A
abooja
Guest
Another Junior article to nauseate those of you who are tired of hearing about him. But I thought that Kyle Petty's comments were interesting enough to share with you all: 
http://www.sportingnews.com/voices/lee_spe...r/20020830.html
Name brings Junior increased scrutiny
by Lee Spencer
August 30, 2002
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- In Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s early days, the curiosity seekers peppered the racing landscape, but no one stalked the shop on the DEI property where Junior and his crew tinkered on late model cars.
When he graduated to the Busch Series, the fan base expanded, but he could still enjoy relative anonymity at the local Wal-Mart with his buddies from Mooresville High School -- even after winning back to back titles.
But with the exposure he's received since his Winston Cup debut in 1999 and following his father's death in February 2001, it's hard for him to enjoy a normal life -- especially at the racetrack. Junior needs no introduction when he enters the garage -- just follow the bevy of autograph hounds that nearly mauls him for his signature. There are people waiting for hours outside his transporter for just a glimpse of Little E.
Perhaps if the people understood what a distraction it was to the driver and the team, they might think twice about hanging around.
"In sheer numbers of people in the garage area, it's probably doubled or tripled as far as over the past two, three years," Earnhardt says. "It really puts a bind on your relationship with your team when you've got to kind of hide underneath something all day long just to be able to concentrate on the car.
"If you walk up and down this garage and look behind everybody's pit you won't see too many people standing anywhere but behind our pit. There's 30, 40 people always around our garage stall. There's reporters, there's press, there's fans. We're just really kind of under a lot of pressure to perform," he adds.
Junior probably puts more pressure on himself than anyone else can. And if any driver can relate to that mindset, it would be Kyle Petty. In 1979, when he was just 19, the heir apparent to the Petty throne made his debut at Talladega and finished ninth. At that point the King had won six championships and was working on No. 7 when Kyle was testing the Winston Cup waters. Certainly the spotlight was on Petty, but there wasn't the endless attention from the media or fans.
"There were six or seven (writers) max and they went everywhere with us," Petty says. "They were just like another race team. The press were a part of who we were. You didn't have TV. It was a different sport. They understood the sport well enough that it didn't add to the pressure. They didn't expect Kyle Petty to be the next Richard Petty. And the people who really understand the sport today don't expect Dale Earnhardt Jr. to be Dale Earnhardt -- " snaps his fingers " -- instantly.
"But fans have different expectations," he continues. "Fans think -- and it's got to be worse for him because he has the same name -- that somehow, miraculously, God takes the talent from one and puts it into the younger one and the talent continues. Often the younger one isn't offered the time for that talent to develop sometimes. From that perspective, sometimes you get frustrated as an individual because you don't think you're living up to what the people in the grandstands think. And you lose sight of the fact that you shouldn't care what they think. You should only think about what you think, what your ability is and you do the best you can and that's all you can do. And then you don't worry about it."
Petty and Earnhardt had different life experiences growing up. Each son had heard of his grandfather's successful racing career and watched and learned from his own father. But the Pettys spent a lot of time together as a family, whereas Junior and his sister Kelly were raised by their mother during their formative years. Although Junior and his sister are exceptionally close, Petty feels that perhaps he had "a stronger support system" to protect him during the low times. And there were low times, but Petty feels that it's all part of the maturation process.
"I think every parent questions their child's commitment -- ours was just more public," Petty says with a laugh. "We've both been thrust in this sport -- of course, I started a lot younger than Dale did -- but you come out here and there are so many people watching you.
"If Dale Jr. came in here and he was Kurt Busch, it wouldn't be a big issue. This is a distraction. If he were not Dale Jr. and just showed up and done like he's done so far as Kurt Busch -- and this is no disrespect to Kurt Busch -- then everyone would be touting Dale Jr. as the second coming of Jeff Gordon. But he's done a lot. He's run up front, he's won races and I don't think he gets the credit he's due because people look at him and say, 'He's Dale Earnhardt. He should be doing that.' But he shouldn't be doing that. He's got the raw talent and has been able to do what other people haven't been able to do. I wasn't able to do it," he says.
Being branded with "the name" brings a whole new set of responsibilities, both on the track and off. Like Petty, Junior may be expected to run DEI one day. It was Kyle's choice to return to Petty Enterprises in 1999 with hopes of building the family business for his late son Adam. It gave him a different perspective on life and was his way of "coming home." Junior, who has talked about his desire to have a son, may find the same solace that Petty has when that day rolls around. There was a day when Kyle just looked at Petty Enterprises as "a place to drive a racecar," but now he considers it home.
"When Dale has a family and a son, he'll look at DEI totally different," Petty says. "Right now he has a whole lot of heart in the game. I think having heart in the game is important, but eventually he'll put his soul into it and then you live with it no matter what."
