Dale Earnhardt Jr. teed off on the tandem-style of racing after a 19th-place result at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night, calling it a "foolish frickin' race."
After the media asked him his opinion of the night's racing, Earnhardt Jr. – who has made it well known he dislikes this type of racing and prefers controlling his own destiny – began to vent.
"You guys need to get your own frickin' opinions and write what y'all think about it," he said. "Because I think (those opinions are) pretty damn close to mine. So stop putting my damn foot in my mouth with y'all and getting my ass in trouble. Y'all write what y'all think, man. C'mon. Y'all are good. Y'all got an opinion about it; I read y'all's shit."
Earnhardt Jr. was particularly frustrated after a couple of developments late in the race. First, drafting partner Jimmie Johnson was called into the pits for a late stop while Earnhardt Jr. stayed out on the track, and the pair was broken up.
"I'm driving my car, do what I'm told," he said. "They decided to do something different. I can't run the whole damn thing from the seat of the damn race car. I'm just doing what I'm told out there. I don't know how that affected us, if it did at all. It probably didn't."
Johnson, for his part, tweeted that he "didn't leave Jr hanging."
"You people are crazy," he said in apparent response to angry Earnhardt Jr. fans. "When my crew tells me to pit, I pit. (Crew chiefs) Steve (Letarte) and Chad (Knaus) sort out the details."
Losing his drafting partner wasn't what hurt Earnhardt Jr. the most, though. The driver of the No. 88 car was running the bottom of the track in Turns 3 and 4, and Jamie McMurray "just drove into the side of me and turned me onto the apron," he said.
"I had it saved, and then he came on and got him another shot," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Brought the K.O. punch the second time and spun us around."
Asked why no one made a big move at the end of the race, Earnhardt Jr. grew frustrated. His eyes burning with intensity, Earnhardt Jr. said there was nothing anyone could do.
"What kind of move can you make?" he said. "I mean, Jesus, man! What kind of frickin' move can you make when you're racing like this? There ain't no move you can make. You just hold it on the mat and try not to wreck into each other – and you see how good we are at that."
Despite the disappointing result, Earnhardt Jr. remained seventh in the Sprint Cup Series point standings. He's still 39 points inside the Chase.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Fired Up After Wreck Ends Promising Night At Daytona International Speedway
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I’m surprised any of the media had the balls to confront Jr after the race. If you’d confronted some of the fans, you’d have left without your teeth.
by factfinder on Jul 2, 2011 11:50 PM EDT reply actions
not re-sign,,,
I only hope that tonight finally brings home to Jr. why & how much he does not want to re-sign with Rick.
by 1123marybeth on Jul 2, 2011 11:54 PM EDT reply actions
The move to the back was a stupid one to start with, second with no cautions they drifted too far from the lead pack and waited too late to try to move up and couldn’t go anywhere, then ol JJ leaves Jr hanging at the very end when he needed him the most, some teammate he is. Jr needs to find a new partner to draft with, JJ’s one sided. Jr had every reason to be pissed off. The 2 car draft is B.S. racing….
by Jr_Fan on Jul 2, 2011 11:55 PM EDT reply actions
something nice for Jr.
After the Talladega race when Jr. pushed JJ to the win, Chad said that they would do something nice for Jr. I guess hanging Jr. out to dry at Daytona is Chad’s idea of doing something nice for Jr. When Chad pulled JG’s pit crew last year, he did not ask anyone. It is understood by everyone at HMS that it is all about getting JJ the best finish possible, by any means possible. Those are Rick’s orders. & it will be that way as long as Jr. is at HMS…so why would he re-sign up for any more of it…? To think that it is suddenly going to change, is not dealing with reality. Re-signing with Rick will be the death warrant of Jr.’s Cup career. I had thought that they would try to get Jr. the win tonight as way of a carrot to get Jr. to re-sign. They only want Jr. for the money he can bring in, & to keep him for running competitively against JJ. I do not trust Chad any further than I can keep both eyes & both barrels of a gun on him, as the saying goes.
by 1123marybeth on Jul 3, 2011 2:10 AM EDT reply actions
You are so smart, maybe you should be running HMS. They are so interested in only the money Jr. brings them that they definitely would not want him to win a championship. Because if he won a championship that would not get any more money, nope, no money, they might even lose money, yep, they make way more money having him not win races in 3 years. Makes total sense, you nailed it, good job!
No, I feel full after the risotto
by SuchaHassleToJoinThisBlog on Jul 3, 2011 4:29 AM EDT up reply actions
Gordon finished 6th and JJ 20th so I guess that’s getting JJ the best finish possible, right???
I root for Kyle Busch because he pisses everyone off, and I love it... Jr, Harvick, J-Mac, Mark Martin, Denny, Smoke, Kurt Busch and the Roush guys (except Ragan) and always The Wood Brothers...
Since JJ is now on twitter I have gone to the dark side because he is a really cool dude...
Twitter: @Len_DiJoseph
by Len_DiJoseph on Jul 3, 2011 6:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Jimmie Johnson
Don’t give us the babe in the woods routine Jimmie. The 48 team was trying to win the race…to do that they had to get away from JR but they couldn’t do it under green. That was the ONLY reason for them to pit. The 48 team WILL NEVER help another car win a race. Not even a teammate. It’s not in their DNA. You don’t win 5 championships in a row by being nice or fair. You do whatever it takes to win and sometimes you have to bend the rules to make that happen. Jimmie Johnson says “I just do what I’m told”…give me a break. At least Mark Martin has the class to admit when he makes a mistake. He doesn’t make lame excuses on Twitter or go off on the fanbase. I really thought you were better than this.
by JessicaV on Jul 3, 2011 12:30 PM EDT reply actions
here it comes again
Jr is happy at Hendrick and will resign to extend his contract.
We didnt see it but I bet Jimmie got a ton of tweets from outraged fans. He did what he was told. Jr also thought he has a tire down and was ready to pit until Steve said something about the way the car was set up and his notes from another race.
Even the Eurys commented in an interview about what Jr has at Hendrick. I doubt any of this means anything to you since you’re hellbent on making something out of every little thing surrounding Jr and Hendrick.
by Bobbie1231 on Jul 3, 2011 2:13 PM EDT reply actions
what?
The 48 team was trying to win the race and to do that you can’t be pushing another car across the finish line. They had to get away from JR and the obligation to help him but they couldn’t do it under green so they pit late without JR. That way it doesn’t look like a total screw job to the average person watching the race. “I just do what I’m told”…give me a break! Nobody is falling for this babe in the woods routine. Jimmie Johnson had his hands on that wheel not Chad Knaus and if he was truly committed to helping his teammate he would’ve stayed behind JR on the race track. Also I don’t think anyone (48 fans included) is going to think much of a guy who pretends to be a team player and then verbally blasts people who saw what actually happened. Enjoy your 20th place finish.
by JessicaV on Jul 3, 2011 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions
un-align bumpers....
I just wish that Chad & JJ had hung Jr. out in the first practice on Thursday instead of waiting until the last 10 laps. If he had known Thurs. what was coming in the race, he could have picked someone that he could trust & rely on to be his partner. I believe that they (Chad & JJ) knew that they were going to hang Jr. out before they went to DIS. I think that that is Jr.‘s problem with tandem racing. He is forced to race with JJ. No one likes to get screwed over. JJ said that they could win from 25th. Why were they back in 25th?
I agree with the writer who said that all Nascar has to do is make sure that the front & back bumpers don’t line up.
by 1123marybeth on Jul 3, 2011 8:05 PM EDT reply actions
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