KIDWCKED
02-15-2011, 10:30 PM
c/p from nascar.com by Mark Aumann.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has one message for his detractors: He's not a quitter.
"I wouldn't be sitting here right now if I didn't feel like that I wanted to go win races and be successful," Junior said during the NASCAR media tour stop at Hendrick Motorsports. "I wouldn't put up with all the things that I put up with. And I enjoy driving race cars and I want to be around for a long time.
“
Everybody expects me or Dale to wave some magic wand and he's going to lead every lap and win every race.
”
-- RICK HENDRICK"Whether people think I'll be here for a long time, I plan on being here. I've got nothing else to do, nowhere else to go. This is what I grew up to do. This is what I want to do. This is where I want to be."
After suffering through two of the worst seasons of his career, don't think for a moment Earnhardt doesn't hear the whispers of those who think he's washed up, who believe he's lost the touch resulting in 15 wins before he turned 30 -- and only three in the six years since.
For him, it's not a matter of if. Rather, it's just a matter of when.
"It's unfortunate that we haven't been successful over the last several years," Junior said. "There was a period where we were successful. And that gives me a lot of hope and a lot of expectation to get back, to get there again.
"I know I can do it, so that's what we'll try to do this year. We made a lot of changes. We're trying to fix it. We're trying to get better. We're making the effort. We just have to wait until we get to the track to see what the results are."
Winning the pole for the season-opening Daytona 500 is a small step in the right direction for Earnhardt, who now has Steve Letarte handling crew chief duties on the pit box in 2011. But it's only the first of many needed to get the No. 88 Chevrolet back to some semblance of competitiveness.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has one message for his detractors: He's not a quitter.
"I wouldn't be sitting here right now if I didn't feel like that I wanted to go win races and be successful," Junior said during the NASCAR media tour stop at Hendrick Motorsports. "I wouldn't put up with all the things that I put up with. And I enjoy driving race cars and I want to be around for a long time.
“
Everybody expects me or Dale to wave some magic wand and he's going to lead every lap and win every race.
”
-- RICK HENDRICK"Whether people think I'll be here for a long time, I plan on being here. I've got nothing else to do, nowhere else to go. This is what I grew up to do. This is what I want to do. This is where I want to be."
After suffering through two of the worst seasons of his career, don't think for a moment Earnhardt doesn't hear the whispers of those who think he's washed up, who believe he's lost the touch resulting in 15 wins before he turned 30 -- and only three in the six years since.
For him, it's not a matter of if. Rather, it's just a matter of when.
"It's unfortunate that we haven't been successful over the last several years," Junior said. "There was a period where we were successful. And that gives me a lot of hope and a lot of expectation to get back, to get there again.
"I know I can do it, so that's what we'll try to do this year. We made a lot of changes. We're trying to fix it. We're trying to get better. We're making the effort. We just have to wait until we get to the track to see what the results are."
Winning the pole for the season-opening Daytona 500 is a small step in the right direction for Earnhardt, who now has Steve Letarte handling crew chief duties on the pit box in 2011. But it's only the first of many needed to get the No. 88 Chevrolet back to some semblance of competitiveness.