vegas as she left the track last evening draped in her Amp Energy flag and shrouded by a cloud of disappointment.

That has become the Junior Nation Mantra.

Notes: Busch has won nine of 39 NASCAR Sprint Cup races since moving to Joe Gibbs Racing to start the 2008 season. He won his first race for the new team last March at Atlanta, site of next week’s race. … Kenseth fell to third in points, tied with teammate Greg Biffle at 40 behind Gordon. … Johnson remained 19th in points, 145 behind the leader. … The only three drivers to score top-10 finishes in the first two races of the season — Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart — all had those short streaks broken. Kenseth was 43rd, Stewart 26th and Busch 23rd. … Rookie Joey Logano stayed on the lead lap and posted his best Cup finish to date: 13th. … For the second straight race, Mark Martin’s engine failed. He finished 40th and dropped to 34th in the Cup standings.

Junior Nation Put To Sleep

February 22, 2009 Fontana California

Surely, Junior Nation must have had high hopes coming into yesterdays Auto Club 500 in Fontana California. Surely, Junior himself had high hopes after possibly the single worst performance by a driver in a Daytona 500 last week. It had to get better, right? Wrong. After qualifying poorly (35th) in Fontana, the team had to replace the transmission so the car was moved even farther back. It didn't matter, because the #88 was never a factor in a yawner of a race marred by brief rain delays and ultimately won by Matt Kenseth. Junior didn't finish, citing "valve problems". He left the track for good after 205 laps completed.

After the debacle in Daytona Junior faced harsh critics this week in California for his on-track behavior last week and to his credit, Earnhardt faced it head-on admitting that the 10 car pile-up was his fault and was a product of his frustration over his two massive pit mistakes. (A recent poll by over88ted.com showed that our readers rate Earnhardt the worst pit driver in NASCAR). Junior went on to say that he was sorry he wiped out 80% of the drivers in the wreck "but not 20% of them". Obviously a reference to the driver that dominated him last year, Kyle Busch.

Junior also commented, "Most of the younger drivers don't understand why I'm so popular because they see the popularity but not the results on the track." Unfortunately, it's not just the younger drivers that feel that way.

Junior currently sits at 35th place in points after 2 races. It's a very long season and a lot will happen, but after 2 races and driver and engine problems already, the season hasn't started well for #88. He hasn't shown that he can't handle adversity on the track without showing frustration and his fans are already nervous.

"I've been with Junior since the beginning." Said Bud Shottingham of Sacramento as he watched the #88 coast into the garage on lap 206. "But you start to wonder if it's meant to be. You start to wonder if he should be out there in a Hendrick car at all."

New Season, Same Old Junior

February 15, 2009 Daytona Beach

Dale Earnhardt Jr. set the tone for continuing his run as NASCAR's most over rated and underwhelming driver with a twenty-seventh place finish in the 51st running of the Daytona 500 yesterday. The Great American Race was shortened due to rain and only 152 of 200 laps were run. This was probably the best news Earnhardt heard all day as his mistake filled season debut would have no doubt just gotten worse had the race gone the distance.

Matt Kenseth took home Sprint Cup's most coveted race trophy and was followed in the top five by Kevin Harvick, AJ Almendinger, Clint Bowyer and Elliott Sadler, all drivers lucky enough to stay out of the path of hurricane Earnhardt.

Junior actually started the race well, moving from the fourteenth spot to the lead to the delight of his brain washed nation dwellers. Unfortunately when he made his first pit stop he blew past his pit box and had to go around the track again and dropped to the back of the field. Speculation in the garage was that Earnhardt was changing his Facebook status as he entered pit road and looked up too late to stop in time.

Not to be denied, Earnhardt worked again to the top five but on lap 120 with rain threatening he again made a huge gaff in the pits and stopped in his pit box with his right front tire out of bounds. This was spotted immediately by the race official on the scene and he was penalized a full lap. A hundred thousand Junior fans groaned in unison, but Earnhardt had one more really big contribution to the race..

It was no surprise when Earnhardt Jr., frustrated by two pit-road mistakes that had dropped him a lap down, aggressively raced Brian Vickers for position on a restart just past the halfway mark.

Vickers blocked an attempted pass by pushing Earnhardt down below the yellow out-of-bounds line. When Earnhardt re-entered the racing surface, he clipped the left-rear corner of Vickers' car to trigger a nine-car accident.

``My goal is to keep Junior behind me,'' Vickers said. ``I went to block him. I beat him to the yellow line and then he just turned us. To wreck somebody intentionally like that in front of the entire field is really kind of dangerous. That's my problem with it.''

The accident knocked out Kyle Busch, who had led a race-high 88 laps and figured he was in position for the win.

