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Maybe It's Not Fair, But...
7/20/2009Maybe It's Not Fair, But...
Sometimes I wonder if, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. pulls on his T-shirt, he feels that he has to do it better than anyone else.
If that seems silly, consider what Tony Eury Jr. said at Chicagoland Speedway in his first public comments since being replaced as Earnhardt's crew chief. "My personal opinion is that you guys put so much pressure on him . . . that Dale Jr. just basically had had enough."
Eury was specifically referring to the media. But in our celebrity-driven, People magazine, photo-op, sound-bite, Facebook, Twitter society, by implication he was including the fans, too, for Earnhardt's fall from competitive grace.
His definitive life story should be titled: Great Expectations.
It's conventional wisdom in NASCAR Nation that Junior's absence from victory lane is one reason TV ratings are down like a flat tire. Dale actually felt the need to address that one himself, during a recent publicity visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"I mean, if it is, it shouldn't be. That shouldn't be why - you know, the sport shouldn't rest on one man's shoulders. You know, I say that, but at times it has, you know, in years past. I don't think, I don't feel like personally it rests on my shoulders. I'm sorry I haven't run better . . . If it's hurting the sport, you know, that's not what I want to do, not my intent."
Fame comes attached with a harsh spotlight. One that illuminates - and in some circumstances - burns.
Junior, after all, had no control over the massive wave of public emotion that attached itself to him in the wake of his father's death in the 2001 Daytona 500.
But . . . both Juniors - Dale and Tony - knew big-time pressure was part of the "deal" when they willingly accepted the riches and resources at Rick Hendrick's all-powerful team. One with a roster of new sponsors anxious to launch an all-out advertising and promotional campaign featuring the sport's most popular athlete.
"There could be some merit to that - no doubt," Eury admitted of being in the same camp as champions Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.
"Those guys are good and they have the equipment and the people that surround them at Hendrick Motorsports to be able to take care of that," he continued. "That pressure gets to anybody. We just have to kind of chill out and let Dale Jr. do his thing and enjoy himself. Not saying to just slack off, but he's trying really hard and let's give him a break and let him do what he loves . . . You flip on TV and that's all you see is Dale Jr . . . You can only take so much."
I wonder if John Force feels the weight of drag racing on his back when he goes down the track. Or Danica Patrick to save Indy Car racing. Even 20-year-old Graham Rahal is being counted on to succeed and be a face of the IRL.
"I just respond to what's out there and how I feel," Patrick said last May. "So I try not to live up to expectations, try not to feel like I have to live up to expectations or be overwhelmed and concerned, overly concerned, with what everyone thinks I should do. I just do what I think I can do."
"From the standpoint that the League would put pressure on me to be one of those faces, I welcome that," explained Rahal, son of Bobby, the 1986 Indy 500 winner. "I think that's exciting for me, to help promote it, and carry it along.
"Is it something I think about all the time? Not really."
I wonder if it would help Earnhardt to compare notes with Force or Patrick or Rahal.
I wonder, even if he did, if it's even possible for him not to think about the hopes and dreams others have invested in him.
I wonder if he can even imagine a morning, pulling on his T-shirt, where pressure is not right there, outside his door.
Maybe it's not fair, but that's the way it is.
Somehow, someway, Junior is going to have to find a way to deal with it.
[ Next column: August 3]
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(I.N. Sider is the pen name for an independent motorsports business-person who has a quarter-century of professional experience working in almost every major North American racing series. The writer is not an employee of Valvoline or Ashland Inc. The column is intended to inform, entertain, and stimulate thought on the contemporary motorsports scene. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Valvoline or Ashland Inc.)
BackAbout I.N. Sider
I.N. Sider is the pen name for an independent motorsports business-person who has a quarter-century of professional experience working in almost every major North American racing series. The writer is not an employee of Valvoline or Ashland Inc. The column is intended to inform, entertain, and stimulate thought on the contemporary motorsports scene. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Valvoline or Ashland Inc.