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Updated: September 4, 2010, 5:45 PM ET
No Dale Earnhardt Jr. changes planned

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By David Newton
ESPN.com
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HAMPTON, Ga. -- The owner of Hendrick Motorsports has no plan to separate Dale Earnhardt Jr. from crew chief Lance McGrew going into the Chase or next season.

"That's correct," Rick Hendrick said on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. "We make decisions as things develop during the season. Right now we've got a game plan and we're sticking to it.

"Next week, going into the Chase and into the Chase our plan is for those two guys to be together."

Earnhardt is 18th in points and expected to miss the Chase for the second straight year and third time in four years. He hasn't won since Michigan in 2008, a span of 81 consecutive races.

His struggles started speculation that Hendrick might make a change going into the Chase that begins in two weeks at New Hampshire.

"If you miss the Chase and you just decide you're gonna change something just to be changing it I think that's a mistake," Hendrick said during a press conference to name a three-year extension with Quaker State motor oil that includes a four-race deal on Mark Martin's car in 2011.

"I've never tried to do that. I keep my options open, but at the same time if the driver and the crew chief are getting along and working together and they're trying, that's all I can ask for."

Hendrick said he's pleased with the way Earnhardt and McGrew are getting along. He believes the problems with the No. 88 team go beyond the driver and crew chief. Although he didn't mention it, Martin who shares the same shop with Earnhardt ranks 14th in points and also likely will miss the Chase.

A year ago, Hendrick Motorsports took the top three spots in the final Sprint Cup standings with Jimmie Johnson, Martin and Jeff Gordon. Johnson is ninth in points and Gordon is second.

"We're not happy with where we are as an organization, but we're working on it," Hendrick said. "Nobody is blaming anybody and nobody is giving up. I'm really happy with my whole group and the way they work together."

David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at dnewtonespn@aol.com.
 
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I'll say it's.....

1) Kyle Busch
2) Kevin Harvick
3) Tony Stewart
4) Jeff Burton
5) Denny Hamlin
 
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Cr122

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Updated: September 21, 2010, 1:58 PM ET
Petty afraid Junior listening to critics


Newton By David Newton
ESPN.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The camera zoomed in on Richard Petty as he talked about his relationship with his son, Kyle.

"Kyle and I never were as close as both of us wanted," Richard says in the documentary "Petty Blue," which was released Tuesday on DVD. "I didn't have time."

At that point, you feel sorry for Kyle. You realize just how tough it was being the son of NASCAR's King, beyond the 200 victories and seven championships. You realize maybe why Kyle is the way he is, a free spirit who never got wrapped up in being the next Richard Petty.

I saw the film a few weeks ago at a special viewing in Charlotte. A few days later at Richmond International Raceway, I felt sorry for Dale Earnhardt Jr., son of the only other seven-time champion, Dale Earnhardt.

Earnhardt was on pit road talking to several reporters about his qualifying lap when the conversation turned to the possibility of expanding the Chase field from 12 to 15 in 2011. He said if that happened, people would say it was to get him in and he'd become the punch line of that joke "and a lot of other jokes."

Jokes? Plural?

rpm_a_earnhardtd_300.jpg


AP Photo/Steve HelberDale Earnhardt Jr. has been NASCAR's most popular driver for years, and he's also among the most-dissected.

Yes, NASCAR's perennial most popular driver has been the punch line of many jokes the past few seasons. I'm as guilty as anyone, but didn't realize just how many jokes there were until searching online. Here are a few samples of what was found:

• Did you hear Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a new TV show? They wanted to call it "The Biggest Loser" but that name already was taken.

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been selected NASCAR's most popular driver by internet users for the fifth straight year. Earnhardt is well liked by both NASCAR fans that own computers.

• Once a kid's parents got divorced and during the hearing the judge ask the kid if he wanted to go live with his daddy and the kid said no "because my daddy might beat me." So the judge ask about the mother and the kid said no "because my mother might beat me." So the judge ask about the grandparents and again the kid said no "because they beat me." So finally the judge ask the kid who he wanted to live with and the kid replied, "Well I think I want to go live with Dale Earnhardt Jr. because he hasn't beaten anybody in a long time."

