Harvick Rips Dale Jr. For Performance & Impact on NASCAR

LewTheShoe

LewTheShoe

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On his SiriusXM show Tuesday evening, Kevin Harvick expressed his confusion and disappointment that our most popular driver wasn't our most successful racer. He was blunt in his remarks, IMO. This final year before Dale's retirement, we haven't seen the expected surge in attendance and merch sales, he said. He attributes that to poor on-track performance. He is confused that Nascar fans have not embraced our greatest winner, Jimmie Johnson, while Dale's lackluster performance over the years has failed to energize and advance the sport.

In other sports, the greatest winners are the most popular figures. LeBron James, Steph Curry, Peyton Manning. Their fan-following and their competitive accomplishments combine together to move the needle. In Nascar, we haven't had that because our most popular driver has just 9 wins in a decade and has never won a championship.

Do you think Harvick had armed body guards with him as he left the studio? Are these remarks futile and tasteless? Is there anything good that can come out of this?

(Full disclosure: I'm not a hardcore Junior fan but I admire and like him. I'm not a Harvick fan, who I regard as a dirty driver and a hypocrite.)
 
No one knows why.

I'd say this, Jr inherited his dad's fans and such. Its Jr's genes in why people love him so much, he's a genuine guy and down to earth just like his dad. I could not imagine at his age at the time the pressure he had on his shoulders to emulate his dad.

Jr since '12 has been driving at a HIGH level and I mean he was on the cusp of winning last year as well before the injury. Its just that period between '09 and '11 was painful to watch for anyone. Those four years of not winning hurt him, a lot. Performance this year has not materialized and it just seems like Dale is more frustrated than anything else, right now because like he said at WGI the car was changed inside and out. Nothing seemed to help the car.
 
Jimmie has a ton of fans. Jeff has (had) tons of fans. Kevin, Kyle, Brad, etc...they all have tons of fans. Theres are only 40ish drivers to choose from. This isn't the NBA where people are going to gravitate toward LeBron or Steph because they are the elite performers in a sea of hundreds of other ball players. All of the successful NASCAR drivers have tons of fans.

I would guess that a majority of Dale's fans are holdovers from his dad. Plus Jr. really is one of the only remaining "good ol boys," if you will, that attract a lot of that southern popularity.

Jr is still a very successful driver. His performance has dipped, but he's still top-30 on the all time wins list. Not something to sneeze at by any means. It is not atypical for a driver to retire after his prime. I wonder if Harv will hang it up while still rattling off wins...
 
comparing to stick n ball again. It isn't the same and this is another of the many reasons it isn't so. Look at the recent popularity of Alanso coming to Indy for one race. In addition, Nascar fans don't particularly like a driver dominating the sport, like they all fall in behind who ever is the latest hero in stick n ball.
 
"The Closer" (still get a chuckle out of that since he has blown more than he's ever saved) is still butt hurt he never lived up to the hype and inherited Sr.'s as much as he thought he was the 2nd coming of Ironhead.
 
I am not opposed t Dale Jr being the most popular or maybe Danica being the next (as if it matters)
But racing an exception imo. I do think it is less about on the track performance when compared to other sports.

Again I dont think Dale Jr owes anyone an apology. He deserves the award imo. But you give someone a Mic and talking time with being provocative aa a main prerequisite, and this kind of Harvick yada yada will happen
 
Typical Harvick...always trying to start trouble. Reminds me of the time he pushed Brad K. into the fight with Jeff Gordon after a race at Texas in 2014. I can't stand the guy either.
 
I think Gordon being in the playoffs and ultimately making it to Homestead in 2015 did help a good bit with attendance down the stretch there. And he was coming off of a great season the year before too. Probably doesn't help that Jr. is basically an also-ran right now.
 
Ford 222 said:
"The Closer" (still get a chuckle out of that since he has blown more than he's ever saved) is still butt hurt he never lived up to the hype and inherited Sr.'s as much as he thought he was the 2nd coming of Ironhead.
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A championship and fourth among active drivers on the wins list...seems like he turned out alright to me. Then again, we think Chase Elliott is teetering on bust too.
 
I don't think there was any surge in attendance or viewership during Jeff and Tony's last year's and I don't recall there being a spike in anything when Jeff got in the 88 last year so it sounds like Harvick is just blowing smoke. Of course maybe he is getting drilled for hair plugs and that is impacting his ability to think before opening his mouth.

There is an overall malaise surrounding Nascar, IMO, and that is why you don't see drivers on coke machines, kids wearing driver's ball caps or shirts or much news about it in the MSM.
 
Not so sure Johnson cares as he gazes over his 7 championship trophy's, more family time and a whole lot less B.S. not being the center of attention. Jr. didn't have chance to not be in the limelight the fans demanded it win or lose. IMO he made two misjudgements, using the wrong people for comparisons and the worst was shaking the Golden Child's tree (not to mention pissing off his wife)
 
Acs said:
Man I really want to hear the rest of this interview because as much of a cheap shot it is, I think Harv has some good points here..
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Yeah he really does have valid points, I'm not a Jr. fan, no hate don't shoot me, and over the years watching people get up and leave when he wrecks and having continuing popularity thru out that compared to performance I have learned to mostly compartmentalize all that because it doesn't make any sense. Harvick should have let it lie IMO it was going to take care of itself in a short time anyway. Some more big changes to the sport next year.
P.S. Harvick must have forgotten Jr. is in the booth next year.:p
 
Dale Jr is popular because of his daddy. Gordon, Johnson, Stewart etc are popular because of their accomplishments.

