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Dale Earnhardt Jr. NASCAR’s Favorite Son

Angie
PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 02: Amer...
Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the NMPA Chex Most Popular Driver Award for the seventh consecutive time today. He is third on the all-time list behind Bill Elliott who won it 16 times and Richard Petty who won nine.

The award has been around since 1956 and is voted on solely by fans.

This win was expected by many but will no doubt surprise countless others who witnessed the worse season of Dale Jr’s career in 2009.

It was a season filled with ups and downs and left very little to cheer about. He failed to make the Chase and finished a career low 25th in the overall point’s standings.

Dale Jr. flew in just to accept this award and give thanks to the allegiance of fans who have continued to support him in good times and bad.

“If the fans are going to go through the trouble of clicking online every day to get this award for you and hope that you win it and want you to win it,” he said, “I understand how important it is for me to accept it in person – not only to thank the fans obviously but it also gives me an opportunity to thank my family.”

There are many detractors out there who will tell you that he doesn’t deserve this award. They’ll tell you his track performance this year should disqualify him from receiving such a prestigious honor.

What they don’t quite grasp is the concept that Dale Jr’s popularity is not based on where he’s ranked at the end of each season. His fans look at the total package and admire the man beneath the fire suit.

His humility and never give up attitude is a big part of that package and is reflected in his own words as he tries to explain what the award means to him.

It’s hard to put the words together to explain what the feeling is like,” Jr. said. “There’s a big sense of did I earn this, did I deserve it because of my family name?

My father gave me a hell of a gift in popularity. So my job has been to try to be an asset to the sport and maintain that gift and its integrity and the name that my father has built, the respect that it has, the Earnhardt name and all that.

“There’s a lot of emotions that run through when I accept the award. … There’s a big sense of responsibility for me with the Earnhardt name to do good, do it justice.”

For the myriad of fans who continue to support Dale Jr, it was another opportunity to say,

“We still believe in you. Don’t give up on yourself because we’ll never give up on you.”

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December 4th, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , | Category: Drivers
  • http://tracksmack.net/ Lee

    Great article, Angie. Although I’m not a true Dale, Jr., fan, I do respect him as a competitor and a driver. The thing that I admire most about him is that he understands where his celebrity comes from. The challenge for him is to live up to that to the best of his ability. He understands that he would not be at Hendrick if not for who he is and the doors his name has opened up for him

    I hope he has a better season next year. Just not better than Ryan Newman’s! :) Our sport is better off with someone like this generating the interest that he does. And if nothing else, he brings fans to the track.

  • http://tracksmack.net Lee

    Great article, Angie. Although I’m not a true Dale, Jr., fan, I do respect him as a competitor and a driver. The thing that I admire most about him is that he understands where his celebrity comes from. The challenge for him is to live up to that to the best of his ability. He understands that he would not be at Hendrick if not for who he is and the doors his name has opened up for him

    I hope he has a better season next year. Just not better than Ryan Newman’s! :) Our sport is better off with someone like this generating the interest that he does. And if nothing else, he brings fans to the track.

  • Angie

    Thanks for your comments, Lee.

    I guess everyone picks their favorite driver for varied reasons. Often when I think of Jr, I picture that little boy we’ve seen in countless videos looking up at his Daddy, hoping for a smile or a pat on the head. In many ways, I think he’s still looking for the acknowledgment that he really belongs in the sport and still trying to measure up to his Dad.

    I admire his courage in carrying on after his father’s tragic death, his humility, his love of NASCAR history and I still think he has a lot of great races left in him. Maybe he’ll even give Newman a run for the money.

  • Angie

    Thanks for your comments, Lee.

    I guess everyone picks their favorite driver for varied reasons. Often when I think of Jr, I picture that little boy we’ve seen in countless videos looking up at his Daddy, hoping for a smile or a pat on the head. In many ways, I think he’s still looking for the acknowledgment that he really belongs in the sport and still trying to measure up to his Dad.

    I admire his courage in carrying on after his father’s tragic death, his humility, his love of NASCAR history and I still think he has a lot of great races left in him. Maybe he’ll even give Newman a run for the money.

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