I think he's getting frustrated with his team at times and it reflects onto the race track! They really need to ramp it up at the end of the races!!

The statements made about Junior are false and unfounded. He remained in the Top 5 in points throughout the entire season before slipping this past weekend. Any time spent at that level is an accomplishment. Nevermind 27 straight weeks! Tell me what Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman, or Jamie McMurray wouldn't give to have the success that he enjoyed this season.

He is edgy, outspoken, and blunt to his crew chief. Yet, he constantly tells the media that he is better off with him. Ever hear the old man on the radio? Do you think he won 7 Cups being Mr Nice Guy??

As for him being rude. That is an outrageous claim. He is always cordial to the fans and gives reporters informative answers. He lets them into his world of emotions and challenges. Do you all remember the interview after missing the Chase last year at Richmond?? When was the last time he lost his temper and stormed out of his car like Kyle, or rudely belittled a reporter like Tony?

In closing, all is well in Junior Nation. I think anyone who disagrees are too little of a fan to understand the adversity that comes with a long season. I am astounded at his success and will be looking for him to build on it down the road.

See you in Victory Lane!!

If Eury didn't put up with JR's verbal abuse, we wouldn't be discussing this. We have put JR on a pedestal for so long there is bound to be something others can pick apart. He is not my favorite, but he is the fan's favorite, so go with it, everyone. I like him but am tired of watching him lose every week for no one reason. I am also tired of his non believers having nothing better to talk about than how mouthy JR is on his radio to Eury. How about Smoke's belittlement of his crew on the radio at the end of a race a few weeks ago? Can't quote verbatim, but it went something like, "thanks for losing this race,guys".

I'm a big DEI fan because of Sr. Then for jr. but i soon realized jr is highly overrated.He is best on super speedways but sucks everwhere else.The blown engines i bet half were caused by jr dumping the clucth on purpose to over-rev the engine.As far as him saying he thinks he is the best driver there is,Look at Jimmy Johnson.

You have already stated the reason JR. loses. It's because he is a mediocre driver at best. He will never win a championship and I look forward to seeing him lose . One steal every 75 races is a good average.

I can see no point to this article at all. As far as Jr yelling and cussing on the radio to his crew; so what. If your employees constantly make you loose money, believe me, you will be pissed off and yelling too.The yelling and ill temper is his management style while he is driving. I wouldn't have it any other way. He's fired up about piss poor performance and he damn well should be. Keep it up Jr.

I find it rather amazing the neither Mark Martin nor Aric Almirola have had the engine problems with the #8 car that Jr. experienced last year. And, not even once has the set up on the cars been so bad that neither driver could control the car.

I've always suspected that 99% of the problems with the #8 were Jr. induced problems.

An article on NASCAR.COM earlier this year went into great detail about how Pepisco/AMP started persuing Jr. during the 2006 season and the length of time and the effort that went into getting him signed and moved to HMS, with whom Pepsico has a sponsorship agreement. And, all of this had to be signed off by Jeff Gordon who is the poster boy for Pepsico.

Jr.'s entire charade last year, and his demands which he knew would never happen, were strictly for the purpose of making his departure from DEI to HMS appear to have been Teresa Earnharts fault when, if you read the article, Jr.'s future was a done deal long before the 2007 season ever began.

Is there anyone out there who doesn't believe that all of HMS resources went to making the 88 teams successful this year? And, in my opinion, at the expense of the 24, 48 and 5 teams.

For years the Dale Earnhardt fans, of both Sr. and Jr., have said that a monkey could be successful driving a Hendrick car.

Jr. is, at best, a mediocre driver who is like a little child when things do not go his way. His verbal, profanity filled tirades on the radio and closely akin to a child laying on the floor, kicking his feet in the air, waving his hands and screaming.

Hendrick has put his best people on Jr.'s pit box all year long and Jr. still hasn't gotten the job done.

Finally, there are drivers who find ways to win and drivers who find ways to lose. With one fluke fuel mileage
win this year, Kurt Busch even had one of those, Jr. is better at finding the ways to lose races.

Well let's see in 2007 Junior was out of the Chase, win less going through the motions of truly joyless season from start to finish, having to carry the huge albatross around his neck of being Dale Jr. at DEI. In 2008 he's been in the hunt all year, fast off the truck something at DEI they never were from the start of his career, he's had a win, three if you count the Daytona races, he's in the Chase. He's been consistently higher in the standing this year in what was the 5 car team last year ever was. I would say this year has been a banner year for Junior, first year with Hendrick, first full year with the new car that seems to have mystified every team this year at times. Rick Hendrick is happy, the fans are pleased what more do you need? The haters will always be out there, and the one's that think he should have stayed at DEI still driving for Miss Daisy. Those things will never change even with a Championship and most likely they will then claim it was fixed if he does win one. The glass is not always half empty it can be half full in most cases, life is good.

