Junior's transformation brings fresh perspective

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland -- What does one make of a world where nobody has heard of Dale Earnhardt Jr.? A world where nobody talks about Hendrick Motorsports and its dominance or cheating -- depending upon your perspective? And finally, what does one make of an English-speaking nation that isn't even aware that Tony Stewart broke through and finally won in 2007?

Beau Estes co-hosts the Jack Daniel's Post-Race Show with Nikki Alexander. It can be seen following every Nextel Cup race live on NASCAR.COM.

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These are among the questions I'm left to wonder about gazing out onto the glorious North Sea (that is only blotted out by the hundreds of snarling trucks in the television compound) in advance of The Open Championship.

To answer the first question -- I've asked and nobody, literally no one at all, has heard of Dale Jr. Perhaps you could drag out a dazed look and a conversation easing "the name sounds familiar" type remark at best, but he truly isn't on the map. To be fair, I wasn't completely shocked by this. I've read the papers and seen the news before and there isn't much coverage of American sports at all.

David Beckham is the only link to America that seems of any concern. He is treated in the media here much like Paris Hilton is in ours -- which is to say ridiculously overexposed to the point of becoming a cartoon -- however one friend pointed out that "at least he's accomplished something." Fair enough.

Anyhow, the distance from NASCAR has provided an opportunity to gain some perspective -- preventing me from getting caught up in the minutia of pit-stop pratfalls and the like. More importantly and to the point, it's provided me an opportunity to review the last few months of Dale Jr.'s life from afar and really try to piece together what has happened from a "you've got to be kidding me" point of view.

Before I get into this let me state for the record that I am tremendously happy for Dale, however, the series of moves that have led to his future station in life are both unexpected and stunning. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that he is off to create his own legacy apart from DEI. By all accounts, he and his step-mother have never been close. But this is Dale Jr. -- son of a legend and legend in the making in his own right -- pride of the Southern NASCAR fan and Budweiser-drinking, No. 8 lovers everywhere.

My point is this: Last year Dale Jr. was in the midst of a resurgent season that saw him in the Chase, winning a race and truly giving his fans -- and particularly those fans that love Junior and hate the white knights of HMS (Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, especially) -- a horse in the race. As long as Junior was on the track, the right guy had a shot at winning in the minds of many.

Flash forward to this season and Dale Jr. struggled out of the gate, has yet to win a race, and seen his teammate take the lead in the DEI garage. And that is just on the track.

Through the eyes of some he has also joined forces with the Dark Side of NASCAR (he'll call Gordon a teammate next year), ended his relationship with Bud drinkers (through no fault of his own, but still ...), and then according to several reports is getting ready to align himself with the non-Southern soft drink in the NASCAR world, Pepsi-Cola. Coca-Cola be damned.

What will happen next for the old-school Earnhardt fan? Should we expect Junior to jettison NASCAR completely and head to the European world of F1? Perhaps he'll trade in his Wranglers for Diadora shoes and an Armani jumper? Maybe he'll move to Tuscany and take Gisele Bundchen off Tom Brady's hands. Who knows what the next year holds for the son of NASCAR's most loved driver, but could he possibly delve further from his perceived fan base in another six-month span?

Still, one thing holds true for the man who still turns laps in the 8 car: When you hear him speak, when you see him in an interview, he still sounds like the same guy that NASCAR Nation follows like paparazzi on Paris. It's enough for me to believe in him and his future, wherever or whatever that might be.

Question of the Week
With an ocean between myself and the whole Junior Nation I feel safe in asking the following. In light of the above missive, I'm wondering how many people are still on the Dale Jr. Express. My question to all of you is simple:

Have the events of the last six months made you more of a fan, less of a fan, or had no change on your opinion of Dale Earnhardt Jr.?

Send your thoughts (and threats) directly to my inbox at beau.estes@turner.com

I hope my comments above have made my thoughts on the issue clear.

Last Week's QOW
"I'm the outsider looking in now, and I'm probably not going to be invited into the team meetings next week, so I think bliss is over at Hendrick Motorsports for Kyle Busch. We'll get ready for 2008."

Following these comments from Kyle Busch at Daytona, I asked:

What is the best way for Kyle Busch and HMS to go forward with the rest of their season?

Here are the best of the responses:

I think he should be professional about the situation. He has a contract to respect and he should respect it. I think he should stay low profile until the end of the season and show the other drivers what he can do. I don't like the guy but I admit he can do great driving on the track. He should stay out of trouble and keep quiet. Just do his job driving.
-- Isabelle from Montreal, Canada

Obviously, staying quiet is not something the Busch boys specialize in. I wonder how Hendrick will handle the problem if Kyle doesn't stick to the "Isabelle Plan?"

I think those remarks made by Kyle was the sound of him digging his own grave. That to me sounded like someone saying, 'Hey I don't expect to be a part of this team anymore.' To answer your question, it just may be best for him to move on before the year's end.
-- Andy from Grand Rapids, Mich.

I don't think you can dump a guy who currently stands in the Chase. There is just too much at stake. Still, don't expect Rick Hendrick "to be a Busch apologist." Stop me if you've heard this before.

There's no way Kyle will go out and wreck cars. He wants to win. I honestly think it would be an unwise thing for the two to part ways at this point in the season. I just feel that HMS is going to have to run the 5 car as a one-car team.
-- John from Westerville, Ohio

No man is an island, but it might be fair to say that Kyle's comments and his current teammates' actions, or lack thereof, have washed the 5 team up on some lonely shores.

Finally, I've got to say that Tony Stewart's win has put everything right with the season in my mind (watch video). This is one of the best drivers in the world who has run at the top for several races this year. I'm glad to see that he wrestled his way to the win.

Enjoy the week off everyone!