Results tagged “Dale Earnhardt Jr.” from Haddock in the Paddock

Apparently Dale Earnhardt Jr. was supposed to visit the set of "The Office," but instead met a friend at the DirecTV offices. He ended up having what he called a "discussion" with his friend about the way DirecTV designs its remote controls.
"I think they should change it," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Do y'all have DirecTV? You know where the numbers are at the bottom of the remote, and you have to hold it kind of funny and it's very uncomfortable and awkward? And when you hold a normal remote, you want the numbers up in the middle."
Earnhardt Jr. prefers the numbers on his remote controls to be in a certain spot. The DirecTV remotes do not meet his high standards.
"It's a travesty," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It is. You change the channel by the numbers and everybody goes to the numbers. They put them down at the bottom and my thumb can't get down there and I drop the remote a lot. It's terrible."

Texas Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Robby Gordon have created new Web sites for fans to post comments about races and chat with NASCAR drivers.
The Texas Motor Speedway MySpace site is: www.myspace.com/thegreatamericanspeedway
Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and David Stremme are a few of the NASCAR drivers who have set up their own MySpace pages to give fans a way to follow them.
Earnhardt Jr. has a web site called Infield Parking: www.infieldparking.com and Gordon has a site called Robby's Uprising: www.robbysuprising.com

NASCAR apparently issued a new policy in regard to conduct and language used by drivers during interviews, especially nationally televised interviews.
Some drivers, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., have been fined and penalized, some would say rather severely, by NASCAR for using inappropriate words after winning races and during live TV interviews.
In Earnhardt Jr.'s case, someone asked him how his success at Talladega Superspeedway compares to his dad's accomplishments. Earnhardt Jr. said "It don't mean shit." To be honest, Earnhardt Jr. was just telling the truth, but it cost him points in the standings and a hefty fine.
Earnhardt Jr. was asked during media day at Daytona International Speedway earlier this week if he thought the new rules would take some of the anxiety off interviews.
"No, because I don't believe them," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "I don't think anybody does. What does that mean? Tell me? Are we supposed to walk the line and see where we step over it? Are we going to get fines when we go too far? What is it that they are saying?"
Earnhardt Jr. said the new rules were made more for the media than for the drivers and teams.
"I think honestly they are playing to you guys, they are not talking to the drivers, they are playing y'all," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I think it is basically they are trying to appear to be looser, when the message has not been relayed to the drivers as to what has been changed, it is just a press release went out to the press that said 'Hey, we are going to do this, how about that? You guys like that, right?' Really, what have they told us? I don't know what that means? What does that mean?"
With or without the rules, Earnhardt Jr. said he learned his lesson from the incident at Talladega a couple years ago.
"That was just a little card game between you two; it has really nothing to do with the drivers," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I don't feel like I have been holding back. There are words that I don't use, that I shouldn't use on national television. For me, I get to be the same because I don't feel like I have had to reserve myself too much."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the focus of a new television series on ESPN2 which debuts Feb. 8.
"Shifting Gears," a five-part series, follows Earnhardt Jr.'s move from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
"We were working on a new DVD about my life and the guys kept getting more and more footage, so they decided to put a whole TV show together to document the biggest career decision I've ever made," Earnhardt Jr. said. "The past year of my life has been a roller coaster, and it's pretty cool that we're giving everyone an inside look at how everything came together."
Three of the five episodes of "Shifting Gears" will be on ESPN2 in the nine days prior to the Daytona 500, including following ESPN2's live coverage of NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying on Feb. 15 and the NASCAR Nationwide Series Camping World 300 at Daytona on Feb. 16. The final two episodes will be on ESPN in prime time the week of the July 27 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, ESPN's first live NASCAR Sprint Cup event of the season.
"Dale Jr.'s move to Hendrick Motorsports is obviously one of the most intriguing storylines heading into the 2008 NASCAR season," said John Skipper, ESPN executive vice president, content. "This new series will not only help NASCAR fans gear up for the new season, but also will present a side of Dale Jr. that fans have never seen before."
Previews and additional video from the show will be made available on ESPN.com Video and DaleJr.com starting next week and the full episodes will be made available shortly after they air on ESPN2 on ESPN MobileTV and ESPN.com Video.

"Shifting Gears" schedule:
Friday, Feb. 8
4-5 p.m.
ESPN2

Friday, Feb. 15
3:30-5 p.m.
ESPN2

Saturday, Feb. 16
1:30-3 p.m.
ESPN2

Thursday, July 24
4-5 p.m.
ESPN

Friday, July 25
4-5 p.m.
ESPN

Tony Eury Jr. said that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will win four races with his new team at Hendrick Motorsports. Eury Jr. told the Associated Press that four wins would be simple.
Earnhardt Jr. wasn't about to be so bold as to predict an exact number of wins.

