I like Dale Jr and think he's a good driver, but not one of the elite ones like Stewart, Kenseth, Gordon & Johnson. If his name wasn't Dale Earnhardt, Jr, to me he'd be as popular as Dave Blaney or Scott Riggs. Your thoughts.
2007-12-26 07:37:12 · 38 answers · asked by Big Rick 6 in Sports ➔ Auto Racing ➔ NASCAR
I'm going to get hammered with the "thumbs down" with this answer, but oh well.
The bottom line is NO, he would not be as popular. He inherited a lot of his fans from his father, and a good deal more are just bandwagon fans who know little about the sport. Some of the answers you see on these boards are proof of that.
BUT that being said, I will give the man credit. He has a great personality, and has been able to MAINTAIN his fan base. That speaks volumes for him as both a driver and a person. People can't hold it against him just because much of his fan base was "handed" to him. That's not his fault at all. But you must give him credit for being able to maintain and increase his fan base. He's a down to earth "real life" kind of person, and folks can identify with that.
Just remember, with all of those inherited fans came a heck of a lot of pressure. And having to live up to the last name of "Earnhardt" would be extremely hard as well. I think he's done a great job dealing with it all so far.
2007-12-26 07:49:30 · answer #1 · answered by Bizz 3 · 16⤊ 2⤋
I would have to agree with you. The reason he is so popular is his name.
NASCAR is about being with the right team, with the best equipment and best personnel. Earnhardt Jr., because of his name, went to DEI, and inherited all three. When you give a driver all the resources to win, and he does, that driver will become popular.
Dave Blaney and Scott Riggs are extremely talented racecar drivers. They have never been put in good equipment and surrounded by good personnel as Earnhardt Jr. has been. If they had been, well, they might have won a bunch of races. They do not have the name to fall back on to get in good equipment or with a good team.
Someone earlier brought up Kerry Earnhardt and why he is not a success. Well, the fan base saw Dale Earnhardt and nothing else. They did see the Jr. at the end. So, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. was racing after Dale Earnhardt was killed, the elder's fan base just jumped to Earnhardt Jr. All the support went to Earnhardt Jr. Kerry was left out.
2007-12-26 13:04:31 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Hey everybody, been taking a break for a while for the holidays and such. I have to agree that Dale Jr. got a helping hand by being an Earnhardt. Somehow I think he would probably agree. He gained a lot of exposure to racing through his daddy both on the track and off. Wonder if he would have even been a racer if he had been born in Wyoming to a family named Smith? No, seriously everyone's heritage plays a big part in their life, what they do and how they do it. He has been given a gift, the name and now the Hendrick contract. It will be up to him what he does with it. I'm still wondering about the million other reasons he is popular mentioned in another answer.
2007-12-26 09:18:53 · answer #3 · answered by loco-mama 3 · 4⤊ 1⤋
I think you've opened a can of hatred from the Dale Jr. fans w/ this question! rotf...
I totally agree though.. I think he may be considered better than Blaney or Riggs, considering he has won a lot more races than them and that wasn't JUST because his Earnhardt name! So w/ that, His popularity would be somewhat higher also. Sure, He ended up in the DEI ride because his last name and all.. but w/ that your just going to in-depth into the already hypothetical question. I'd say.. Popularity of Kurt Busch if he wasn't an Earnhardt (minus the championship ofcourse!!) rotf.. Dwell on that JR fans
2007-12-26 09:03:16 · answer #4 · answered by Will-I-Am Hendrick Supporter 4 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Okay, here is my opinion on Dale Jr. We all know why Dale Jr is the most popular driver in NASCAR. To say he sucks, I think, would be unfair. Dale Jr has 18 wins in his career right now. That's as many as Matt Kenseth and more than Kevin Harvick, who have been in Sprint Cup just as long as Dale Jr has. Harvick has gone longer without a win than Dale Jr yet people aren't constantly saying Harvick sucks. Jeff Gordon hasn't won since 2007 but we know he doesn't suck. Everybody seems to have such high expectations for Dale Jr because of who his father was that they think he should have something like 2 championships, 40 wins, and be very successful in NASCAR by now and because he doesn't that means he sucks. People don't realize how hard it is to win races. Compared to Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jr sucks. Compared to most other drivers, he has had a great career. I'm not really a Dale Jr fan either, I just get tired of what people say about him.
