Harvick Rips Dale Jr. For Performance & Impact on NASCAR

Ford 222 said:
That is Harvicks style. Always has been. Run his mouth with nobody around.
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What does he want the fanbase to do? Stop cheering for Jr. because it hurts the sport. I think Jr. is trying as hard as he can to be fast. I mean, what the end was the end game besides to be a dick? Can't figure it out. I wonder if Kevy has some beers during the show, and maybe didn't pace himself.
 
ReturnTrip said:
Don't worry, after Jimmie retires we'll have the ever-popular Kyle Busch as the sport's ambassador.
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good, the sooner kyle becomes the new king of nascar, the better.
only 23 more nascar wins till 200
and he only 32 years old
 
Revman said:
What does he want the fanbase to do? Stop cheering for Jr. because it hurts the sport. I think Jr. is trying as hard as he can to be fast. I mean, what the end was the end game besides to be a dick? Can't figure it out. I wonder if Kevy has some beers during the show, and maybe didn't pace himself.
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No idea what his intentions were except to make himself part of the news since he hasn't been lately. Can't fault Jr. I'm sure he has done his best and injuries have possibly taken their toll. I don't get his popularity other than his being a pretty good guy all around but it's def not been performance based. But to throw him under the bus is certainly not beyond "The Closer" (lol that's so funny. I can't help myself. He has blown more wins in the last 3 years than about everyone else combined).
 
Yogisd1 said:
If his popularity is based on just his name, why dosen't Kerry Earnhardt have a huge following? Myself I think he is so popular, because he tells you what he really thinks. That is rare in today's NASCAR. Harvick also tells you what he really thinks, but sometimes it's by accident.
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So does Kyle Busch but everyone hates him haha..

Ford 222 said:
No idea what his intentions were except to make himself part of the news since he hasn't been lately. Can't fault Jr. I'm sure he has done his best and injuries have possibly taken their toll. I don't get his popularity other than his being a pretty good guy all around but it's def not been performance based. But to throw him under the bus is certainly not beyond "The Closer" (lol that's so funny. I can't help myself. He has blown more wins in the last 3 years than about everyone else combined).
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What did Kevin do besides say facts?? Why is everyone so mad at harvick? I like jr for who he is and what he brings to NASCAR.. he is a really chill down to earth guy but that don't mean anything when it comes to stats.. and that's all harvick is saying lol I don't get what all the fuss is about

harvick stated nothinh but facts , jr stats don't add up to his popularity.. that's facts lol.. the guy wrecks or something wrong with his car 80 % of the time.. he also stated if jr won more he think the sport would have grown more.. that's common sense anybody loved as much as him just think if he would have won championships he would really be even more popular and the sport.. people not noticing what Jimmie has done and not paying much attention to Jimmie is true too.. so what did he say wrong ? I know people love jr and I love what he means to the sport and who he is but stats don't lie...harvick and brad and Kyle love those guys they speak there mind.. it's not like he was downing jr he just stated all facts
 
Now if this thread was what driver would you like to hang out with if you could only pick one.. it would be JR all day lol.. love his attitude and how down to earth he is.. when I met him he was so nice, wish me safe travels home and everything but this isn't what that's about lol.
 
Simple Fan said:
Harvick made some good points and he's not really ripping Jr in my opinion. He's just stating facts, NASCAR would be in alot better shape had Jr actually won more and was a threat to win a championship. I understand why people are fans of his but his performance has driven some away from him and I imagine some away from the sport as well.
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Now that is first class BS. Junior winning more would make what difference? He already has more than 50% of the fans. Where is Nascar if all the 8 and 88 fans retire as well?
The sport itself has to be bigger than any one part because all parts fail sooner or later.
Did Rock N Role die with Elvis?
 
Depending on when the championship/s had occurred, there definitely would have been a huge buzz surrounding the sport. If we're talking about him winning a championship 10 years ago though, there is no chance that buzz would still exist. It would be more like "This guy hasn't won anything in 10 years!"

I don't see how it would have pulled in new fans, that's a serious stretch.
 
Thegeneral23 said:
So does Kyle Busch but everyone hates him haha..