You all would should just shut up and let the boy drive. He is doing a great job his first year with Rick, unlike what he had to put up with at DEI and most of JR nation knows that with this new car and the new team, he is right up there in the chase. So come on JR fans lets hear so more positive feed back

only for the old mans legacy

The engine problems Junior faced at DEI last year were typical DEI BS. They did the same thing to Mikey his last 6 months with them. He had more problems after announcing he was leaving DEI than he had the whole time at DEI. That's they way they work. Try to tear down the driver that's leaving to make the others look better. They even went so far as to put something on Mikey's car at Homestead without telling the him OR the crew chief. Neither knew about. Talk about sneaky.

Junior isn't a champion driver. He's good, but he's not his dad. The only reason Junior has so many is fans is simply due to Dale Sr dying during a race. That's it. Junior has not earned the fans he got, he inherited them. That would be like running second in a race, the leading spinning out, and you win by default. That's not earning the win.
Junior has become more childish and mean this season. Nobody says he's doing it to the fans or reporters, but anyone who listens to his radio each weekend can tell. This is not typical Junior/Tony Jr banter. It's gotten so bad Rick has to get on the radio and calm Junior down. If this was typical banter, Rick wouldn't be doing that at all.
Blind Junior Nation fans can whine about he's the greatest thing to come to NASCAR, but they are wrong and need to wake up. They claim that a drunken monkey could win plate track races in DEI cars. Well, I guess Junior is the biggest drunken monkey out there because he's won more plate races in DEI cars than anyone. I guess Mark Martin, Truex, Menard, and Almirola are dumber than drunken monkeys because they've never won a plate race in a DEI car.

Now Junior's on the best team in NASCAR, all the money he can handle tossed at him like it was toilet paper, and he still can't get the job done. No the other teams haven't suffered. Three in the Chase, and Casey's leaving so who cares. Jimmie's on the same team and has won 4 races. What's Junior's excuse? The only thing I can think is that we are finally seeing the real Junior's driving abilities and they aren't that good. He's in the Chase, now quit whining.

1. those who hate jr probably hated sr.
2. and those who really hate jr probably just hate jr nation.
3. not all those who are jr fans are so simply because of sr.
4. anyone who says jr can't win on anything but a superspeedway doesn't know what they are talking about.
5. anyone who says he is nothing but a mediocre driver doesn't know what they are talking about.
6. anyone who says he's had it easy and got things handed to him choses to ignore the fact that he's worked his ass off for it.
7. all ya'll who sit here throwing the guy on the fire would act like kids meeting santa if he came up to you and introduced himself and handed you a beer.
8. all of us should really be working.

Junior was at his best when he had his old man giving him direction and a good swift kick in the rear when he needed it. I had expected Rick to step in and fill that role sooner, but perhaps he was not comfortable to do that until now.

If there's anyone who will get Jr to a championship, it's Rick Hendrick.

Actually it is NO one's business what goes on inside the car except Dale Jr. and Tony Jr.'s. That is their office and if all of you cry babies and whiners don't stop we will not be allowed into their world. Get a life and get over it.

If you loved Dale Jr, you wouldn't have written this column. You evidently don't know Jr or his fans very well, but in order to get hits you write an article about him anyway....just shows your lack of knowledge.

Perfect example of what she was saying, Ginger. Jr. can do no wrong so if anyone even questions his commitment or anything else, the nation roars "How Dare YOU!". Same crap you guys threw out when he left DEI and some of us didn't follow him to Hendricks. "A REAL fan would stick with him!" the nation ranted. Tony became my #1 man and I want him to do well, but I don't make excuses when he acts like a jerk. Leave it to the nation to make it Tony Jrs. fault because he puts up with Jr. Who are you guys going to blame next year when Tony is gone? No more Teresa, no more DEI, no more Tony. Just Daddy Dick and his golden child that doesn't seem to be able to do as well as expected even in the "Wonder cars of Hendricks". Jr. is definitely one of the top 12 drivers in NASCAR, no argument there, but when he lost his dad, he lost the fire that pushed him into this sport in the first place. Daddy Dick gets on the radio and calms the boy down. Dale would have gotten on the radio and said "If you can't drive the *(&$^^$ car, bring it in and park it!" That's when Jr. would have gotten up on the wheel and drove his butt off. Championship? Sorry nation, just don't think it's in the cards. MISS U 3

Anyone who states that Junior is a mediocre is letting their emotions cloud their reason. It is fine if you do not like him, but ask yourself the following questions:

1) In what place did he reside for most of this season? Does being a Top 5 driver make you mediocre?

- Would you agree Eanhardt's performance over the past few years has been better than someone like Bobby Labonte's? Would you call this legend mediocre?

- Could a monkey really win in a Hendrick car? If so, why hasn't Casey Mears capitalized on his talent? His only win came on a fuel mileage gamble. I should add that Kyle Petty made the same gamble and finished 3rd in that same race. There was no talent involved.

Because Earnhardt is the biggest figure in the sport today, he is a prime target for criticism. I dislike Jeff Gordon, but I will be the first one to admit he is one of the biggest talents on the track. I do not mind debating, but let's use our common sense when we speak, please.

Give Junior a break; this is a new team to him and a new environment. He definitely needs to get rid of Eury Jr; it's too close a relationship; he needs some who will mentor, not take abuse from him. I'm a JJ fan, but Juniour has the personality. Iw wish him luck in his teething year at HMS. Let's see how things jell next season because then there will be no more excuses.

