What will Dale’s fans do?
by Jeff Owens
For true, dyed-in-the-black-and-red-wool Earnhardt fans, this has got to be the second-worst day of your life.
Of all the places Dale Earnhardt Jr. could have gone, none could possibly be worse than going to Hendrick Motorsports, the organization that you have declared the evil empire.
Earnhardt fans hate Hendrick Motorsports like fans of the Boston Red Sox hate the New York Yankees. Like Alabama fans hate Auburn. Like Oklahoma fans hate Texas.
Why?
Because Hendrick Motorsports and its drivers have always posed the biggest threat to Earnhardt Nation.
It all started when young Jeff Gordon, that wet-behind-the-ears pretty boy from California, came into NASCAR and immediately began beating Dale Earnhardt, the Intimidator, the Man in Black, the blue-collar, working-class man who could do no wrong.
Ever since Gordon knocked Earnhardt off his pedestal, supplanting him as the sport’s biggest star and denying him another championship, Gordon’s name has been mud around Earnhardt fans.
It is those fans who boo him so lustily each and every week. It is those fans who have carried that hatred over to Jimmie Johnson and every other driver who climbs into a Hendrick Chevrolet. It is partly because of Gordon that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is so unbelievably popular. Yes, he’s the son of the man, but he was also the great black-and-red hope, the driver Earnhardt Nation has always hoped would knock Gordon off his pedestal.
Now, to Earnhardt fans, their beloved driver is crossing over to the dark side, abandoning his father’s team and his loyal fan base to become part of the evil empire.
So the question is this: How will you, die-hard Earnhardt fans, respond?
Will you turn your back on Junior? Will you declare him a traitor against all things Earnhardt and vow to never buy another red T-shirt or drink another Budweiser?
Or will you finally acknowledge that Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson aren’t so bad after all, and maybe, just maybe, they might be worth your support, especially since they will soon be teammates with Junior?
Which will it be?
That figures to be the most intriguing question of all now that Junior is stepping over to the dark side.
by Jeff Owens
For true, dyed-in-the-black-and-red-wool Earnhardt fans, this has got to be the second-worst day of your life.
Of all the places Dale Earnhardt Jr. could have gone, none could possibly be worse than going to Hendrick Motorsports, the organization that you have declared the evil empire.
Earnhardt fans hate Hendrick Motorsports like fans of the Boston Red Sox hate the New York Yankees. Like Alabama fans hate Auburn. Like Oklahoma fans hate Texas.
Why?
Because Hendrick Motorsports and its drivers have always posed the biggest threat to Earnhardt Nation.
It all started when young Jeff Gordon, that wet-behind-the-ears pretty boy from California, came into NASCAR and immediately began beating Dale Earnhardt, the Intimidator, the Man in Black, the blue-collar, working-class man who could do no wrong.
Ever since Gordon knocked Earnhardt off his pedestal, supplanting him as the sport’s biggest star and denying him another championship, Gordon’s name has been mud around Earnhardt fans.
It is those fans who boo him so lustily each and every week. It is those fans who have carried that hatred over to Jimmie Johnson and every other driver who climbs into a Hendrick Chevrolet. It is partly because of Gordon that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is so unbelievably popular. Yes, he’s the son of the man, but he was also the great black-and-red hope, the driver Earnhardt Nation has always hoped would knock Gordon off his pedestal.
Now, to Earnhardt fans, their beloved driver is crossing over to the dark side, abandoning his father’s team and his loyal fan base to become part of the evil empire.
So the question is this: How will you, die-hard Earnhardt fans, respond?
Will you turn your back on Junior? Will you declare him a traitor against all things Earnhardt and vow to never buy another red T-shirt or drink another Budweiser?
Or will you finally acknowledge that Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson aren’t so bad after all, and maybe, just maybe, they might be worth your support, especially since they will soon be teammates with Junior?
Which will it be?
That figures to be the most intriguing question of all now that Junior is stepping over to the dark side.