``Some guys having some bad days and not doing their best out there, just made their bad day our bad day,'' Busch said. ``It's just a shame. It's just unfortunate that two guys got together that were a lap down that were fighting over nothing.''

It's the start we all expected from Junior and we weren't disappointed. It looks to be a very over rated season.

Junior Disappoints Team, Fans and Self in 2008.

2008 Season Summary

This past season started with the words, "Junior is gonna win a lot of races this year!" from Darrell Waltrip. These words were echoed throughout NASCAR circles inside and outside of the garage.
But it didn't happen.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. stepped up and showed the world why he might be the most over rated athlete in all of professional sports and is definitely the most over rated driver in the proud history of NASCAR. Junior flirted with victory at different points in the season, he even pulled out a victory at Michigan snapping a 76 race winless streak. Of course, that win was credited more to crew chief Tony Eury Jr. than Dale's driving skills after tactfully gambling correctly on fuel mileage.

Junior Nation acted as if the win was a harbinger of things to come, but were let down week after week as Junior flirted with victory only to cut tires, stall out in the pits, gamble on fuel incorrectly and bicker constantly with Eury. He qualified 4th for the Chase after losing what was a solid grip on second in the first three quarters of the season and then proceeded to collapse when the heat was turned up during the Chase for the cup finishing in last place easily.

Junior's Hendrick Motorsports team mate Jimmie Johnson won his third straight Sprint Cup and is quickly becoming a NASCAR legend like their other team mate Jeff Gordon. Next season Mark Martin replaces Casey Mears in the Hendrick stable and that should efficiently drop Junior to the fourth spot in the line up. Perhaps he'll thrive without the pressure to be a champion.

Junior nation continues to spend their cash and energy on supporting Dale Jr. and appear to be getting used to the losing each week. We'll see what happens as the current losing streak balloons and the specter of being on a team with three legitimate racing legends next season takes hold.

Earnhardt Jr. Bores Fan to Death! Finishes 6th.

November 9, 2008 Phoenix Arizona

In an unprecedented turn of events a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan appeared to pass away during the late stages of the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Speedway yesterday after saying repeatedly, "Junior is the most boring driver I've ever seen."

Ron Sunderson of Tuscon came to the race with friends and family to cheer on his hero, Dale Earnhardt Jr. in person for the first time, but after watching the first three hundred laps finally realized what many have suspected all along: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the most over rated driver in NASCAR and a day spent watching him drive without ever taking chances and being happy just maintaining his starting position is like a day spent watching a Heifer graze in a south pasture.

"As the race went on Ron's eyes closed more and more, like he was going into a trance." said Taryn Engle, Sunderson's cousin. "We kept telling him to focus on a driver that wants to win a race, like Jimmie or Carl or Kyle but he wouldn't do it... And it killed him!"

Preliminary reports appear to show that Sunderson's heart was lulled into stopping after the prolonged focus on Earnhardt Jr.'s race day and he passed away peacefully as Junior dropped one spot from his starting position of 5th to 6th in the last couple of laps.

"Even though Junior is so boring, usually something happens. He cuts a tire, or makes a mistake or stalls himself in the pits." said Reg Hartley of Santa Fe. "But today was just, I dunno, nothing. He didn't do anything and lots of people in green and red were sleeping under the bleachers. I'm surprised more people weren't bored to death."

There were reports of queasiness and other trance like states for members of Junior Nation at the race, but many chose to focus on much maligned driver A.J. Allmendinger who caused at least two major wrecks and was all over the track all day.

Jimmie Johnson won for the 7th time this season and as long as he drives in a "Junior-Like" un aggressive style next week, he should lock up his historic third straight Sprint Cup.

Earnhardt Gambles... Loses Again!

November 2, 2008 Texas Motor Speedway

Remember back in June when Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race at Michigan? Everyone said "Get ready, Junior is going to take control now!" or "Watch out for Junior!"

Remember how Junior won that race? He did it gambling on fuel mileage so he must have felt like the race gods were on his side at the Dickies 500 last night when late in the race he had a choice to make... Pit for fuel or stay out and take a chance. He stayed out, ran out of gas, had to pit, stalled himself out and finished the race a paltry 20th.

It's getting pretty obvious that when Junior has the choice between winning while racing hard and winning with tricks and gimmicks he'll go for the gimmicks every time. That's what a lack of talent will make you do. How many drivers have skipped late pitstops for track position more then Earnhardt this year? None. How many drivers have won more races this year? Plenty.

Carl Edwards went on to finish first and put some needed pressure on Jimmie Johnson going into the final two races for the Sprint Cup and it will be nice having some drama to finish the season.