It is about time some one in the news is telling it like it is ,the driver not the car or Tony Jr.

I don't remember Jr making excuse for the way last year ended up! And by the way, stop comparing him to Dale Sr. That is totally unfair! They only share the same last name. No one will ever compare to Dale Sr. He's had a great year so far, even with that bad things that have happened to the 88 team. Maybe your expectations are too high!!! I would love to see him win the championship every year, but that is totally outrageous. That being said, people like you who kick him when he's down will be the first to say I told you so when he gets it together to win it all! Good Riddance! Jr Nation Rules!!!!

You're right Duane, he only has his name in common with his dad. The right genes didn't get passed on because Jr. has never been "hungry" to win the way Dale had to be. He's a good top 12 driver, he's just not the saint and wonder boy the nation tries to make him out to be. He did make excuses last year. It was all DEI's and Teresas fault. This year, he'll throw Tony Jr. under the bus. Then he has to stand alone and prove us all wrong or the nation all right. At 33 I just don't see him getting it done. He should have started with a clean slate at Hendricks then there would be no question of where any blame lies.

I am amazed at the ignorance some of you have displayed here. It only proves alot of you dont follow racing as close as you think. I have been a fan for many years. (1) I have listened to every word spoken during every race for the past 4 years bewteen Jr. and Tony. The banter has NOT been any different this year than in previous years. Get rid of Tony? That was tried and failed. (2)How can anyone say Hendrick cars are the best this year? Gibbs/Toyota has spanked the field weekly, followed by Roush/Ford, and where in the hell has the 24 been all year. The 88 has been in front of the 24 all year, and might I add, the 48 also until a few weeks ago. (3) Wins are not EVERYTHING! Kenseth is proof you can win a championship winning only 1 race all season, Shrub has all but proved you can win 8 and not win a championship.

I could go on all day but it doesnt matter. Sports teams like are not built in one season. This is the first season for the 88 team. They have met all reasonable expetations. I dont think they will win the championship this year. Next year though look out. They will be better you can bet.

The Earnhardt Jr. Apologists abound. Blinded by the fact that thier boy has been given the best of the best and still can't get the job done.

Did you need hits on your blog? If you have to ask yourself why you are his fan then you are not a fan.
I never cared that much for his father's style of driving. He was not my favorite.
Dale Junior is my all time favorite in over 30 years of loving racing. I do not question my fandom.
I have never heard Dale Junior make an exucuse for anything. He often apologizes for things he shouldn't.
I listened to him for years on the scanner. Nothing is different this year. He gets fired up and wants the best from himself and crew.
The Juniors understand each other. They want to be together.
This is a poor excuse for a blog.

His eyes are beady, he talks funny,smells like Mountain Dew.....

I said it at the beginning of the year....Jr is all out of excuses this year. He is in the best equipment money can buy. Racing is not like other sports. A good driver can take control of great equipment immediately. He also has the same crew chief! There are a lot of drivers that do worse than Jr. But I think everyone, Jr Nation included, has to admit that we expected better. Hendrick doesn't want a top ten driver. He wants winners. Mears was pretty much a R&D car, as was Labonte. Kyle got smart to that and left. Jr. needs to perform or he will wind up running new car configurations for JJ.

Wow, with fans like you, who needs haters? Go be a Kyle Busch fairweather fan and get the heck out of The Nation!

I sometimes question JRs desire to win. But to say he's out of excuses and sitting in the best equipment, I dont buy that. We dont know whats going on behind the scenes for excuses. As for equipment-there are a couple of other drivers sitting in the same equipment and they havent exactly set the world on fire. Jeff and JJ are just hanging in there as well. Theres no arguing their ability. How about Tony Stewart and his equipment, same as Kyles, not the same results. We know how strong his desire and ability is. Maybe JR needs a new crew chief. Maybe he needs someone to light a fire under him. Maybe he needs better equipment. None of us really know.
Maybe he needs to justracethecar.

Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr excuse for this year, nothing or everything. He has the potential to be a great driver. On some things he’s like his father…hot head temper…on other things he’s like his grandfather…a clean driver. Jun’s problem is he not technically suave enough to be detailed about what is going on with his car. If a Eury was not taking care of his car, he’d be going through crew chief like Kleenex. Ask Larry, he said he talks about the car like his father, Dale and the COT car is over engineered to be able to adjust the car on the way he was taught to describe the car. I’m hoping that Rick gets Jun & Stimpy to do some testing on the off season with Chad & Jimmie and have the #48 team teach them some techniques for breaking down the car and communicating what the car is doing in a 5 point area of the turns with a possible 0-10 scale for rating the pushing and looseness of the car. You know Chad work with Jun and Jimmie work with Stimpy. It should not be that hard. If I remember correctly Jimmie and Jun like the same basic car set up. So in summary, I think Jun’s problem this season is he needs more schooling on the COT. I have been a fan of Jun’s since before there was a nation behind him, and people believe he was riding the shirttails of Dale and never would come out of the shadow.