What did Kevin do besides say facts?? Why is everyone so mad at harvick? I like jr for who he is and what he brings to NASCAR.. he is a really chill down to earth guy but that don't mean anything when it comes to stats.. and that's all harvick is saying lol I don't get what all the fuss is about

harvick stated nothinh but facts , jr stats don't add up to his popularity.. that's facts lol.. the guy wrecks or something wrong with his car 80 % of the time.. he also stated if jr won more he think the sport would have grown more.. that's common sense anybody loved as much as him just think if he would have won championships he would really be even more popular and the sport.. people not noticing what Jimmie has done and not paying much attention to Jimmie is true too.. so what did he say wrong ? I know people love jr and I love what he means to the sport and who he is but stats don't lie...harvick and brad and Kyle love those guys they speak there mind.. it's not like he was downing jr he just stated all facts
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80% of the time? Lost all credibility with that statement.
 
kyle18fan said:
No ......... everyone does not hate him. Kyle Busch has a huge fan base
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He does. But Kyle is a "love him or hate him" driver, there's not a lot of middle ground. The guys who win Most Popular Driver are the ones that everybody likes even if it isn't their favorite driver. I think Jr and Bill Elliott (who have collectively won 25 of the last 26 MPD awards) both fit that description. Earnhardt Sr. was a love-him-or-hate-him driver too, which is probably why he never won MPD until after he died, even though he likely had more fans than Bill Elliott who was winning the MPD every year.
 
ToyYoda said:
He does. But Kyle is a "love him or hate him" driver, there's not a lot of middle ground. The guys who win Most Popular Driver are the ones that everybody likes even if it isn't their favorite driver. I think Jr and Bill Elliott (who have collectively won 25 of the last 26 MPD awards) both fit that description. Earnhardt Sr. was a love-him-or-hate-him driver too, which is probably why he never won MPD until after he died, even though he likely had more fans than Bill Elliott who was winning the MPD every year.
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Good explanations, next year it will be interesting too see who gets it. I have a feeling it'll be one of the young guns
 
Snowman said:
Good explanations, next year it will be interesting too see who gets it. I have a feeling it'll be one of the young guns
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I'm putting my money on Chase Elliott winning it for next 10-15 years. He's who most of the Jr fans seem to be migrating to next year, plus being the son of multiple MPD winner Bill Elliott doesn't hurt.
 
Thegeneral23 said:
Now if this thread was what driver would you like to hang out with if you could only pick one.. it would be JR all day lol.. love his attitude and how down to earth he is.. when I met him he was so nice, wish me safe travels home and everything but this isn't what that's about lol.
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Now there's an idea worth its own discussion. If you don't start it, do you mind if I do?
 
ToyYoda said:
... Kyle is a "love him or hate him" driver, there's not a lot of middle ground. ...
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I recall another "love him or hate him" driver that said something about it not mattering if the fans were cheering or booing, as long as they weren't sitting quietly.

This place needs a 'Black 3' emoji...
 
StandOnIt said:
The thing I like about Jr isn't his driving. Hard to explain a word for it, he's down home people, likes down home stuff.
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Two words come to mind for me, genuine and humble.

If you haven't read it, I suggest checking out the book about his rookie season. (starts Daytona 500 2000 and ends with his July win at Daytona in 2001) called Driver #8. It is a really good read, it not only goes into the racing, but fan interaction, sponsor promotion etc. Its basically an inside look at NASCAR in 2000. I reread it starting when he announced his retirement, it's a really good read for any fan of Jr. or anybody that wants to get to know him a little better.
 
I worry about how he is going to fit in the booth with all this endless yapping and jabbering they are doing these days. That ain't Jr IMO.
 
LewTheShoe said:
Yeah, I agree. If you think about it, Harvick is calling out Junior Nation more than he is calling out Dale. Really he is saying, since Dale doesn't win enough to be our Tiger Woods, the fans should have flocked to Jimmie, who does win like Tiger. And his comments coming at this time, with Dale about to retire... classless and serving no purpose. Just my $0.02.
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My thoughts on this, after Sr died, many of his fans pulled for both Jr AND Harvick. Harvick's mouth is why he doesnt' have the fan support he does.

I tried real hard to pull for him, but the arrogant POS walked into the sport thinking he was Dale Sr.
 
What pisses me off is how apparent it is just how much Dale Jr cares about this sport, it's history, etc. Far more than Harvick.

When I look at JR I see a guy that served as a pillar for thousands of people to lean on in the sport's darkest hour. And he lifted those people up. So why not instead of blaming the guy for not bringing more fans and publicity, we thank him for shouldering that load and giving a lot of people someone to cling to. Those people could have easily walked away from the sport...
 