Lee Spencer covers NASCAR for The Sporting News. Email her at [email protected].
http://www.sportingnews.com/voices/lee_spe...r/20020830.html
Name brings Junior increased scrutiny
by Lee Spencer
August 30, 2002
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- In Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s early days, the curiosity seekers peppered the racing landscape, but no one stalked the shop on the DEI property where Junior and his crew tinkered on late model cars.
When he graduated to the Busch Series, the fan base expanded, but he could still enjoy relative anonymity at the local Wal-Mart with his buddies from Mooresville High School -- even after winning back to back titles.
But with the exposure he's received since his Winston Cup debut in 1999 and following his father's death in February 2001, it's hard for him to enjoy a normal life -- especially at the racetrack. Junior needs no introduction when he enters the garage -- just follow the bevy of autograph hounds that nearly mauls him for his signature. There are people waiting for hours outside his transporter for just a glimpse of Little E.
Perhaps if the people understood what a distraction it was to the driver and the team, they might think twice about hanging around.
"In sheer numbers of people in the garage area, it's probably doubled or tripled as far as over the past two, three years," Earnhardt says. "It really puts a bind on your relationship with your team when you've got to kind of hide underneath something all day long just to be able to concentrate on the car.
"If you walk up and down this garage and look behind everybody's pit you won't see too many people standing anywhere but behind our pit. There's 30, 40 people always around our garage stall. There's reporters, there's press, there's fans. We're just really kind of under a lot of pressure to perform," he adds.
Junior probably puts more pressure on himself than anyone else can. And if any driver can relate to that mindset, it would be Kyle Petty. In 1979, when he was just 19, the heir apparent to the Petty throne made his debut at Talladega and finished ninth. At that point the King had won six championships and was working on No. 7 when Kyle was testing the Winston Cup waters. Certainly the spotlight was on Petty, but there wasn't the endless attention from the media or fans.
"There were six or seven (writers) max and they went everywhere with us," Petty says. "They were just like another race team. The press were a part of who we were. You didn't have TV. It was a different sport. They understood the sport well enough that it didn't add to the pressure. They didn't expect Kyle Petty to be the next Richard Petty. And the people who really understand the sport today don't expect Dale Earnhardt Jr. to be Dale Earnhardt -- " snaps his fingers " -- instantly.
"But fans have different expectations," he continues. "Fans think -- and it's got to be worse for him because he has the same name -- that somehow, miraculously, God takes the talent from one and puts it into the younger one and the talent continues. Often the younger one isn't offered the time for that talent to develop sometimes. From that perspective, sometimes you get frustrated as an individual because you don't think you're living up to what the people in the grandstands think. And you lose sight of the fact that you shouldn't care what they think. You should only think about what you think, what your ability is and you do the best you can and that's all you can do. And then you don't worry about it."
Petty and Earnhardt had different life experiences growing up. Each son had heard of his grandfather's successful racing career and watched and learned from his own father. But the Pettys spent a lot of time together as a family, whereas Junior and his sister Kelly were raised by their mother during their formative years. Although Junior and his sister are exceptionally close, Petty feels that perhaps he had "a stronger support system" to protect him during the low times. And there were low times, but Petty feels that it's all part of the maturation process.
"I think every parent questions their child's commitment -- ours was just more public," Petty says with a laugh. "We've both been thrust in this sport -- of course, I started a lot younger than Dale did -- but you come out here and there are so many people watching you.
"If Dale Jr. came in here and he was Kurt Busch, it wouldn't be a big issue. This is a distraction. If he were not Dale Jr. and just showed up and done like he's done so far as Kurt Busch -- and this is no disrespect to Kurt Busch -- then everyone would be touting Dale Jr. as the second coming of Jeff Gordon. But he's done a lot. He's run up front, he's won races and I don't think he gets the credit he's due because people look at him and say, 'He's Dale Earnhardt. He should be doing that.' But he shouldn't be doing that. He's got the raw talent and has been able to do what other people haven't been able to do. I wasn't able to do it," he says.
Being branded with "the name" brings a whole new set of responsibilities, both on the track and off. Like Petty, Junior may be expected to run DEI one day. It was Kyle's choice to return to Petty Enterprises in 1999 with hopes of building the family business for his late son Adam. It gave him a different perspective on life and was his way of "coming home." Junior, who has talked about his desire to have a son, may find the same solace that Petty has when that day rolls around. There was a day when Kyle just looked at Petty Enterprises as "a place to drive a racecar," but now he considers it home.
"When Dale has a family and a son, he'll look at DEI totally different," Petty says. "Right now he has a whole lot of heart in the game. I think having heart in the game is important, but eventually he'll put his soul into it and then you live with it no matter what."
Lee Spencer covers NASCAR for The Sporting News. Email her at [email protected].
