| | ONE OF THE GUYS | Earnhardt Jr. tries to maintain a low profile -- on a camel | |
| | By Lenox Rawlings / JournalNow.com CHARLOTTE, NC -- In his granddaddy’s day, hard-charging, hard-smoking drivers might walk a mile for a Camel.
At the dawn of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s new racing day, he rides in on a camel.
Her name is Lulu. “Her breath stunk something awful,” Earnhardt said.
He has personal and business reasons for climbing onto a humped beast of burden. He wants to fit into Rick Hendrick’s racing empire beside two-time champion Jimmie Johnson, four-time champion Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears, who has cruised into victory lane since Earnhardt ventured into the winless desert 62 races ago.
The fastest way to please the owner is to satisfy the sponsor. PepsiCo’s energy drink, AMP, and the National Guard will co-sponsor Earnhardt’s No. 88 machine. When PepsiCo shot commercials in Los Angeles recently, Earnhardt showed up on time. Lulu showed up on cue, sitting like camels sit and letting the driver board before rising, hind legs first.
“That was really weird,” Earnhardt said. “Climbing on an animal that big, you need to be on top of it. That animal would be getting up and down. I mean, that thing’s big. I was wondering if that thing was going to go ape and throw me off, go running through the building and throw me off somewhere. It was real calm.”
That was the calm after the storm. Last fall, Earnhardt left the team his father started, seeking fresh air and deliverance from stepmother Teresa Earnhardt, a mostly absent owner. His agonizing and the transition will become a reality series on ESPN, with three segments in February and two in July.
He has business reasons for the documentary - his management company produces it - but he usually pulls personal punches when discussing his daddy’s widow. During a media tour last week, Teresa Earnhardt declined interviews and let the company President Max Siegel answer questions, which rankled some reporters.
“I don’t think you guys are deserving of that any more than any of us are,” Earnhardt said. “It’s up to her. What she wants to do, she can do it.... It would help, I think, for the morale of the guys around there for her to plug in more to what’s going on so that when she does come up to you and makes a comment, you believe it’s sincere and you don’t think that’s just sort of her way of putting in her two cents.”
As his next racing chapter begins, Junior just wants to put in the time and count the wins later. Hendrick has warned sponsors that new teams often take bumpy rides, but he predicts a faster track based on Earnhardt’s strong Daytona tests, his continued partnership with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and his friendship with the other drivers.
“The guy is so sensitive,” Hendrick said. “I see why he’s so popular with the fans.... I keep using the word respect. I was going to loan him my bus. He was having problems with his bus at Richmond. He said: ‘You know I can’t use your bus. I don’t deserve it. I haven’t won a championship like Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.’ All I was talking about was using the bus for Richmond. I wasn’t going to spend the night.”
Earnhardt impressed Hendrick and his teammates by attending their Daytona tests even though he wasn’t driving those days. At a dinner last week, Earnhardt earned more owner points by entertaining sponsors and staying until the last one left. Junior wore a starched company shirt, creased dress pants and polished shoes to the media session.
“That’s protocol, man,” Earnhardt said. “There are days when you’ve got to get dressed up. I’ve worn a suit before. Can you believe it? Hard to believe, but sometimes you’ve got to wear the suit, and sometimes you get to be however you want. I’ve got a boss, just like you, and sometimes you’ve got to look good.”
Hendrick sees something he likes better than a starched company shirt. “He looks happy,” the boss said. “He really looks happy.”
The drivers have known Earnhardt for years, up close and through constant air time. “I know more about Dale Jr. than I know about myself right now,” Mears said, grinning at his own joke.
“Junior’s a neat guy. He’s just coming here to go racing, and obviously he comes with a lot of, uh, not bad baggage, but a lot of baggage with his notoriety. I don’t know - I’m not in his shoes - but I’m sure that’s a hard thing for him to navigate sometimes. When he comes into the room, he just wants to be himself and hang out. I think, apparently, the media, press, fans and everybody else kind of overshadow everybody else around him.”
Earnhardt purposely maintains a low profile around the company shop, insisting that his arrival shouldn’t steal the spotlight from Johnson’s drive for a third straight title.
“There have been a lot of references to me coming over here and sort of taking over the headlines here, and I’m uncomfortable with that,” Earnhardt said. “I don’t want them guys to resent me at all for that, so I’m just trying to come in here and do well.”
Hendrick puts the case bluntly: “He picked this place knowing that he was going to get measured against Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. He says: ‘I can beat ’em.’ He sure hasn’t backed away from the pressure of being measured up against those guys.”
Earnhardt’s resume features 17 Cup victories since joining the tour in 1999, including the 2004 Daytona 500. His highest points finish: third in 2003. Earnhardt missed qualifying for the title chase by four spots last year even after NASCAR expanded the field to 12. He had seven top-five finishes and about 8 million skeptics wondering if he belongs among the NASCAR elite.
“I’ve always got something to prove or there wouldn’t be no reason to come here,” he said. “There wouldn’t be any reason to even race.... Coming into this year, I don’t think we necessarily have to prove I’m a good race-car driver. I feel like I’ve proven that. We’ve done a lot of things on the racetrack. People just have short-term memory, I reckon. I want to prove I’m a great one. I would agree with everyone, like, maybe I haven’t proven that.”
This is his proving ground, driving for the industry leader, with no mechanical shortages, no internal conflicts and no excuses. At 33, this is his time. He can drive Hendrick’s machines and wear Hendrick’s uniforms. He also can be himself.
“I’ve got some jeans out in the car,” Earnhardt said.
It’s hard to ride a camel without them.
| | Posted January 27, 2008 , 10:10 pm EST
Last Updated January 27, 2008 , 10:11 pm EST | | | | | | |