Earnhardt Jr. remains entrenched in 11th out of 12 cup qualifiers and is easily the biggest disappointment of the bunch and Junior Nation appears to be becoming fractured.

"I named my son Dale Jr." said Robert Schiller of Houston "But now I'm starting to have second thoughts. Can't he just try and win a race, by getting to the front and staying there. I'm naming my next son Biffle."

Earnhardt Jr. Fails To Crack Top Ten In Atlanta

October 27, 2008 Atlanta Motor Speedway

Dale Earnhardt Jr. couldn't keep his car on the track at the Pep Boys Auto 500 last night. After challenging the field with a possible top ten finish throughout most of the race he took his foot off the gas and turned up the complaining which was no surprise. Junior finished 11th.

Earnhardt appeared to be fighting his National Guard #88 all night long and was trying find his line at the top and bottom of the track but to no avail. While the race leaders continued to drive away from him, Junior tried not to wreck himself. He appeared to be trying to blow a tire.

Tony Eury Jr. got frustrated with Jr. about 3/4 of the way through the race when during a pit stop he couldn't get any information from his driver to help make an adjustment.

"It loose man! It's loose!" was Earnhardt's mantra as it usually is.

"What's it doing?" asked Eury. "What's it doing?"

The question was met by silence which was a microcosm of the #88's participation in the Race for the Cup this year. Silence. They haven't been a factor or challenged for anything other then a second at Martinsville that might have been a better finish with another driver behind the wheel.

Carl Edwards won the race and Jimmie Johnson looks poised to win an unprecedented third consecutive Sprint Cup finishing second. It's obvious that the cream is rising to the top and the over rated are finishing 11th.

Junior Blinks. Finishes Second!

October 17, 2008 Martinsville, Speedway

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had his best chance in his highly over rated career to win a race at the famed Martinsville short track on Sunday afternoon. The Tums Quickpak 500 came down to a Green, White, Checker ending and Junior started in second position at the re-start. The flag dropped, Junior blinked, Jimmie Johnson accelerated and that was the race.

It seems that every week Junior finds a way not to win. Sometimes it's "tires", sometimes it's incompetence, sometimes it's "dumb luck" and this times it was just falling apart under the pressure of the Junior nation.

“I didn’t have a good enough drive up off the corner to catch Jimmie,” said Earnhardt, who gained one position to ninth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings but fell to 379 points behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate. “They had such an excellent racecar. I did the best I could to protect my position.

“I didn’t have anything for Jimmie. His car was so awesome. We were spinning the tires up off the corner, and that’s where we got beat.”

Yeah, right. As the excuses mount and the goals that seemed attainable just a month ago drift away like the whisps of burnout rubber after a victory donut, Junior doesn't seem to mind. He just keeps up his consistent losing and breaking the heart of the Nation.

"I thought for sure Junior would win when it came down to a re-start, but he didn't even make it close. I'm starting to think he might not be as skilled as I thought." said Jeff Delvin of Aurora, Illinois.

October 11, 2008 Lowe's Motor Speedway

Junior Can't Handle The Heat Of The Chase... Again!

It was all right there for Junior Nation tonight at the Bank of America 500. The number 88 was starting in the top 10, Goodyear had assured all the race teams that the tires for the race would be up to specs and the weather was perfect. How could anything go wrong for Dale Earnhardt Jr.?

With what had amounted to a nightmare Chase for the Sprint Cup thus far, Junior was poised to turn things around and live up to the expectations of his vast sea of devotees. The stands were packed with screaming Junior followers decked out in their best green and red 88 garb, Jessica Simpson belted out a truly chesty version of our National Anthem, Olympic Gold Medalist Aaron Piersol gave the order for the drivers to start their engines and then, unfortunately for howling throng of the "nation" the race started.

Junior fell back, floated around the top 15, complained incessantly about being loose to Tony Eury Jr. and then finally had an excuse to stop competing when mercifully on lap 103 he cut a tire (again), hit the wall, went to the garage and was never a factor finishing thirty-sixth.

"While the car was in the garage I heard Junior trying to convince Tony not to make him go back out there." said an inside source. "Jessica Simpson was hanging out in there and Junior wanted to take her to Applebee's."

But Eury would have none of Junior's infatuation with the sultry Hollywood seductress and Junior finished the race in virtual pout mode, barely chirping on the radio to his team.

"Junior breaks my heart every week. I don't know why he can't get it together. Who hits the wall more then him? Who?" asked Holly Bertrom from Charlotte as she packed her 88 blanket, 88 beer coozy, 88 seat cushion and 88 foam finger into her 88 tote bag, looked sadly back at race winner Jeff Burtons post race celebration with his crew and all seventeen of his fans and grudgingly left Lowe's Motor Speedway.