Americans dont like losers.
 
DSquad48 said:
Jimmie has a ton of fans. Jeff has (had) tons of fans. Kevin, Kyle, Brad, etc...they all have tons of fans. Theres are only 40ish drivers to choose from. This isn't the NBA where people are going to gravitate toward LeBron or Steph because they are the elite performers in a sea of hundreds of other ball players. All of the successful NASCAR drivers have tons of fans.

I would guess that a majority of Dale's fans are holdovers from his dad. Plus Jr. really is one of the only remaining "good ol boys," if you will, that attract a lot of that southern popularity.

Jr is still a very successful driver. His performance has dipped, but he's still top-30 on the all time wins list. Not something to sneeze at by any means. It is not atypical for a driver to retire after his prime. I wonder if Harv will hang it up while still rattling off wins...
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Agreed 100%! While not the greatest driver that ever lived, Jr has had a decent amount of success (painful to watch years aside). Bill Elliott was the most popular driver for years and years and he drove in the same era as Earnhardt, Waltrip and other more successful drivers (please don't read as a bash on Awesome Bill by any means).

I think you head the nail on the head regarding Jr being one of the last aww shucks good ole boys that make up a good sized chunk of NASCAR's fanbase.
 
I have noticed at work,the same Miami Heat fans became Cleveland Cavalier fans.The Seattle Seahawks fans became Dallas Cowboys fans with the new QB this past year.You don't see NASCAR fans switching because someone else is winning.That might be why I like NASCAR,over other professional sports.
 
darlingtonfan said:
I have noticed at work,the same Miami Heat fans became Cleveland Cavalier fans.The Seattle Seahawks fans became Dallas Cowboys fans with the new QB this past year.You don't see NASCAR fans switching because someone else is winning.That might be why I like NASCAR,over other professional sports.
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While I know there are some MTJ fans that have stayed loyal for years upon end, you have to admit he's become a little more popular over the last two years ;)
 
Yeah with Jr leaving and Danica probable, it should revert back to performance mostly. There are a whole lot of drivers to root for and it has been that way all the time. Taking the Jr component out of the mix is just going to make it more evident I believe.
 
StandOnIt said:
Harvick should have let it lie IMO it was going to take care of itself in a short time anyway. Some more big changes to the sport next year.
P.S. Harvick must have forgotten Jr. is in the booth next year.:p
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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.
 
StandOnIt said:
comparing to stick n ball again. It isn't the same and this is another of the many reasons it isn't so. Look at the recent popularity of Alanso coming to Indy for one race. In addition, Nascar fans don't particularly like a driver dominating the sport, like they all fall in behind who ever is the latest hero in stick n ball.
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So true. They booed Earnhardt when he was beating Petty too
 
I like Harvick as well as Jr and really have no problem with what Harvick said. Cheap shots? Maybe...probably.. but it's really no different than conversations I've had with friends who watch racing, they ask "why do you cheer for him? He just got a ride because of who his dad is." I respond with "yea but he seems like a genuine dude who has made the most out of his opportunity and two Daytona 500 wins can speak to that." I had those conversations a lot during the dark days of the last of the Eury Jr days, up through McGrew and then early part of Letarte. Sometimes it was embarrassing to wear an 88 Amp hat out but I regret nothing. I've been a Jr fan since the AC Delco 3 days when I was in grammar school. I wish Jr had more success like winning a championship but I was happy with 2014 and 2015 when he was running up front. Hope he wins one more race. But Harvick did himself no favors with these comments. Does he care? Most likely not.
 
If the greatest winners are the most popular figures, I'm doing it wrong by picking McMurray as my favorite driver and Detroit as my favorite NFL team.

As far as why people cheer for Jr, is that really even in question? Obviously it's the name and there is nothing wrong with that.
 
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LewTheShoe said:
(Full disclosure: I'm not a hardcore Junior fan but I admire and like him. I'm not a Harvick fan, who I regard as a dirty driver and a hypocrite.)
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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.
 
Using Harv's logic Tom Brady should be the most popular player in the NFL right now and Belichek the most popular coach. Not the case. People choose a favorite driver for any number of reasons: personality, attitude, legacy, performance, number, paint scheme, sponsor, hometown, etc.
 
CamelPowered said:
Using Harv's logic Tom Brady should be the most popular player in the NFL right now and Belichek the most popular coach. Not the case. People choose a favorite driver for any number of reasons: personality, attitude, legacy, performance, number, paint scheme, sponsor, hometown, etc.
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Bingo.

Reason I personally like Jr isn't much to do with his dad seeing as I've been watching him race longer than I did his dad.(I was 9 when he died) I just like his personality and how he seems like a good down to earth type dude.
 
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