My god people are getting butthurt for no reason. Harvick never said Jr. Sucks or is an abomination of a driver. He was on a radio talk show ans was giving his opinion, something we need more of from these drivers. Jr. Is a lot better driver then some people give him credit for, but it's also true that the guy takes up way more of the fan base then he probably should, and a lot of the media attention and hype used on him over the years for being the 10th best driver in the sport could have been used to prop up other talents and personalities in the sport. Fight me
 
DaBiff1618 said:
My god people are getting butthurt for no reason. Harvick never said Jr. Sucks or is an abomination of a driver. He was on a radio talk show ans was giving his opinion, something we need more of from these drivers. Jr. Is a lot better driver then some people give him credit for, but it's also true that the guy takes up way more of the fan base then he probably should, and a lot of the media attention and hype used on him over the years for being the 10th best driver in the sport could have been used to prop up other talents and personalities in the sport. Fight me
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I'll bite, there's a difference between giving your opinion and being an ahole...

Opinion: I wonder why Dale Jr. is the most popular driver when there are other drivers that have been more successful? For example Jimmie Johnson.

Ahole: essentially saying NASCAR's decline is the fault of its most popular driver because he didn't have as much success as others
 
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gnomesayin said:
I pretty much share your opinions of both of them personally. However, as much as I don't like him, I consider Harvick to be rather intelligent and perceptive, and his points here are valid. If he's ripping on anything, it's the pedestal that Dale Jr. is forever placed on that isn't based on performance. I agree with him that Jimmie Johnson should be regarded as a legend and at a higher level than any driver during the past two decades, and that his unparalleled accomplishments should be driving interest. Yes, comparisons to other sports are imperfect, but he should be the Tom Brady / Lebron James / Tiger Woods (pre-scandal) / Lance Armstrong (pre-scandal) of his sport. That Johnson's feats don't have the same impact as the mere presence of other more popular "personalities" says something odd about NASCAR and what drives it. That for a huge chunk of the fanbase it's more about culture than competition. Even with regard to racing, I'm trying to think of a situation in another racing series where there has been a competitor as dominant as Jimmie Johnson, and yet he or she is not nearly as popular as several less accomplished peers. I'm sure there is one, and if so I'm eager to discuss the parallels.
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Most NASCAR fans make an active effort to dislike or disrespect Jimmie as well. It's either "he's too vaniller" or "cheatin' Chad" or "Chase titles r fake!". No other sporting fan base goes through such an effort to deconstruct a legend like NASCAR fans do with Jimmie Johnson. As much as NFL fans and NBA fans hate losing to Tom Brady and LeBron, they (for the most part) at least hold a lot of respect for them.
 
It was not Jr's fault that the chase was invented, not his fault that the COT was invented, the gen 6 car, and any other host of insane changes that have occurred in the past ten years.

He's in control of his own career and even after Sr's death, Gordon's and Stewart's retirement the sport is still here. He has nothing to do with the alienation of the fan base. Everyone knows Jr is not a Kyle Busch, Harvick, etc. He's held his own though for a long time though and deserves everything he has.
 
Simple Fan said:
I also think his comments have been taken out of context. He never said that Jr was the reason for the decline, just that it'd be better off had Jr performed better.
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I don't know what people aren't getting.

If Jr. were making a deep Chase run, getting to Homestead still in contention there wouldn't be some more eyeballs on the sport at that time? Instead of finishing in the teens and even 20s during that time period? Even Gordon tailed off for a while and had some fairly anonymous years by his standards, and he was the only figure more recognizable than Jr. If he were competing for championships more regularly towards the end of his career, there wouldn't be more interest? This is routine for every sport. Certain teams and certain superstars pull interest from the general public better. Look at the insane ratings for the Warriors-Cavs Finals the last three years. If they choked and we wound up with Toronto-San Antonio or something, you better believe fewer people would be watching.
 
FLRacingFan said:
I don't know what people aren't getting.

If Jr. were making a deep Chase run, getting to Homestead still in contention there wouldn't be some more eyeballs on the sport at that time? Instead of finishing in the teens and even 20s during that time period? Even Gordon tailed off for a while and had some fairly anonymous years by his standards, and he was the only figure more recognizable than Jr. If he were competing for championships more regularly towards the end of his career, there wouldn't be more interest? This is routine for every sport. Certain teams and certain superstars pull interest from the general public better. Look at the insane ratings for the Warriors-Cavs Finals the last three years. If they choked and we wound up with Toronto-San Antonio or something, you better believe fewer people would be watching.
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Did Gordon even have a good last season? I mean, he had the Kenseth assisted win at Martinsville, but beyond that, was he really a threat? I don't remember.
 
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