I gotta tell ya. I have lost so much respect for Dale Earnhardt Jr this past week. NASCAR's most popular driver was asked if he had talked to David Reutimann after their skirmish in New Hampshire last weekend. Driver 88 told reporters that he knows Reutimann is a nice guy, but that "ain't gonna be good enough no more." Junior also said the MWR Toyota driver also needs to "sharpen up and polish up his craft a little bit." He said that The Franchise needs to learn from his mistakes and stop costing him good finishes. "We don't get opportunities to finish in the top five too often... and neither, really does he." Earnhardt also managed to throw Reutimann's teammate, Marcos Ambrose, under the bus as someone who will "...just go in the corner and wipe you out." The article I'm referencing is on http://www.scenedaily.com/ if you would like to read it for yourself.
If you ask me, this is just the pot calling the kettle black. If you take a look at the 2009 stats, Reutimann has a win, 5 top fives, 8 top tens, 2 poles and is 16th in points. He also remained in Chase contention right up until the last race in Richmond. Now, compare that to Juniors 0 wins, 2 top fives, 5 top tens, 0 poles and 21st place standing in the points. Oh, and Reutimann's average finish is 16.4 compared to Junior's stellar 21.9.
And Junior is not as innocent as everyone is making him out to be. In the Daytona 500, just 28 races ago, Earnhardt was racing Brian Vickers for the Lucky Dog to get back on the lead lap after several pit road blunders by the Hendrick Motorsports driver. Down the backstretch, Junior turned Vickers' #83 in front of the rest of the field, raking out several cars that could have had a shot at the win. And while the 83 was loaded on a tow truck, the 88 was given a free pass to get back on the lead lap. After the race, Earnhardt blamed the incident on Vickers blocking him too far down the racetrack. At least Reutimann apologized and admitted his mistake and didn't make up some lame excuse.
Hey Junior! Here's a great idea! Leave Reutimann alone, shut your mouth and drive your car so you can work on "polishing your craft." Then maybe next year you will be able to run closer to David's league. Follow your own stinkin' advice, you baby!
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