Top storylines of 2009: Dale Jr falters and the “JR Nation” is not happy

Dale Jr.: The two words the NASCAR media loves and one sector of fans does too, however most Dale Jr. fans have been upset with his performance to date. When he drove the red #8 Chevy for his father’s company, Dale Earnhardt Incorporated (DEI), he won races and had a shot at the title. He actually made the Chase in the #8 car.

So, his move to Hendrick Motorsports—the oft proclaimed “super team” of NASCAR—was much ballyhooed for one reason, NASCAR’s most popular driver was going to win a title. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

Well, ok, maybe there is a but. A big but.

But, Dale Jr. has won one race in a season and a third with Hendrick, which is as many races as both Casey Mears and Brian Vickers won with the Hendrick logo on the hood. In fact, Dale Jr. hasn’t scored multiple wins in a season since he won six contests in 2004. He’s won only two poles since 2003 (one each in 2007 and 2008) and this season he has been plagued by pit road errors.

Now, a lot of people have passed Dale Jr.’s poor performance off on a multitude of things, ranging from his crew chief, cousin Tony Eury Jr. to Jr.’s lack of focus to not having a grip on NASCAR’s new COT platform. While I try not to bury my head into “Jr. Mania” I can’t help but read the angry comments Jr. fans leave on numerous websites like Jay Busbee’s pieces on Yahoo! Sports.

I would like to address the Tony Eury Jr. idea though. Every year that I have attended the Brickyard 400 I have listened to Mark Martin’s crew chief count him down to his pit stall. They extensively check with Mark before the race starts, waving the pit sign and cautioning him to where his stall is at.

I assume most drivers are the same. The crew chiefs that I have listened to normally start when their driver is ten stalls away and count down from there. Maybe Tony Eury Jr. is so focused on what his over-the-wall crew is doing that he forgets about his cousin driving down pit road. Whatever the reason, something needs to change.

I used to think Dale Jr. had plenty of talent and was a decent racecar driver. Now, it almost seems like I agree with fans that say he is just riding on his name. If he can’t get it done in a Hendrick car, what can he get it done in?

That’s a multi-million dollar question, especially with egotistical young gun Brad Keselowski knocking on the door.