"I know you guys have been waiting on that one,", "I know I have." were the words Earnhardt Jr. said over the team radio moments after taking the checkered flag Sunday. This win marked Dale Earnhardt Jr's 19th Cup Series victory in his 450th start, and also marked the end of the most publicized losing streak in motorsports. After some "on the chip" crazy burnouts, came that long awaited visit to victory lane.
Almost before Earnhardt Jr. came to a stop a cell phone was being handed to him. On the other end? Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick. Hendrick is quoted as saying "I just told him, 'I knew we were going to get it done,' ". " 'I'm so proud of you. Enjoy this. The world's been looking at you, and now you can take a deep breath and go have fun.' ". More had to be said because Earnhardt Jr. spent a lot of time on the phone before his shower of Diet Mountain Dew, but whatwas for sure, was his grin from ear to ear.
After a nice "welcome home" to victory circle from TNT reporter Matt Yocum, Earnhardt Jr. was quick to start his thank-yous. "That was a great race, I want to thank my sponsors National Guard, Diet Mountain Dew, Great to have the Batman on the car today. We just had a really good car and this Chevrolet was fast, its just pretty amazing". After recalling how tense the last 15 laps were and a hug from crew chief Steve Letarte (who broke his own 115 race winless streak), Yocum asked Jr. "What is the most satisfying part of this victory?". To which Jr. answered "To do it for my fans, they've stuck behind me for all these years and I know exactly what they've been thinking about, and how long they've been wanting us to get to victory lane." Looking with a nod to the camera said "So this one's for them", "I appreciate their loyalty and their support, and we wouldn't have made it back to victory lane without it so, that's who we have to give all the credit to". I've got to admit, as a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan, this was awesome to hear.
The celebration was on but it wasn't too long after the critics started, with Tony Stewart ""It's no different than anybody else that does it -- it's not a national holiday, guys,". "This morning they were celebrating the fourth anniversary of his last win, so I guess we're all in a state of mourning now, 'cause he's broke that string now, so I wonder what we're all supposed to think." Typical Tony I guess because every other driver was quite congratulatory.
It was on twitter too, the snide remarks, trying to downsize the hugeness of this victory. "One victory in four years? So what.", "Most over rated driver in Cup history". But all of that is ok, because the people who matter to Jr. were able to celebrate, his fans (me included). After so many close calls (7 second place finishes in those 143 races), I believe a larger than normal celebration for the sports undisputed most popular driver was more than merited, and I'm glad there was. Don't like him? Don't celebrate.
As for the talk of championship. Earnhardt Jr., at this point is having a championship season. Having been a factor at all different tracks, getting the monkey off his back with the elusive victory and sitting only 4 points back of leader Matt Kenseth, one could argue that Earnhardt Jr. is poised for a championship. But this is NASCAR so only one thing I can say for sure: the next few weeks are going to be a roller coaster. It starts with Sonoma.
We're in for a wild ride. Smitty OUT
This is a great post. I like JR..not a major fan but a fan still. I was rooting for him close to the end of the race and truly was happy to see him take his win. To me what was really cool was that it was on Father's day...bet Dale Sr was smiling in heaven. I saw all the hoopla on Twitter too..a lot of happy fans...a lot of bashers and what I enjoyed most seeing was the peeps that aren't fans but were happy for him anyways...now THAT is a true NASCAR fan! We all have our favorite...we all have the ones we don't like...but a true fan can tell when there is something to celebrate in the NASCAR world. Just like Gordon..not a big fan of him either but let's face it, he needs some good luck and a win would do him good, I think this will pick JR up and give him more get up and go..I'm hoping anyways. I'm not surprised Tony made that comment. In MY opinion, he;s an ignorant ass. I thought it was cool to see the other drivers and teams congratulate Jr...very respectful and I'm sure it was in everybody's mind that a win for him on Father's day was very fitting and touching. Keep up the great work here guys!
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