October 5, 2008 Talladega

Earnhardt Too Nervous To Race - Crashes!

With the few wins Earnhardt Junior has been able to get in his NASCAR racing career, most have come in the restrictor plate format, so it's understandable why Junior Nation was excited about this week. With Junior fading in the points and tensions growing between him and owner Rick Hendrick, it seemed the perfect opportunity for him to show his boss, teammates and fans that he's not content to just make the chase and then fade into obscurity.

However, after running up front with the help of his teammates (past and present) Junior got scared and expressed his concern about the tires on the radio and wanted NASCAR officials to reassure the drivers that there were no problem with tires - that didn't happen.

After his radio communication Junior was visibly nervous and seemed to run as high as possible to try and avoid a hard collision should a tire fail, however, that proved to be the wrong place to be and proved you cannot compete in NASCAR when you're nervous, he slipped back a few spots and when when a crash occurred in front he had nowhere to go and crashed. A frustrated owner was seen just shaking his head - I think it's safe to say Junior maybe looking for a new team soon...maybe with Stewart?

Meanwhile, Tony Stewart showed that it's never to late to get back in contention and jumped several spots with the win. With an exciting 3 lap sprint to the finished Tony showed why he's a champion and was able to successfully block his way to his first win of 2008.

September 21, 2008 Dover, Delaware

Earnhardt Living Up To Expectations.

After a week in which Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports confirmed what over88ted.com has been saying for months about Dale Earnhardt Jr.s incessant whining and spoiled child syndrome, Junior followed it up with an expected 24th place finish in the Camping World RV 400 and drifted farther back in the point standings and now sits firmly in 9th.

On lap 144 the number 88 car cut a tire, spun and was never a factor, never led a lap and never challenged the leaders in the race . Greg Biffle took his second race in a row and moved to within 10 points of leader Carl Edwards.

Earlier in the week Hendrick had admonished Jr's childlike temper tantrums saying, "If you let things get to you, you will not win the Chase, You can't choke and that is what I am trying to get them not to do. I think they can be better. I know Tony (Eury Jr) will be better and can help [Earnhardt] more if he's calmer when he's giving him information."

Full Story: http://www.roanoke.com/sports/racing/wb/177035

Earnhardt's emotions are a symptom to another major issue -- he has a history of running well early in a race and fading late, costing him potential victories.

Randy Shaw of Boston said, "My wife and I love Junior, but it seems like when the pressure is on he just kind of stops trying. But he's a good guy."

Too bad being a good guy doesn't win races.

September 14, 2008 Loudon NH

Junior Has Fastest Car! Loses and Blames Tires.

Yesterday at the Sylvania 300 in Loudon New Hampshire Dale Earnhardt Jr. led 79 laps to the delight of Junior Nation, but then as expected, gave up the lead late in the race and finished fifth. Not a bad finish for a driver still trying to win his first championship, but disappointing for a driver with the fastest car on the track. Ask Junior:

"We had the fastest car on the track." Earnhardt Jr. said following his late fade. "We put on that one set of tires and we were a lot slower. It's too bad because the crew was good on pit road other then that one problem."

Tires? From the grandstands it looked more like Junior just got outraced by eventual winner Greg Biffle, Hendrick Teammate Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards. Three drivers that have showed late in the season that they're hungry for a championship. The pattern for the 88 team seems to be to start towards the top five, get to the front and then wilt under the heat of late race horsepower.

There are 9 races to go and Junior is currently tied for fourth in points with Jeff Burton at -50, but listed ahead of Burton in the standings by virtue of the win Tony Eury Jr. handed him with fuel strategy in May.

September 7, 2008 Richmond, Virginia

Earnhardt In But Still Can't Win

Dale Earnhardt treated his team and his fans to another expected dose of racing mediocrity when he started and finished fourth in the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 today in Richmond. Although Junior "loves this track" and actually (surprisingly) pulled off a win here way back in 2006 he seemed content with sitting back and holding onto his starting position. Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson won for the second week in a row and Tony Stewart finished a tight second in the final qualifying contest in the 'Race for the Chase.'

The final three slots for the Chase for the Sprint Cup were up for grabs and were locked up by Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer respectively. David Ragan and Kasey Kahne were both on the bubble and failed to challenge.

"Junior either doesn't want to win or he just can't win," said a source in the garage area after the race. "He always has a non driving related excuse and I know his team is frustrated."

"Junior has enough car! He just can't stay in front when he gets there! I'm getting sick of it!" spat Josh Stephens of Morgantown, West Virginia as he tore off his green Amp Energy t-shirt and slammed it to the ground. "He just can't keep up with the big boys in crunch time."

