 | | Dale Earnhardt Jr. has six victories so far this season. Credit: Autostock |
From Press Release
November 12, 2004
06:48 PM EST (23:48 GMT)
Below are select quotes from Thursday's Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain on SPEED Channel. Thursday's Wind Tunnel guest was Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt talked about his quest for the championship, his future in the sport and some of the cool things about being "Junior." Wind Tunnel: What's the coolest thing that has happened in your life since you were here the last time?  |  | CHECKER AUTO PARTS 500 | |
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Earnhardt: I think the friends that I have made this year -- guys like Max Papis and Boris Said. After the accident I had in July with the fire, I got close to a couple of guys who were there that day. that's probably the coolest thing I got from this year. Wind Tunnel: In light of the quote from last weekend -- "If we don't win it this year, we'll win it next year" -- I also remember you saying that last year. I get the idea that maybe you aren't quite as eaten up with this whole thing as the rest of us are -- that you just kinda take this championship thing in stride. Am I reading that right or wrong? Earnhardt: I get a lot of criticism I guess because people don't know how to read my focus, how much I do or don't want things. There's a lot of pressure put on me and my team from the NASCAR world to win the championship. We'd obviously love to win the championship and we're working really hard. We've made some mistakes -- I've made some errors on and off of the race track, in and out of the car that have cost us some points. We have our reasons why we have lost this championship, if that is the case. If we come back and win it, it will be a great deal. But there have just been some setbacks that I can't not think about the 25 points we lost and the crash at Atlanta, those were huge and are huge now, because we would have a pretty sizeable lead. I want it as bad as everybody else around here, but I don't think people see that in me. I plan on sticking around for a long time and I'll have a lot more opportunities I hope down the road. This is just one of the many years that we'll be battling it out tooth and nail. Wind Tunnel: I'm going to toss out a couple of what I think are pretty widely held notions about you and I'd like to get your reaction to them. No. 1 -- Junior needs this Cup championship to prove that he is the real deal, a great driver in his own right and not just Dale Earnhardt's son. |  | | Earnhardt Jr. won at Phoenix last weekend. Credit: Autostock |
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Earnhardt: I don't plan on ever matching my father's accomplishments. I just came into the sport and race every lap. I enjoy racing. I have success. I feel like I'm one of the better drivers in the series at this point in my career. I feel like I'm a smart race car driver. I really feel like I have achieved personally everything that I have wanted from the start. I've gotten everything that I've wanted. I wanted to come in here, be competitive, win races, make a living, and be able to go home and be satisfied with what I've done and that's where I'm at. We'll grumble over statistics for years. I feel like with the year we've had this year that we've really made a statement that we can win races and be strong. It's kinda like the Dan Marino thing, if I don't win a championship it'll always be hung over my head. Wind Tunnel: No. 2 -- Junior is the chosen one. NASCAR is going to do whatever it takes to help him win this championship. He's the guy they want to see on top. How do you feel about that? Earnhardt: That was a legitimate argument maybe two years ago. You hear that more and more and more from a lot of people and it seems to change NASCAR's position towards me, where the clamps are a little tighter. Every little thing I do is scrutinized and manipulated. I feel like personally, I think it's fair to say, that I'm watched pretty closely by NASCAR, maybe not more so than other guys. There is a bunch of us in the series that maybe needs a little extra attention. I think NASCAR has been fair in all of their judgments, both pro and con with me, good and bad, I think it's evened out. What's fair for everyone else has been dealt to me. NASCAR couldn't run a legitimate business if there was a teacher's pet. I don't think anyone can truly agree with that. Wind Tunnel: (From a fan e-mail) With all of the attention and fan base that you have, how do you continue to stay so humble and down to earth? |  | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | |
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Earnhardt: I don't really know. I think it has to do with the people that I spend time around, the people I put around me, the people that I appreciate, the things that I admire about other race car drivers that I'm friends with. I admire the good qualities in people and I try to make myself a better person from learning and watching from them. I believe that you have control the environment that you're around, where you put yourself and take yourself. I think that there are a lot of pitfalls that you can get involved in that change who you are personally, that change how you act and how you treat people. I have to catch myself because I'm not always humble. There are times that I have to control my emotions and I get out of hand and I have to put myself in shape. Whether it's with my sister or talking with my closest friends I get a little hand and forget where I'm at or how I am. It has a lot to do with who you are around -- that's the person you're going to become. Wind Tunnel: Who would be your celebrity dream date? Earnhardt: That's tough. There are way too many, I can't narrow it down to one. Wind Tunnel: Name me one car that you don't already own that you would love to have. Earnhardt: Probably a McClaren F1. Wind Tunnel: If you were going to max out your credit card, which store would you go to? |  | | Junior battles Jeff Gordon for position. Credit: Autostock |
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Earnhardt: That's tough too. I guess I would go to a car dealership. Wind Tunnel: In the entire world, the one person you would most like to meet. Earnhardt: Tom Hanks. I admire his style. I think I try to emulate his personality a lot. I think he has a good way of carrying himself and the movies that he's done are awesome. He really handles himself off-screen really cool. Wind Tunnel: What's in the CD player? Earnhardt: The new Chevelle CD, they have two CDs and it's the latest one. Wind Tunnel: What's the funniest, craziest, weirdest, most outrageous thing you've encountered or seen lately (as far as obsessed fans)? Earnhardt: I was at Indy and this little boy asked me to sign his prosthetic limb. That was pretty cool. That's happened before, but never with a child, normally an adult. A lot of times I'll get asked to sign somebody's arm so they can get it tattooed. I think that's the biggest compliment you can get -- like when someone has an 8 tattoo on their leg -- that's for life. Wind Tunnel: Is Truex going to be in the No. 1 or the No. 15 after he does his year in Busch and moves up or has that been decided yet? Earnhardt: As you know, nothing is set in stone. But our plan is have Martin in the No. 1 car, bring the No. 1 team back and be a three-team competitor again, as far as the company goes. He'll be in the No. 1 car in 2006. | | CHASE FOR THE NEXTEL CUP | |
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Wind Tunnel: Five years down the road, what happens next? Earnhardt: I have a big expectation to be an owner. I never wanted to do that before. Recently, over the past two years I've wanted that more and more and more. I think that after my driving days are over that I will still be around in the sport, I'd love to be an owner in the sport, everybody does, all the drivers do. I don't think I'll ever drive for myself. I want to drive my entire career with DEI. I want to become a big part of Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated even after my driving days are over with. I'm letting JR Motorsports, which is my personal thing, do its own thing, grow at its own pace. ... We're putting together a package to run Hooters Pro Cup next year. If things go well and we keep progressing and the sponsors are happy we'll let it grow at it's own pace. If it becomes Busch team or a Cup team, so be it. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. | 