Sam Greenwood / Getty Images for NASCAR

"I just like running up front every week," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I like going to the racetrack and being in the ‑‑ being toward the top of the chart, at least on the left side of the page in practices and whatnot."
Earnhardt Jr. did not win a race in 2007 and did not qualify for the Chase. Hendrick Motorsports, his new team, won 18 races last year. Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, led all Cup drivers with 10 wins last year. Even though Earnhardt Jr. did not win a race last year, he said it was still one of his better seasons.
"And in the race I like to run up front," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We did that a lot last year, and when I look at ‑‑ when I take a look at all my seasons, I was better last year at showing up and being there every weekend. We weren't there every weekend, but I had a better car the majority of the season than I had had in seasons past."
Earnhardt Jr. said he doesn't want to worry about winning races. He would rather focus on having a car and team that is always in position to win races. The rest takes care of itself.
"That's really all I wanted out of driving race cars," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I want to be up front and be toward the front and challenging, and when I show up to the racetrack I want people to expect me to run well, not just at particular tracks everywhere. It was good to go and to do that at some tracks last year that I typically hadn't been able to do that at."
Being with Hendrick will only increase his chances of winning more races.
"I was hoping that with some of the extra ability that Hendrick has in winning championships and races on a regular basis that that could even improve my finishing," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I don't want to sit here and guess how many races we'll win. We'll win some races, and I expect to win soon. I'm a good driver with a good team, and if we don't make mistakes on a Sunday we should have great finishes and win some races."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he was nervous being around his new team during testing at Daytona International Speedway. One of the things he said that he is concerned about is whether the crew members on his team with Hendrick Motorsports like him and the kind of driver he is.
That seems a little hard to believe considering he is the perennial most popular driver in NASCAR, as voted by the fans.

Sam Greenwood / Getty Images for NASCAR

"But I don't know the guys that well, so I'm just nervous in getting to know them and hoping that they like me and like the kind of driver I am and they're happy that they have me as their driver," said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "That's what you want from the guys working on your cars is for them to be glad you're there and that you're the one that's driving it."
If having to wonder if his crew likes him is Earnhardt Jr.'s biggest worry, he should have no problem concentrating on racing this year. Unlike last year, when the drama surrounding his move from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to Hendrick Motorsports was bigger news than the actual races, there should fewer distractions despite driving for a new team.
"Yeah, it's been pretty nice to be able to concentrate on the things that are important right now and testing and working and getting to know the guys," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It's definitely ‑‑ there's a little bit less pressure in certain areas and more pressure in other areas. I didn't have to worry about job security when I was over at my other job, but I've got to worry about that now."
He probably doesn't have to worry too much about job security though. Even though he didn't win a race last year, he was still a fan favorite. And it is unlikely he will have another winless season with Hendrick Motorsports, which won 18 Cup races last year.
"I think if I do what I've been doing, I should be fine," Earnhardt Jr. said. "But with being the son of the guy who built the place, you can get away with a few more things than most guys could."
His new owner, Rick Hendrick, treats his drivers well. Then again, with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson winning races and championships on a regular basis, it's hard to complain.
"You know, I've got a really good owner that makes me feel comfortable, and so that eases a lot of other pressures, talking to him and hearing from him and listening to his thoughts on what we're doing," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It takes away some pressure from that side of it.
"So it's kind of neat. It's really fun to be going through this for me, and I'm enjoying those parts, and even the difficult things or the challenging parts are fun because of the atmosphere and because of the attitude that everybody there has. Everybody at Hendrick is really pumped up and giving me a good vote of confidence going into the test and going into the season, so it really makes it exciting to face all the challenges we're going to face."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. raced what many think is his last race for Dale Earnhardt Inc. It wasn't the way he wanted to end this part of his career with the team his late father founded.
Earnhardt Jr. finished 36th in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After the race, he was asked how he felt about racing his last race with Dale Earnhardt Inc. in the team's No. 8 Chevrolet.
"I guess I thought I would be sadder, but I am not," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I still have all these guys as friends, that is even better than the working relationship. Now, I am ready to get to work."
After the race, Earnhardt Jr. had to say good-bye to his teammates and crew. His crew chief and cousin, Tony Eury Jr., is going with Earnhardt Jr. to Hendrick Motorsports. But the rest of the team is expected to remain with DEI.
"It wasn't emotional. It wasn't as emotional as I thought," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I thought it might be emotional and tough but it wasn't really that bad. Those guys are going to be around and I am going to get to see them an awful lot more than we assume. It is not like we won't see each other again. We will, and it is just the nature of the business. You get used to people coming and going from day one when get you get started working in this business."

It seems there are quite a few reporters who want to know how the late Dale Earnhardt would react to the Chase system, how he would race Jimmie Johnson at Homestead-Miami Speedway and how he would respond to his son leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. for Hendrick Motorsports.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. addressed some of those questions Saturday before the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
On leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. for Hendrick Motorsports, Earnhardt Jr. said he will be sad for his father that things aren't different.
"I'm sad for him, not for me or anybody else," said Earnhardt Jr. "I'm just sad because his vision was different. He was such a great person and his visions were great and worthy and should be realized. That'll be a shame."
Earnhardt Jr. said the support he has received from Rick Hendrick, the owner of Hendrick Motorsports, has been incredibly valuable and it will make the transition easier.
"He knows exactly what I'm thinking and what I'm going through, he knows exactly what kind of guy I am and the things that matter to me," Earnhardt Jr. said. "He's just great at reading people. He'll be great support for me as we move from one thing to another and adapting. I'm very anxious and nervous about the challenges I face going over to Rick's and trying to be an asset to that company and trying to be everything I can be, be impressive and get the job done. I'm anxious to get going on that and make those things happen. But, there's some things to finish and we'll get them finished."
As for how Earnhardt would race Johnson, Earnhardt Jr. said "real hard."
"He raced real hard all the time," Earnhardt Jr. "That whole group, they didn't care who you were. They ran the heck out of you all the time and still do. That generation, that's their style and a lot of it rubbed off on some of us because it's good. He would race hard, really hard."