Earnhardt Jr. did lock up the fourth slot in the ten race Chase for the Sprint Cup which begins next week and his strategy of not trying to win could help him contend if he continues to stay unconcerned with victory. However, this week was only his second top ten finish in the past eleven races and drivers like Johnson, Stewart, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards have much more momentum going into the Chase and appear much more motivated.

You wonder how far back in the standings Earnhardt Jr. would be without the backing of Hendrick Motors sports and crew chief Tony Eury Jr.

September 1, 2008 Pepsi 500 - Fontana Cal.

Junior Locks Up Chase. Celebrates By Losing!

By the 60th lap in last nights Pepsi 500 Dale Earnhardt Jr. had secured himself a spot in this years Sprint Cup Championship Chase. At that point Earnhardt was running in the top ten and had been reeling in more talented driver slowly but steadily all afternoon. Unfortunately, for Junior Nation when Junior got the word he'd be in the Chase he took his foot off of the accelerator and drifted back to the rest of the field.

Earnhardt Jr. finished 11th, but it was obvious from the beginning that his Hendrick Motor sports Amp Energy Chevrolet had the horsepower to keep up with eventual race winner Jimmie Johnson and runner-up Greg Biffle. It was also obvious that it's driver was not motivated to be a factor in the race.

"Junior just wants to be part of the Chase. He knows he can't win it." said one observer. "It's obvious in a long race like this."

Number 88 crew chief, Tony Eury Jr. and the Amp Energy crew did everything they could to keep Junior in the race, but the driver just couldn't (or wouldn't) make it happen. When track turbulence broke a light standard from grandstands and it fell to the track an obviously shaken and stunned Earnhardt Jr. appeared to try to exit his car at the next pit stop, but was "talked into staying in the car and finishing the race" according to a source.

"I can't wait for the Chase to start. Juniors going to be fun to watch finish in the top twenty every week!" said Molly Tuffernan from Butte, Montana.

August 23, 2008 Bristol Tennessee

Earnhardt Loses Race Before It Starts!

Dale Earnhardt jr. seems to find a new and creative way to lose a race each week. At the 250 mile, 500 lap, night race at Bristol Earnhardt Jr. set a new standard for bad driving when he attempted to pass cars after the green flag dropped to start the race, but before crossing the start/finish line. This course of action got Junior black flagged on lap eight after officials reviewed his less than sportsman like tactics.

When Junior received the black flag he slowed his number 88 Amp Energy Chevrolet to 30 MPH and did the drive of shame down pit row and was never a factor again.

"Oh no!" cried the members of Junior Nation in unison. "Oh yes!" howled everybody else.

Junior spent the final 490 laps using all of his skill (or lack of..) to find a way onto the lead lap. He failed, yet because of teammate Jimmy Johnson's troubles he moved up a spot to third on the Sprint Cup Points list. Clint Bowyer meanwhile, wrecked his car, fell a lap down and still finished in the top ten.

Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch continued their rivalry finishing first and second respectfully, but Busch wasn't happy with the way Edwards passed him for the win and after the race broadsided the 99 with his 18. Edwards took offense and promptly spun Busch out. After the race Busch referred to Edwards as Mr. Ed and Edwards made no apologies for his driving.

Junior, of course was no where to be found.

August 18, 2008 - Michigan International Speedway

Junior Slams Into Wall On Purpose!

For the third week in a row the 88 team tried to pull off a race by using pit strategy it didn't work... again. It has to be frustrating for Tony Eury Jr. to know that his driver doesn't have the skills to pull out a win without using tricks, but he's doing what he can to keep Junior in position to win and he held Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the track in lap 180 when the leaders entered pit row during a caution.

Earnhardt (running ninth) moved into second place behind David Ragan, but began to fade quickly at the re-start and on lap 183, out of frustration, slammed the National Guard Chevrolet into the wall and finished 23rd.

"We just couldn't get the car right today." Earnhardt said. "It was too loose."

"That guy just can't drive a loose car!" said a source close to the action.

After starting the race in the fourth spot, moving into the lead and surprisingly holding it for much of the early going, the real Junior showed up and the expected results followed. Carl Edwards won the race in Michigan and Kyle Busch finished second. Junior held onto his fourth spot in the Sprint Cup Point standings, but the field continues to close on him and he'll be fortunate to stay in the top 5 at the rate he's sliding with The Chase approaching. Official NASCAR Point Standings

August 11, 2008 Watkins Glen, NY

Earnhardt Jr. drops to fourth in cup points as expected

Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued to show the world why he is possibly the worst road racer in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series when after starting second yesterday at Watkins Glen he dropped to a paltry 22nd place finish and lost 2 places in the cup standings.

