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Irene Reeves

Long time Nascar fan and devoted Dale Earnhardt Jr fan.

Dale Jr: Losing A Friend

It’s was a sad night for the Earnhardt camp upon learning of the sudden death of Arturo Gatti in Brazil on Saturday night. The team quickly put his name on Jr’s Amp/National Guard helmet in memory of Arturo. [see pic]

Perhaps the tribute to his friend can also be a reminder of the lessons learned while attending his friends fights.

“After watching a Gatti fight, I’m ready to take on anyone in the field on any given Sunday at the track,” Earnhardt Jr. said back in 2007. “Going 500 laps on a short track or 500 miles on a superspeedway is no easy task, but a bit of an inspiration and confidence can make anything possible.”

Confidence: What is that? Where has that gone or is it just sidelined? I believe this new car, the COT, and the difficulty his crew chiefs have had setting the car up so he can drive it have given Jr reason to doubt how the car will drive. Particularly so after pitstops when changes are made.

Just a fans opinion, but listening to the radio chatter and watching from afar, it seems Jr still doesn’t trust the car to be 100% under him particularly about 2/3rds of the way through the race. This is where the problems have been most of the year for some unknown and frustrating reason and continue to occur as recently as the Chicago race. It seems no one has been able to figure this out. Is it the car chief, the crewchief or just an unruly car that won’t behave if you tweak it 1/2 a turn?

Let’s take a look at the car chief, David Bryant who was previously the windshield/driver support person for the 48 team, who is now basically the crew chief’s right-hand man. [?]

While the crew chief is the ultimate decision-maker on car setup and race strategy, car chiefs oversee most of the scheduling and day-to-day preparations at the shop leading in to the race weekend.

Those preparations can range from seven-post shaker rig simulations, to data entry of the crew chief’s setup specifications into electronic spreadsheets to making sure the team has all the necessary parts and pieces on the hauler and ready for the road.

“They’re the guys behind the scenes that do probably 80 percent of the work at the shop of coordinating everything,” says Darian Grubb, crew chief on the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing entry of Tony Stewart. “ … When you unload at the race track, you’ve got to be ready, or you’re going to be behind from square one.”

Inspiration: What is it? Are we close or do we continue down the road we’re on? Has Rick Hendrick decided to use us for R&D to give Mark Martin a championship? I hope the answer to that is no! Will the new crew chief get newly built cars for the 88 team? Have all the people in the shop that build
or setup the chassis been spoken with to see if there are problems anywhere? The fans have a lot of questions out here. Someone needs to explain why we used a Richmond chassis for Chicago? Is everyone working the next two weeks to give us a winning car for Indy?

Mojo: Can we get it back - I say yes, but the car needs to drive perfectly without going from tight to loose and not turning in the corners etc. And, if it does those things that we make the right changes during the race. Why is that so hard now? Then the driver can have the confidence in the car, the
team, and most importantly, himself “to take on anyone in the field on any given Sunday at the track.” And, that folks is where your mojo comes from.

Finally, we all would like to send our condolences to Arturo Gatti’s family and friends. He was an amazing and fun guy and will be missed.

» Discuss This Story

i think Jr has hated the COT from day1.It's all gone downhill from there.I have ALWAYS had suspicions about whom is building these cars. So,,,you have a driver who has mindfreak going on about this COT, a pitcrew that is not consistent, a crew chief that struggles to make adjustments and questions about who the heck is building these cars......no wonder the season is in the tank.

Stretchie88 (Posted Jul 13, 2009 3:49:54 PM)
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good insight - I can't wait until Dale Jr. gets his mojo back!! It's there I know it. Things are definitely better with McGrew.

liv2race (Posted Jul 13, 2009 4:35:05 PM)
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Really like Irene Reeves' columns!
Being a fan of Jr is a plus, and having her insights and perspectives is informative and refreshing. Now, if only HMS can coordinate the pit crew and engine performance along with a bit of luck for Jr on the track and we'll soon see him being cheered as a the winner he is!

Jack B (Posted Jul 13, 2009 4:38:45 PM)
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Good article. Dale will regain his Mojo for sure. Good blend of Gatti and Dale Jr. Condolences to the Gatti family.

MB (Posted Jul 13, 2009 4:51:48 PM)
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Very nice of you to include the passing of Dale Jrs friend, Aurturo Gatti in your blog. I hope Jr & the 88 team enjoy their off weekend and get time to relax. They'Il be well rested when Mojo meets them at the Brickyard!

DiscoQueen1971 (Posted Jul 13, 2009 4:57:28 PM)
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Keep in mind, Jr is not the only one fighting this car, he just seems to get the most attention. Where's Harvick in the standings? ;)

Good report!

SouthTexas (Posted Jul 13, 2009 7:25:18 PM)
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Great blog. I'm glad they have the weekend off. I'll be ready for the Brickyard race :)

jrfanla88 (Posted Jul 13, 2009 7:26:36 PM)
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Good Blog!

It will be interesting to see how teams cope without factory support from GM. And Chrysler too?

Ford and Toyota teams may gain an edge over this.

NYTex (Posted Jul 13, 2009 8:28:25 PM)
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Wait one second, is anyone actually blaming Jr's pit crew or the car for his troubles?? I happen to like Jr but lets remember that Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin who are all on the same team, get all their engines/cars built by the same people don't seem to have any issue with the new car (Relatively speaking). Don't get me wrong, I'm sure some people are struggling with the COT more then others, but its here to stay, so it's ultimately up to the drivers to figure it out as much as his crew chief or pit crew.

The SportsCast (Posted Jul 15, 2009 10:12:48 AM)
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Basically, the crew chiefs have to steer the ship. If you want [the 5/88] building to perform and function with the 24/48 shop does, it has to be managed like the 24/48 shop is. The crew chiefs steer the ship there. I feel like you have to do that in unison, because the idea is to have two teams in one building that operate as one. Those [24 and 48] teams do that. Right now that’s not happening [in the 5 and 88 shop].

Eury was using setups from 2008 and not the same as the other 3 teams. IMO that was a mistake. The 88 previously 25 chassis builders have never been hugely successful in that second shop. I believe that's why McGrew said he was going to go back to that shop and talk to everyone.

Irene Reeves (Posted Jul 17, 2009 5:12:03 PM)
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The fact is Jr fans can make any excuse they want. The guy just isn't as good as everyone thought he was. His popularity is biased from his dad. He is marketing gold for this very reason.....Jr fans are still JR fans even though he doesn't win. Excuses don't win championships. The rest of the Hendrick team seems fine with how their cars run and win races. JR is overrated at best and will not be a championship contender unless a bolt of lightning strikes him and he learns how to win races. Sure he won before but that was then. His only victory at Hendrick was a fuel mileage race.He won busch titles back when busch was still a developmental series. What competition does he really have.

It was still brilliant for rick to bring him to the team though. He doesn't have to worry if he wins or not hes still a goldmine for rick. Sponsors are willing to shell out money for the simple fact the Jr nation will still buy his merchandise and their products.

The point is Jr could race for 10 more years not win, finish outside the top 10 every year and Jr nation would still make excuses. There is no more excuses JR. The medias not to blame, Crew chief is not to blame, expectations are not to blame, time to look in the mirror

Jr who (Posted Jul 22, 2009 7:42:38 AM)
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