You get the picture as we take a break from Chase talk heading into Dover. Arguably no driver in the history of the sport has been picked on more for failing to live up to expectations than Earnhardt. Not even Kyle Petty, who had eight career Sprint Cup wins and basically was fired by his father after the 2008 season, went through this kind of abuse.

"Not at all," Kyle says. "I feel bad for him. If he was Scott Speed or AJ Allmendinger, he wouldn't be getting all this. He had a solid run [fourth] Sunday [at New Hampshire]. I listened to his postrace comments. He said he had a good top-10 car and that's what he needed to be. He didn't say we turned the corner. This is where we need to be running all the time.

"He's grounded in a lot of ways. What unstabilizes him is what people say about him."

Petty isn't playing driver psychologist any more than me, but he does pay attention to Earnhardt because of the comparisons of being the son of a seven-time champion.

In reality, there's no fair way to compare. Kyle came along at a time when there wasn't national television coverage, when only a handful of reporters were in the garage to scrutinize what he or anybody else did.

Kyle also drove 14 years while his dad was on the track. He didn't have to replace The King because The King was there. Just because you were a fan of Richard's didn't mean you were a fan of Kyle's, unlike the phenomenon that saw a large portion of Earnhardt fans move to his son after The Intimidator's tragic death.

"The fans, none of them ever expected me to wear cowboy hats and sun visors," Kyle says. "But they expected Dale Jr. to wear Wranglers."

More importantly, they expected Earnhardt to win. And he did at first, going to Victory Lane 15 times between 2000 and 2004, including a career-high six times in '04.

But with only three wins in the past six seasons and none since the 15th race of 2008, fan expectation has turned to fan frustration, and that has turned into jokes.

"I don't think it's bad that people make fun of Dale Earnhardt Jr." Petty says. "Dale Jr. will never be the greatest race car driver that ever lived. He's a good race car driver. He's a solid race car driver. He's just got it in his head he just can't get it done."

“

Kyle Petty There have been two telling comments I've heard from Dale over the past few years. The first came when he was having trouble last year and they made the change of crew chief at Dover. He said something about, 'I know what I have to live up to.' He doesn't have to live up to anything. And then the other comment he made recently when he said if they put 15 in the playoffs, they'll say it was to get me in. He's listening to it. He's paying attention to what's being said, and it's got him off-kilter here.
” -- Kyle Petty

Earnhardt isn't the first athlete who has been a punch line. Tiger Woods has helped keep comedians employed the past year. Washington Redskins defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth has been the butt of jokes by his own teammates.

But with Earnhardt, it's different. He was put in this position because he hasn't lived up to what others think he should, not because of something stupid or selfish he did away from his playing field.

Is it really fair that he gets chided for this?

"If Dale Sr. had been here to race and Dale Jr. had continued to race, Dale Jr. would be in a different place," Kyle says.

We'll never know for sure. But it's safe to say if Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s last name weren't what it is, there wouldn't be any fuss about whether he and crew chief Lance McGrew should stay together. There wouldn't be any deep concern about his missing the Chase for the third time in four years.

We'd be talking about what a great run he had at New Hampshire, how perhaps that was a step in getting the team to a contending level.

But we're not.

"There have been two telling comments I've heard from Dale over the past few years," Kyle says. "The first came when he was having trouble last year and they made the change of crew chief at Dover. He said something about, 'I know what I have to live up to.' He doesn't have to live up to anything.

"And then the other comment he made recently when he said if they put 15 in the playoffs, they'll say it was to get me in. He's listening to it. He's paying attention to what's being said, and it's got him off-kilter here."

Maybe Earnhardt has brought some of this on himself. But maybe being the punch line will help turn him around. Maybe in an effort to stop the jokes, he'll turn the focus to improving instead of trying to be something he can't be.

He certainly seemed more focused at New Hampshire, listening when McGrew told him to talk less. He didn't go ballistic when there were setbacks such as the jack-stop break and what he called a miscommunication with Regan Smith on a pit stop.