Earnhardt's crew chief, Tony Eury Jr. is very aware of Junior's lack of road course skill and tried to use strategy to help the 88 win. He kept the blue and white bomber on the track late in the race while all of the leaders tapped pit row. Unfortunately the gamble failed when the caution flag flew and by the time Junior made his fuel stop he'd been slotted back to the 32nd position. You start to wonder if Earnhardt Jr. can win a race (or even contend) without using a gimmick such as pit strategy. He is slowly moving backwards in the points and that trend should continue.

Meanwhile, the man he replaced at Hendrick, Kyle Busch, just continues to dominate NASCAR in 2008. With his 8th Sprint Cup victory and road course sweep he has solidified himself as the best young driver in racing and should pass Junior in career wins sometime in 2010.

August 4, 2008 Pocono, PA

Junior finishes 12th to prove point

Friday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. loudly professed his desire to shorten the length of the five hundred mile race at Pocono Speedway to four hundred miles.

"It's a big, big race track," Earnhardt said. "It's no different really than running at Indy [the Allstate 400] and that's 160 laps. It's a 400-mile race and that's probably what this should be." Earnhardt continued, "I think the races are too long here, I think that's obvious. I think NASCAR thinks it's too long, but the people in charge of that will not change it for whatever reason. Just for spite maybe, I don't know. But they don't have to be out there running."

Sunday on the final lap of the rain delayed Sunoco Fuel-Red Cross 500, Earnhardt allowed his car to run out of fuel and fell from third place to twelfth showing the sellout crowd that the race truly was too long. Carl Edwards finished first for the fourth time this season followed by Tony Stewart. Both drivers reported they had no problems with the length of the race at the fabled triangle and an unnamed source said, "It seems like Junior wants to make the same money for less work."

July 12, 2008 Chicagoland

Earnhardt Gets Lost on Way to Chicagoland

Dale Earnhardt Jr. started the race in the second slot and then quickly faded away to become a complete non-factor at Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday night finishing 16th. There was a lot of talk at over88ted.com during the race that perhaps Junior had left the track and was occupying his time with something other then racing. If you hadn't seen him start the race in the front row you never would have known he was there... He had to make a pit early in the race and was never able to race his way back.

You know a guy had a bad race when A.J. Allmendinger beats him. The streak continues.

June 29, 2008 Loudon, New Hampshire

Nice job Junior! All he did was complain last week about road courses and then after starting in 5th he ended up in 24th at Loudon. It was classic driver's incompetence this week as when late in the race and running in the top ten Junior decided to pit and slowed down and dropped into the path of the number 26 of Jamie McMurray.

Junior quickly dropped to about 7 seconds behind the leaders in Sunday's race at the stout New Hampshire mile long track. He stayed there and did his usual complaining to Tony Eury Jr. about too loose, too tight, and our favorite, "Can I get some positive encouragement here?" That is an exact quote and the new streak continues!

June 25, 2008 Sonoma, California

"I hate road racing and the best thing about Sonoma is finishing the race so I can go real racing next week!" whined Junior, before and after this weeks road coarse extravaganza in sweltering Northing California. He actually finished a respectable 12th to Kyle Busch.

Earnhardt was never a factor at Sonoma and made it a point to avoid contact rather then aggressively pursue victory. So now we all sit back and wait to see if the new losing streak will stretch to the vast distances of the former... Go Dale Go! One and counting.

June 15, 2008 Michigan Super Speedway - Every dog has it's day!

Well you have to give it to Junior, he somehow figured out a way to win a race, but of course it was only 400 (not 500) miles and he won it when he finally shut his mouth, listened to crew chief, Tony Eury Jr. and followed directions. Junior wanted to pit late in the race when he had the lead (because Eury told him to stay out), but Eury decided to gamble and told Jr. to take a chance on fuel mileage. Junior didn't want to ("what the hell are we doing"), but followed directions and stayed out..

The gamble could have been disastrous (not really, since he's used to losing), but even with extra laps added due to a late caution somehow Jr. pulled it out. Eury instructed him to coast with the engine off as often as possible to conserve fuel during the caution and even when Junior almost messed it up with a warning from NASCAR officials to stop passing the pace car while coasting, the 88 team pulled it out...NICE JOB... See you in 76 more races!

June 8, 2008 Pocono 500

Thousands of members of "Junior Nation" got to stand and cheer loudly as their hero (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) slid up the track and let Kasey Kahne pass him in lap 183. Junior finished fourth and in doing so kept his losing streak alive at the Pocono 500. He was lucky to be that high up in the standings because his crew chiefs decisions and race strategy are what got him there. Not his driving skill.

