No, you didn't misread the headline. Dale Earnhardt Jr. did win something this season - namely the Chex Most Popular Driver award - giving him seven wins total for this fan-driven honor.
“You look at Richard Petty and Bill Elliott and I’ve always felt that if you win this award once then you are in good company. I’m real proud of it," Earnhardt Jr. said when his win was announced. "The fans have hung in there and gave me one heck of a Christmas gift.”
Given the year the #88 team had, he's right. That proof of his continued fan loyalty had to be the lone high point in a valley-filled year. Struggling through two crew chiefs, multiple pit road issues and just plain bad luck, Junior's season seemed doomed from the start. And even though the team ran some better toward the end of '09, the black cloud that parked itself over the #88 car at Daytona didn't evaporate at Homestead - Junior's finishes were not indicative of a team that was on the right track.
If Dale Jr. doesn't come out of the gate strong in February, talking heads will likely point to Danicamania as one of the reasons why. The driver has often been accused of caring more about "his brand" than winning races - and the addition of Danica Patrick to the JRM fold certainly caused his company's marketability and sponsorship exposure to skyrocket.
Yet I predict that even if Patrick wrecks the entire field at Fontana and the #88 driver finishes in 30th place in every race in 2010, Junior will still walk away with an eighth most popular driver award next December.
Junior's likeability and resulting popularity with the fans isn't defined by his performance. That said, his future as a Hendrick Motorsports driver is - which is why the 2010 season could well be the most important year in Earnhardt Jr's career. Rick Hendrick has repeatedly said his focus will be the #88 team's performance - and he has intimated that he's ready to make whatever changes are necessary to get Junior performing as well as the rest of his drivers.
So hang on to your helmets. Whether Junior wins or loses, 2010 is gonna be one heckuva news year.
“You look at Richard Petty and Bill Elliott and I’ve always felt that if you win this award once then you are in good company. I’m real proud of it," Earnhardt Jr. said when his win was announced. "The fans have hung in there and gave me one heck of a Christmas gift.”
Given the year the #88 team had, he's right. That proof of his continued fan loyalty had to be the lone high point in a valley-filled year. Struggling through two crew chiefs, multiple pit road issues and just plain bad luck, Junior's season seemed doomed from the start. And even though the team ran some better toward the end of '09, the black cloud that parked itself over the #88 car at Daytona didn't evaporate at Homestead - Junior's finishes were not indicative of a team that was on the right track.
If Dale Jr. doesn't come out of the gate strong in February, talking heads will likely point to Danicamania as one of the reasons why. The driver has often been accused of caring more about "his brand" than winning races - and the addition of Danica Patrick to the JRM fold certainly caused his company's marketability and sponsorship exposure to skyrocket.
Yet I predict that even if Patrick wrecks the entire field at Fontana and the #88 driver finishes in 30th place in every race in 2010, Junior will still walk away with an eighth most popular driver award next December.
Junior's likeability and resulting popularity with the fans isn't defined by his performance. That said, his future as a Hendrick Motorsports driver is - which is why the 2010 season could well be the most important year in Earnhardt Jr's career. Rick Hendrick has repeatedly said his focus will be the #88 team's performance - and he has intimated that he's ready to make whatever changes are necessary to get Junior performing as well as the rest of his drivers.
So hang on to your helmets. Whether Junior wins or loses, 2010 is gonna be one heckuva news year.