"It was good to see him have a run like that," Kyle says. "Maybe if Dale Jr. focused on being Richard Petty and I focused on being Dale Earnhardt Sr., we'd all be in a better place."

That sure would make an interesting twist to a movie.

David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at dnewtonespn@aol.com.
 
sbk92

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Oh yes. I feel sorry for Kyle. Jr. too.

It must be terrible being the son of a Nascar great and having the way paved for you to follow in his footsteps.

Real American tragedy, right there.
 
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Cr122

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sbk92 said:
Oh yes. I feel sorry for Kyle. Jr. too.

It must be terrible being the son of a Nascar great and having the way paved for you to follow in his footsteps.

Real American tragedy, right there.
Keep reading...

That's one thing I never understood, just because your daddy did great doesn't mean you will, or in Archie Mannings case in football it was Peyton who is great.

You just don't know. Sometimes when your in a athletic family like that some of them do all do well, it just doesn't happen all the time.

And it probably won't happen with Jr.
 
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Cr122

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Kyle Busch is such a fucking baby, I can't stand that asshole.

Even if it wasn't the other driver's fault he thinks it always is.
 
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Kahne released from Richard Petty Motorsports

Move effective immediately; Almirola to drive No. 9 car at Martinsville

By NASCAR.COM


CONCORD, N.C. -- Kasey Kahne has been released from his driving duties with Richard Petty Motorsports effective immediately, the team announced late Wednesday in a statement. Aric Almirola will drive the No. 9 Ford in the Sprint Cup Series race this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

The team's driver lineup beyond Martinsville is to be determined.

KahneAlmirola originally was scheduled to drive Red Bull's No. 83 Toyota at Martinsville. According to a source close to the situation Kahne, who will drive for Red Bull next year before taking over Hendrick Motorsports' No. 5 car, will slide into the No. 83 this week.

Kahne's release comes just days after the race at Charlotte, where Kahne had brake problems that led to an accident, causing damage to his car that took several laps to repair. Only an ill-feeling Kahne did not return to the track along with his car, much to the dismay of at least one RPM team member.

The next morning, Kahne ran in his charity 5K event.

Kahne, whose tenure at RPM was to come to an end after this season after having earlier in the year signed a long-term deal with Hendrick Motorsports, has been visibly frustrated with his car's performance, or lack thereof. Kahne in particular has been critical of recent brake troubles and in the past seven races, he has finished 28th or worse five times.

After making the Chase and winning twice in his first season under the Richard Petty Motorsports banner -- the latest version of the former Evernham Motorsports team for which he began his career -- Kahne is 21st in points and winless this season.
 
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Early move to Red Bull caps wild week for Kahne

Release from Richard Petty Motorsports puts driver in 83 Toyota for rest of year

By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM


On the morning after he walked away from his No. 9 car claiming an illness, former Richard Petty Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne was asked if he'd be in a vehicle fielded by Red Bull Racing -- the team he's slated to drive for next season -- before this year was out.

"I don't know," he said Sunday, following a series of events that led RPM to put J.J. Yeley in his car to finish the previous night's event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "I don't know if that will happen or not. I doubt it."

There are no more doubts. After being released by RPM on Wednesday night, Kahne officially has landed at Red Bull five races early, where he will get a head start on his 2011 campaign beginning this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Kahne will drive the organization's No. 83 car, with Jimmy Elledge as crew chief. Kahne will drive for Red Bull next season before sliding into Hendrick Motorsports' No. 5 car beginning in 2012.

"With our agreement only being for one year, there is a great sense of urgency to get started on 2011," said Red Bull vice president Jay Frye, who along with Kahne will speak to the media at 10 a.m. ET Friday at Martinsville. "With Kasey coming earlier than planned, we are excited to have a five-race head start."

Aric Almirola, originally slated to drive the No. 83 car for Red Bull this weekend, will instead be in Kahne's old No. 9. RPM said its driver lineup in that vehicle for the remainder of the year is yet to be determined. Marcos Ambrose, who is slated to move to RPM's No. 19 car next season, will remain in his No. 47 at JTG Daugherty Racing for the balance of this year, that team confirmed.