After spending much of the race bickering with crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., Earnhardt spent his post race time pouting and sulking and whining about the length of the race and the heat. It seems the mammoth losing streak is heading towards 80 and it's starting to get to him. It's hard to be the most over-rated athlete in American sports.

June 1, 2008 - Dover Delaware

This week was a disappointment because we didn't even have the chance to see Dale Jr. somehow blow a lead in the final laps or come up with some lame excuse why his car was running good or why his team wasn't performing up to par. This week after qualifying poorly ("That car just felt loose.") and being stuck in the middle of the pack he got caught up in a huge wreck on lap nineteen and finished the race thirteen laps behind. 75 races without a win and counting!!

May 25, 2008 - Charlotte, North Carolina

Dale Earnhardt once again snatched defeat from the hands of victory when he hit the wall late in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte. Earnhardt mounted a strong bid to snap his 73-race winless streak, leading 76 laps in the latter portion of the evening. But he appeared to lose his right rear tire while running out front, and his Chevrolet slid into the wall and bounced along it until finally coming to a stop. He had additional damage when J.J. Yeley ran into the back of him, and he sped to pit road for repairs. NASCAR initially penalized him one lap for speeding past the safety workers, but rescinded it (no surprise) after further review. Tony Stewart, who inherited the lead when Earnhardt wrecked and held it after the ensuing pit stops, was baffled by the non-call. "Now how does that work?" he called. No one was quite sure, but Earnhardt rallied to finish fifth. "I thought we were done, and then I got motivated again," he said. "We got lucky. Got gas and made it last."

Throughout the race Darrell Waltrip commented that he was worried Junior was riding too high and he was right. Just bad driving... Again.

May 10, 2008 Dodge Challenger 500

Kyle Busch wins! Kyle Busch wins! The man who was replaced by Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his third race of the season. That's 3 wins in two months for Busch and 0 in two years for Jr.

One week removed from last Saturday's controversial finish at Richmond, where Busch spun Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a late-race battle for the lead, Busch finished 3.115 seconds ahead of runner-up Carl Edwards and extended his lead in the Cup standings to 79 points in front of second-place Jeff Burton.

Junior led his standard few laps but began complaining of "wheels chattering" in the late stages so he had an excuse finish fourth at Darlington.

In the win Busch also broke the race speed record formerly held by Dale Earnhardt Sr.

May 3, 2008 Crown royal 400

Within three laps of a victory that would have ended a two-year, 71-race drought, Earnhardt Jr. smacked the outside wall in Turn 3 after Kyle Busch slid up the track into Junior's No. 88 Chevrolet as the two drivers battled for the lead on Lap 398.

I've seen the replay, and Tony [Eury] Jr. [Earnhardt's crew chief] said it looked like Kyle got loose underneath me," Earnhardt said. "We'd been racing each other before, and we had no problem. I've been priding myself on running good all year, and [Saturday night] we got wrecked. It's disappointing."

It's always something isn't it..

Busch had his own version of events.

"Junior and I were just racing hard into Turn 3," said Busch, who took over the championship lead by 18 points over Jeff Burton. "It was just a product of good, hard racing. If I had wanted to do it deliberately, I would have waited till the last lap, when I probably still could have won the race."

Everybody from Junior Nation should put their Buds and Amps down now and start pondering the thought: Maybe you're backing the wrong horse in the race...

Try something new.. maybe Travis Kvapil.

April 27, 2008 Aaron's 499

Who is that guy? It's Kyle Busch. He wasn't good enough to race for Hendricks Motorsports, but he's good enough to beat Hendricks new star drive Dale Earnhardt Jr. again. Let's see, that's 2 wins in the last month for Busch and O wins in the past 2 YEARS for Junior.

Junior did however, lead his obligatory 46 laps at Talladega Super Speedway before fading back to tenth to the dismay of the 100 plus thousand people that were there to watch their hero hold his over88ted crown high.

April 12, 2008 Subway Fresh 500

Dale Earnhardt Jr. started the race in 13th ended it in 7th and won the Goodyear/Gatorade fastest lap award en route to finishing his 70th consecutive race without a win in Phoenix yesterday.

Once again Junior led multiple laps, but "handling problems" prevented a win. This is getting predictable... Let's see, Junior qualifies in the top 15. Runs well until attrition brings him to the front and then when things get down to it he chokes... Odds the same thing happens next week... even!

April 6, 2008 Samsung 500

Dale Earnhardt Jr. started from the pole position, The freakin' pole position, and ended up in 12th place, a lap behind yesterday in Texas.

As usual, Jr. blamed his choke this week on handling problems (although the car handled well enough to garner the pole). After leading 36 laps the "handling" issues were too much for him and he faded away.

