How long does Jr. have?

[baboontester]

Now, I know there are die-hard Earnhardt Jr. fans as well as die-hard Jr. haters.

He is the most popular driver in NASCAR and possibly in all of racing, but when does him not finishing good and not winning play a part? I know he is Sr.'s son and 90% (if not more) of his fans just tranistioned right over to Jr. I also know he has had some good runs this year inparticular but just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But there has to be a limit to how popular he is vs. how bad he runs.

I guess my question is, when does him not putting up results become a factor for him having a ride in the Cup Series?

 

[Shift]

I guess my question is, when does him not putting up results become a factor for him having a ride in the Cup Series?

As long as he is the most popular driver in the sport raking in the $$$, Never...

 

[TheJ]

he'll never be out of a ride, but in terms of ever having a chance at a title, i give him another 2 years to prove he could actually win one. after that, hes just getting too old to step it up that much. yes, 50 year old mark martin had a chance this year, but hes never been in this good a car before. jr cant get in better equipment probably ever. i see him becoming a more famous kyle petty. sad that his career may come to that

 

[Bucket]

yes, 50 year old mark martin had a chance this year, but hes never been in this good a car before.

What about 1990 and 1998?

 

[JMH714]

My friend told me that she heard Jr.'s interview that he said he didn't see himself racing when he's 40 years old.

 

[MattSRD28]

Dale Jr. is in no danger of losing his ride with Hendrick. Hendrick's not going to just give up on him. Rick will try umpteen different crew combinations first. Lance McGrew is only the 2nd crew chief that Dale's had in his current ride. He could go through 5 more crew chiefs before Hendrick gives Dale the boot.

 

[JeffJordan]

Some guys have an off year...Harvick is not good but finished 4th in the Chase last year, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman were awful last year, save for 2 races, one was rained out.

 

[evan07]

He will always have a ride but the quality of the ride may decrease as time goes on. I think his fans are getting tired of the bad runs already and the fan base is shrinking very slowly.

I just don't get what happened to him a one time he was good but now he seems to have lost it i guess the COT threw him off.

 

[baboontester]

He will always have a ride but the quality of the ride may decrease as time goes on. I think his fans are getting tired of the bad runs already and the fan base is shrinking very slowly.

I just don't get what happened to him a one time he was good but now he seems to have lost it i guess the COT threw him off.

Yeah, he used to win pretty regularly (meaning at least once or twice a year).

But COT's are his downfall, definitely.

 

[MattSRD28]

But COT's are his downfall, definitely.

Well it's not like he was wildly successful right up to the COT, and then when the COT went full time, Jr. dropped like a rock.

This decline of Jr.'s performance started long before the COT went full-time. I think the last time Jr. had a season that was considered a "success" was 2005 or earlier.

 

[TheJ]

This decline of Jr.'s performance started long before the COT went full-time. I think the last time Jr. had a season that was considered a "success" was 2005 or earlier.

he was good in 2006, only won once but finished 5th in points and ran very well at the cookie cutters(i specifically remember fontana, where he got 2nd, and homestead where he led a good portion of the race). i do think the cot has gotten the better of him, with the old car he probably would be winning like crazy with hendrick.

 

[DannyM]

Junior has many years left. They'll go through every crew chief in the garage before he's forced to give up.

 

[baboontester]

I know this would never happen because well...thats obvious..but

Jr w/ Chad Knaus. Would Jr. win then?

 

[Alex Kessler]

I know this would never happen because well...thats obvious..but

Jr w/ Chad Knaus. Would Jr. win then?

Like you said this would never happen, but I don't think Jr and Knaus would mesh well. Chad is very calm in large part because Jimmie is very calm, and everyone know that Jr is anything but calm during the race.

Back the the original question; Dale is going to have a quality ride as long as he is the most popular, that is not a debate, but how long will Jr be the popular with season after season of minimal performance?
I have been a Dale Jr. fan since he won his first Busch Series championship in 1998 but find my self watching less and less Cup series races when Jr is running poorly. This past weekend probably one of the few times that his race went largely mistake free this year.
So my question is: How long will Jr stay the most popular driver in NASCAR with the kind of poor performance he has had this year?

 

[Shift]

He may eventually get passed for the most popular driver, but I think he'll always be in the top group...

 

[DannyM]

I know this would never happen because well...thats obvious..but

Jr w/ Chad Knaus. Would Jr. win then?

I think a guy like Jimmy Fenning would work well with Junior. He needs a chief that he can't talk crap to, or he'll get his butt whooped. Junior hasn't had that since Tony Sr., which was the last time he did good.

 

[thunderbolt]

Jr will drive for whomever as long as he chooses...popularity being his claim to fame
yes, he has shown in the past he can actually drive and win, so he's got talent, but the new car does not work for him. he has not learned how to adapt.
and, crew chief choice is key, cause Jr is one those drivers who likes to argue and tries to make the calls

 

[MattSRD28]

So my question is: How long will Jr stay the most popular driver in NASCAR with the kind of poor performance he has had this year?

Y'know, by now, I kinda doubt anyone whose a fan of Dale Jr. is a fan because of his on-track performance.