The early move to Red Bull caps a furious few days for Kahne, who crashed out of Saturday night's race at Charlotte and walked away from his No. 9 car claiming to be ill. The next day at a charity 5K run he hosted and competed in, the driver said he had vomited, but also was disgusted over the fact that he had lost his brakes for "the third time this year and the second time in three weeks," he said.

It turned out to be the last time Kahne would drive the No. 9 car, the only vehicle he's used at the Cup Series level since he broke into NASCAR's top series in 2004. RPM used Yeley to complete the race. "I think anytime you're a competitor and you spin around and get tore up, you don't like that," RPM vice president Robbie Loomis said Saturday night. "... Seeing as Kasey was feeling bad, there was no sense in having him, so we got J.J."

And yet, the incident highlighted what had been an undercurrent of frustration between Kahne and RPM over reliability issues. An 11-time winner on NASCAR's top circuit, Kahne has gone without a victory this season, and failed to finish four times.

"I was told I needed to start doing my part, [that's] what [a] guy told me last night after the race," he said Sunday. "I'm not going to say names, but I was told I need to start doing my part. I don't have any control over these issues. I don't know how many parts I've broken ... As a driver, I'm doing my part. I work as hard as anybody out there."

Kenny Francis, Kahne's longtime crew chief and confidante at RPM, will follow the driver to Red Bull next season. What's yet to be determined is exactly which car Kahne will drive for the organization next year. Brian Vickers, the regular driver in the No. 83, has been out most of this year with blood clots, but expects to be back for 2011. That leads to the possibilities of Kahne replacing Scott Speed in the team's second car, or Red Bull fielding a third entry for its new driver next season.
 
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Denny Hamlin wins and is just 6 points from the leader Jimmie Johnson.
 
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Hendrick Motorsports makes personnel adjustments for 2011


CONCORD, N.C. (Nov. 23, 2010) – Hendrick Motorsports has made personnel adjustments in preparation for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, with drivers Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. being teamed with new crew chiefs.

Below are the driver-crew chief pairings for each Hendrick Motorsports car, effective immediately:


No. 5 Chevrolet

Driver: Mark Martin

Crew Chief: Lance McGrew


No. 24 Chevrolet

Driver: Jeff Gordon

Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson


No. 48 Chevrolet

Driver: Jimmie Johnson

Crew Chief: Chad Knaus


No. 88 Chevrolet

Driver: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Crew Chief: Steve Letarte


The cars of Martin and four-time Sprint Cup champion Gordon will be fielded out of the same facility, now known as the 5/24 shop. Earnhardt Jr.'s Chevrolets will be prepared out of the renamed 48/88 shop alongside those of five-time and defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

"This will improve us as an organization, across the board," said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. "We had a championship season (in 2010), but we weren't where we wanted and needed to be with all four teams. We've made the right adjustments, and I'm excited to go racing with this lineup."
 
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They're trying everything to make Jr. look like something other than the most overrated athlete in sports.
 
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Dale Jr. working on extension

Despite #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s struggles on the track, Hendrick Motorsports has begun negotiating a contract extension for NASCAR's most popular driver. Team owner Rick Hendrick told ESPN.com of his plans Thursday after Earnhardt was named the sport's most popular driver for the eighth straight year during the National Motorsports Press Association Myers Brothers luncheon at the Bellagio. "We're looking at extending it," Hendrick said of Earnhardt, who just completed the third year of a five-year deal that ends in 2012. "I really like him. I think the world of him. I know he can do it. We just have to get the right combination in, and I think we're going to have it. I hope we get to race together until he retires ... until I retire. I'll retire first," he said.

Extending the contract would end any speculation that Earnhardt might move his Nationwide Series program to Sprint Cup after 2012 and drive for himself or go to another team. But Earnhardt's first priority is making sure the next time he returns to Las Vegas for the season-ending banquet it is as a member of the Chase field and not just to get a popularity award. "The only person that can truly help me get where I need to go starts with me, then it goes to Rick, Steve [Letarte] and those guys in your inner circle every week and in your corner every week," said Earnhardt, who finished 21st in points. "My biggest problem, I think, is my confidence," he said.
 
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