This guy sure leads a lot of laps. It seems like he must have a pretty good equipment and team. Who's fault is it that he hasn't won in 69 races? Must be "handling problems".

March 30, 2008 Goody's Cool Orange 500

Dale Earnhardt Jr. led five different times for his race-high total of 146 laps, and once again couldn't pull out a victory in Martinsville finishing a fading 6th.

While he admitted afterward that he had designs on breaking a winless streak in points events that now sits at 68 races, dating back to the Richmond race in the spring of 2006, Earnhardt said he blamed himself for running too hard at the start of the last green-flag run and using up too much of his tires, too quickly. But he added that he wouldn't allow himself to be upset.

"We got a good finish. I am really happy about that," he said of his No. 88 Chevrolet team. "We led a lot; we can't be too upset. That would be ridiculous to be disappointed with how we did, because we did really good."

You done real good Dale... 68 race winless streak!!!

March 16, 2008 Food City 500

Dale Earnhardt Jr. stayed non-aggressive and accepted a 5th place finish rather then "going for it" after a late caution stacked up the field at Bristol yesterday.

It's getting quite predictable watching the most over-rated driver in NASCAR flirt with victory week after week yet never quite be able to break through..

Prediction: Junior will win a race this year and then say "This is just the beginning, We have all of our momentum back" Then he won't win again... Can you win a championship without a win? Yes, but isn't that a lame way to do it?

March 9, 2008 Kobalt Tools 500

Kyle Busch, the man that was unceremoniously booted from Hendricks Motorsports so he could be replaced by the big name, big excuses and extremely over-rated Dale Earnhardt Jr. fired his first of what we predict to be many volleys at his old team by winning the Kobalt Tools 500 on Sunday in Atlanta.

Junior, as usual led the second most laps (62), but when push came to shove he (as usual) got shoved and finished 3rd. That makes it almost two full years since Junior won a race. Surprised? We're not.

March 2, 2008 UAW-Dodge 400

Dale Earnhardt Jr. lucked his way into a second place finish when the cars passing him wrecked each other at theUAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas yesterday.

On a restart with five laps remaining, Earnhardt (second at the time) spun his tires, Gordon dropped low and Kenseth went high to pass the No. 88 Chevrolet. As the cars exited Turn 2, with Edwards in the lead and Kenseth and Gordon in his wake, the No. 24 Chevrolet of Gordon washed up to the outside, clipped Kenseth's No. 17 Ford and started a wreck that crippled both cars.

In a two-lap dash after NASCAR stopped the race for nearly 18 minutes to clean the track. Edwards pulled away from Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win by .504 seconds.

"That red flag just really killed us," Earnhardt said. "We were terrible on cold tires. I had a good car, and I'm really proud of my team, but I would have liked to have had a shot at Carl on hot tires there."

Good one Dale.. What'll it be next week? Low blood sugar?

Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been the scene of some of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s greatest professional frustrations. In 2004, weeks after winning the Daytona 500, his team never found the setup and he finished 71 laps back with handling problems. The next year he finished next to last, getting caught up in a crash after just 11 circuits around the 1.5-mile facility.

February 24-25, 2008 Auto club 500

After a rain delay on Sunday Dale Jr. parlayed a 15th place start to a crisp 41st after wrecking in lap 203 of 250.

After bouncing off the wall, Earnhardt's teammate Casey Mears collected the No. 88 Chevy of Hendrick Motorsports. That wreck also crippled the cars of Reed Sorenson and rookie Sam Hornish Jr.

Go Dale Go!!!!

February 17, 2008 Daytona 500

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished the race on old tires after crossing signals with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and failing to come to the pits under caution with 22 laps to go. Earnhardt held on for a ninth-place finish and was unable to complete a Speedweeks triple -- he had won the Feb. 9 Budweiser Shootout and Thursday's first Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying race.

"It wasn't tires -- we had good grip at the end," Earnhardt said. "The track was cooling off, and the car was fine. I got great runs ... just made poor choices on what to do with them. That was the difference.

Poor choices = Bad race car driving... Man is this guy over-rated or what?

"We started off a little bit tight, and we adjusted on it. [Crew chief] Tony [Eury] Jr. made some good changes that got me great at the end of the race. We had great motors all week and another one [Sunday]. I'm real proud of Hendrick and the effort they gave me because I have had a great time this Speedweek. I think the year is going to be like that, and I am really going to enjoy it."

We're sure you'll have a great car all year too... but what can he do with it? Prediction: the streak will continue.

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	Get over88ted Gear Here Get it here! Dale Jr. Facts More... So many people at any NASCAR race are rooting for Dale Jr. They’re wearing his gear and screaming his name and we just can’t figure out why - he never wins!