2016-05-26 09:34:04 · answer #5 · answered by rochelle 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It really just depends on how you look at it. Would Jeff Gordon had been popular if he would have first signed with Robert Yates instead of HMS? I dont think he would be because he wouldnt have shown the caliber of driver that he is.
Now, lets say Dale Jr's name was really Bob Hogg.
Now Bob has the same of everything as Jr except for a famous father. He has the same driving skills, the same sponsor, the same equipment that he had with DEI, the same attitude. Do I think he would still be as popular. My answer is yes and here's why.
Bob and Bud went together like a hand and a glove. Many of Bobs fans are attracted to Bobs personality. Bob is a winning driver, although he still has no cups on his mantle. Bob gives alot of respect to the drivers of yester-year and has a ton of old school qualities in him. That's why many of the old school fans like him. Would Bob have won 5 favorite driver awards in a row, probably not, but he would have won some. Would HMS still sign Bob to a contract, with out a doubt. How many other drivers have let you into their lives the way Bob has?
If the only reason people dislike him is because of his name, all I can say is that's pretty sad. There's more to folks than just names, take all that away, he's still the same guy that many folks either love or love to hate. Same as Jeff Gordon.
2007-12-26 11:55:31 · answer #6 · answered by Slam The Wall 4 · 5⤊ 1⤋
I dont think we really know what Jr. can do because he is a very talented driver as he has great genetics, and his father was one of the best drivers ever in NASCAR. However, I believe that because DEI has failed in recent years to provide him the equipment and engines he needs he has failed to produce the results that they want to see. I mean seriously he has 7 DNFs this season and 6 of them were caused by blown engines, and to top it all off some of those races he had either led the most laps or was in contention to win, when the engine blew up. None of those instances were his fault. I do agree with you when you say that Jr. is not one of the elite drivers, but I think that this year, with him driving for Hendrick Motorsports he will probably have alot of success, and in the future he will probably be in the same category as those other elite drivers. I think that he would actually still have alot of the popularity that he does today, because he is good looking, and he is from the South and grew up in North Carolina. Those are all attributes that some of the drivers dont have, and in his rookie years he actually won quite a few races, which leads me to believe he has alot of raw talent. I think 2008 brings a new beginning and a year of success for Jr. and the entire Hendrick organization.
2007-12-26 14:20:17 · answer #7 · answered by coolliz2444 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No. As of now he is a top 15 driver at best.I think he can be a champion one day , but it will be when the pressure of being an Earnhardt is off of him. As strange as this may sound , he would probably be a better driver if he was not the most popular driver an trying to live up to his name.
2007-12-26 11:13:05 · answer #8 · answered by CGK 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
... Kerry Earnhardt isn't that popular and his last name is Earnhardt. I really don't see what the name has to do with it. I was a Dale Jr fan when Dale Sr was alive so Dale Srs death had nothing to do with it.
... I do think that his sponsor being Budweiser helped play a role in his popularity. Same thing will happen to Kasey Kayne after he wins a few races in the red number 9 Bud car.
2007-12-26 10:38:11 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Oh, I'll probably get hammered for this one, but oh well.
Honestly, until he starts winning consistantly, and vieing for championships( and that could come next year with his move to HMS), as far as I'm concerned, he's the next Kyle Petty.
A lot of you folks are too young to remember Kyle's first few years with NASCAR. When he was the one on all the TV ads, doing the late night talk shows, hell, he even had a country album out at one point. The fact of the matter is, he never backed up the weight of his name. Unless Jr. does better with Hendricks, he'll be in the same boat.
2007-12-26 10:37:41 · answer #10 · answered by JustJoshin999 3 · 7⤊ 1⤋