More Dale Jr. drama

No. 88 crew chief Tony Eury Jr. talks with Dale Earnhardt Jr. as they begin their first season together at Hendrick Motorsports. Driver Kevin Harvick said NASCAR TV ratings will get better whether or not Earnhardt Jr. is a success at Hendrick Motorsports.
Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images for NASCAR

Kevin Harvick, winner of last year's Daytona 500, was asked during testing at Daytona International Speedway on Monday if Dale Earnhardt Jr. racing for Hendrick Motorsports will give NASCAR a boost in TV ratings and popularity.
TV ratings for Cup races have been down the past couple of years and attendance at tracks, especially California Speedway, has been slipping.
At first, Harvick, who addressed members of the media at Daytona between test sessions, was hestitant to answer.
"I don't think it's going to hurt anything," said Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "I don't think you can add as much drama as they had last year. That got a lot of different headlines from a lot of different angles."
Earnhardt Jr. decided to leave Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team his late father founded and owned, to race for Hendrick Motorsports. It was a drawn-out, public tug-of-war for control of the team between Earnhardt Jr. and his stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt. After months of debate, Earnhardt Jr. left the team to join Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears at Hendrick and DEI eventually merged with Ginn Racing to create a four-car team.
Harvick added that he anticipates NASCAR's popularity will rise again whether or not Earnhardt Jr. does well at Hendrick Motorsports.
"I don't think it's just our sport that's in a position to be worried about TV ratings or sponsorship and things like that," Harvick said. "I think the whole country is in a kind of state of limbo right now. As we get into these elections, get them over with, I think everything will come back whether Junior does good or not."