Dale Jr. Could Take a Lesson From Playbook of Stewart and Kahne

After witnessing what some have dubbed Black Sunday, fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr. are understandably discouraged.

For the No. 88 team, the entire weekend was a bust. A big ugly bust.

It only takes a few minutes of reading post-Dover comments to realize that Junior Nation is also angry.  Some are calling for the head of crew chief Lance McGrew on a platter.  Others are casting aspersions upon team owner Rick Hendrick.  A superstitious few are even claiming that if Junior had kept his beard, he wouldn't have suffered such a disappointing setback.

Well, in the words of The Office's, Michael Scott, "I'm not superstitious, I'm just a little stitious."  And I doubt Junior's beard had anything to do with it.

Yes, Dover was dismal.  Yes, Junior hasn't won a race since 2008. But on the flip side, it only takes one good night to build season-changing momentum.

Look at Tony Stewart.

Last year about this time, Stewart hadn't won yet.  In fact, his year started with crashing his new teammate during Daytona 500 practice. But Smoke's emotional victory at the All-Star race became the key to propelling his fledgling team to four more wins - all for points.

And then there's Kasey Kahne.  In 2007, Kahne was winless.  His 2008 season didn't start out so hot either.  But winning the 2008 All-Star contest flipped a switch.  He smoked the very next race at Charlotte. Then he won again at Pocono.

In fact, four of the last five All-Star champs have proceeded to win at least one more race in the same season.

And, this may be woefully oversimpified, but that's all Junior's fans are asking for. A win. Points would be great, but seeing the No. 88 car in Victory Lane Saturday night would do much to soothe the restless Nation.

Not to mention, the timing couldn't be better. Saturday marks the 10th anniversary of Junior's memorable rookie season All-Star win in 2000.  It's also the eve of Dale Earnhardt's induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

If you're Dale Jr. there would be no better way to pump up your fan base than by taking the checkers this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. And if history is any indication, a win there could mean the start of a beautiful season.

How's that for positive thinking?

From Bridesmaids to Babycakes - the Darlington Rundown

Even with a bum knee Denny Hamlin whipped "the track too tough to tame". 

Twice. 

In the same weekend.

But more went on at Darlington than Hamlin's coup de maitre.  Much more.  Below are my takeaways from the weekend that was.  Oh, and note to NASCAR - give Darlington a second date already!

If the crew chief ain't happy, ain't nobody happy: When crew chief Chad Knaus is testy early on, you know things aren't peachy in the Lowe's garage.  At one point, Knaus told his driver just to wreck the car if he hit anything else so they could call it a night.  I bet Knaus will be more careful what he wishes for in the future. It wasn't long after this directive that Jimmie Johnson's night effectively ended when he slammed into the wall courtesy of A.J. Allmendinger.  It's team Johnson's third DNF of the season.  Looks like the shine may be coming off that golden horseshoe.

Truex channels Mikey:  For a moment on Saturday, I thought the No. 56 NAPA Toyota was once again being piloted by the hapless Michael Waltrip.  After all, Martin Truex Jr. doesn't usually hit everything and everyone in his path .  But Darlington's a different animal altogether, and ol' Truex had some trouble keeping his nose clean Sunday night.  Where's that NAPA know-how when you need it?

So close, yet so far: Jeff Gordon has had the car to beat more than once this season, but he just can't end on a winning note.  This time it was bad timing on a pit stop that lost Gordon track position.  Last week it was poor restarts.  So far, Gordon has finished second twice. I just hope for Jeff's sake there's no truth to that old adage - "three times a bridesmaid, never a bride". 

Worst to first: Kyle Busch isn't the first driver to come from last place to p1 during a race. And though he didn't keep the top spot, Busch battled through a cut tire, a hole in the nose and the unforgiving Darlington gauntlet to run up front after starting in the way back. Kudos to Kyle for making the most of an unsavory situation.

Talk of the track: Before the race started, I found it pretty darn amusing that Tony Stewart's spotter called him "babycakes" via the team radio.  (I'd like to see a member of the print media try that one). However it was Dale Earnhardt Jr's scanner that provided the most entertaining chatter of the night.  At one point, Junior regaled all listeners with an explanation of how his visor tearoff somehow got wrapped around his steering wheel, making his glove adhere to the wheel. Then there was the comedic give-and-take between Junior and crew chief Lance McGrew.  But it was No. 88 spotter T.J. Majors who provided the snarky icing on the cake. When Allmendinger hit Johnson, Majors said he was hearing it was a brake problem on the No. 43 car. Then, "I'm not sure if it's brakes or brains".  Touche.

What the what?: Someone in the FOX wardrobe department needs to do a better job at selecting ties for Darrell Waltrip.  Though often attired in Easter egg hues, DW's Saturday neckwear was, well, more strange than usual.  The floral and butterfly combo was enough to distract viewers from what Waltrip was saying.  But on second thought, maybe that was the whole point.

Photo info: The sun sets on Darlington Raceway - Associated Press

The Heat Is On for #88

It's been a long time coming, but change has come to the #88 team. And with big change, comes big expectations.

The rumor that has been denied for months, is a rumor no more. Effective this weekend, Tony Eury Jr. is out as Dale Earnhardt Jr's crew chief. Brian Whitesell will be atop the pit box Sunday, followed by Lance McGrew (Brian Vickers former crew chief) for the rest of the year.

From the sound of things, McGrew isn't going to just wait around and hope for better things. "Everything and everybody will be evaluated," McGrew told ESPN.com Thursday. "First thing next week, I basically start evaluating everything. I think some decisions will be easy and some really hard, because in the economy today, and the decisions that have to be made to turn a ship, sometimes that affects people's jobs. And that's the last thing you want to have happen to you today."

What this move means for the Amp/National Guard team is clear enough. Once McGrew gets the right folks in the right spots and gives Junior a Chevy that's competitive again, there will be no more excuses. It's time for Junebug to put up, shut up or give up. Period.

Here's hoping he puts up.