NASCAR is a sport that remains completely foreign to me. I don’t understand the rules, the strategy or the draw. It’s a noisy affair. Sweaty masses huddled together in the warm summer sun don’t interest me at all. This past weekend, Jimmie Johnson won the Daytona 500 and I didn’t give it much of a second thought.
So with that said, could someone explain the appeal of Dale Earnhardt Jr.? He is by and far the most popular racer in NASCAR with little to no justification. Is Junior just the biggest beneficiary of nepotism in the history of sports?
His dad was a great. I know that much. Over his 27-year career Senior won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship seven times. He had 76 career wins and finished in the top 10 in 428 of the 676 races he competed in.
The man truly earned his nickname, “The Intimidator.”
By comparison, Dale Jr. has won just 19 races in the first 17 years of his career. Before his 2012 win at the Quicken Loans 400 in Michigan, he had gone 143 races without a first place finish. The best junior has ever finished in the Sprint Cup is third back in 2003.
There is no doubt that he benefited from his father’s success. Maybe it was easier for him to be signed to a racing team. In fact, it was really easy — his father owned the team he started his career with.
When Dale Sr. tragically passed in 2001 at the Daytona 500 his son was faced with the humongous task of being the logical choice to fill the void left by his father — they do have the same name. But he was ill prepared for the task. No matter how you look at it, Dale Jr. is not as good as his father.
Fame is the recognition that comes with achievement and celebrity is the recognition from just being known. Dale Jr. is a celebrity, worshipped for nothing more than being his father’s son.
Mike Hopey is a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in journalism and media studies. He can be reached at hopey@mail.usf.edu.
