Well, it's been a little more than 24 hours since Dale Earnhardt Jr. rocked the NASCAR world to it's very core by officially leaping to "The Dark Side" and becoming a member of Hendrick Motorsports.
As a Junior fan since he first started driving for his Daddy, it was shocking to say the least. Downright stunning, actually.
However, in the 48 hours since news first leaked of the possibility, I've come to one simple conclusion.
(Notice the two numbers in the first four sentences.)
Good for you, Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
And you want to know why?
Junior has been a friend of Hendrick for nearly 20 years. He sought the advice of Hendrick--among others--in the aftermath of his father's death. Hendrick has been there for Junior--and his sister--for both on- and off-the-track situations.
Senior was a close friend of Hendrick. Drove a Hendrick car and gave the owner his first win in the Busch series.
Junior's maternal grandfather, Robert Gee, worked for Hendrick and helped build what has become the dominant team in the sport.
And you know what? That's good enough for me.
Who the hell am I to say that Junior made the wrong decision? Who am I, an outsider, to say that Junior should have gone elsewhere, given the personal track record both sides have?
It's awful presumptive of me to think I, as a fan, know what's best for my driver. And it's utterly asinine that so-called Junior fans are threatening to jump ship and burn their #8 memorabilia and sell their Junior stuff.
Passion is one thing, but far-sightedness and out-and-out blind rage over your driver making the best decision he could possibly make is just... well... asinine.
And I'll tell you something else, and not that it matters in the grand scheme of things:
I'm damn proud of Junior. Damn proud.
The easiest thing for him to do would've been to go to Richard Childress Racing.
It's what his fans wanted. It's what the vast majority of the media expected. And it's what a lot of the NASCAR garage felt was an inevitable rite of passage.
And, most of all, it was what his fans wanted.
But Junior didn't take the easiest path. He took the best path for himself, personally and professionally, and a path that will ultimately be the best for his fans--his true fans--as well.
He said in the press conference five weeks ago announcing his heart-wrenching decision to leave DEI that he wanted to go to a place where he could win races and compete for championships.
As much as RCR has improved over the past two seasons, they are not in the same league as Hendrick. Not even close. Nor is anyone else on the circuit, for that matter.
So, in retrospect, it was actually an easy decision to see coming, especially with the rumored struggles the Busch and Hendrick camps were having in their contract talks.
Yesterday morning, Junior took a giant step both as a driver and as a person. As a driver, he will get the best equipment available, something that wasn't afforded to him at DEI. As a person, he'll continue his seemingly never-ending quest to get at least one foot out from underneath his father's immense shadow.
Last December, Teresa Earnhardt-Ono was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as stating that her stepson needed to decide whether he wanted to be "a NASCAR driver or a public personality".
With his decision to jump ship to Hendrick, Junior made it perfectly clear what he's all about. And it's all about the former in Teresa's pitiful attempt at calling out her meal ticket.
And one other thing that's perfectly clear: In the future, The Wicked Bitch of the South had better be careful when, where and at whom she throws down gauntlets. Those types of tantrums risk destroying and gutting everything her late, great husband built.
If that hasn't happened already.
Read the complete post at http://rightturnsprohibited.blogspot.com/2007/06/one-junior-nation-under-rick.html