Earnhardt Jr. Needs To Get His Nation In Order
May 13th, 2008 by James J.Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a great showing in the Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington Raceway. As I expected, he ran up front almost the entire race (365 of his 367 laps were ran inside the top 15). He also did just as I thought he would do when around Kyle Busch; he did NOT seek retaliation. Dale continues to keep his focus on the championship drive. His actions on the track Saturday also reinforced what he said about the incident between him and Kyle Busch in Richmond (he didn’t believe Kyle wrecked him on purpose). So kudos to Dale Earnhardt Jr. for putting on a great show and keeping that awesome looking #88 Mountain Dew car up front the entire race.
While Earnhardt Jr. deserves those kudos, many of his fans deserve a reprimand and some should not be permitted to attend future races. Once again there were those few rotten fans schmucks throwing beer cans and debris over the heads of REAL fans in the grandstands and onto the track as Kyle Busch passed by for his victory lap. Ignoring the fact that it’s wasting perfectly good beer, and that it’s a pathetic public display of ones character, it most importantly is also threatening the safety of REAL fans! There are women and children in the stands and the thought of a stray beer can striking one of them simply pisses me off to be blunt about it. Imagine a mother or child getting struck, injured and/or killed as a result of a stray beer can! And on a Mother’s Day weekend no less! As I sat there in turn four, 19 rows up, I witnessed the behavior of those individuals and feared for my son’s safety.
You few lunatic fringe members of Jr. Nation (and you few lunatic fringe members of the “We Just Hate Kyle Club”) should be ashamed of yourselves. And if you sat near or witnessed an individual throwing the debris, and you did nothing, then you too should be ashamed of yourselves. Star drivers such as Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and most especially Dale Earnhardt Jr. should come out and call out those fans! They should come out in their interviews and stop for once touting their sponsors name, and instead say something along these lines:
yet you’re throwing beer cans at other drivers,
then you’re not the type of fan I need.
If you can’t stop endangering others, then don’t come to the races,
don’t claim to be a fan of mine, and don’t wear my number!
For you are not the type of fan I need,
and you are not the type of fan I want!”
No, Earnhardt Jr. can’t really be expected to control those individuals. But he most certainly should make an attempt at getting his Nation in order. His voice can certainly influence Jr. Nation to a greater degree than any other. Perhaps with his lead, those REAL fans within Jr. Nation will help self-police themselves. If those individuals can’t be influenced by their favorite driver and by the peer pressure of the REAL fans within Jr. Nation, then I unfortunately think the next step is for tracks to start prohibiting beer cans in the grandstands. Plastic bottled water or soda in soft sided coolers will be our only options I fear, if we’re lucky. And we’ll be forced to go to the concession stands for our 12oz beer in a plastic cup and pay $2.50 or more for it! All because some people have poor character traits and no self control. When the cost to go to a race is as high as it is, we certainly don’t need to risk loosing the privilege of being able to bring in our own beer. We also don’t need to fear going to a race with the hopes of being entertained and then end up seeking medical attention.
If you think Kyle Busch stinks so bad and you hate him so much, then imagine if YOU are THAT GUY who throws that one beer can that ends up hitting a kid. Imagine being THAT GUY who injured or killed another child, woman or man. Imagine if you’re THAT GUY whose actions are the ones that causes all tracks to change the way all fans across the country can attend a race when the tracks start preventing cans in the grandstands. Tell me now, all my fellow beer drinking NASCAR fans, would you still hate Kyle that much…. or would you hate THAT GUY? How much more would you hate BEING THAT GUY?
Loading ...
It’s...
May 13th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
When beer is involved, how can any driver get through to that fan? He can’t. Maybe if the beer were served in plastic cups and no cans were allowed in the grandstands, there is a chance of that not happening. If you keep the culprit (in this case the beer can) away, then there is no problem with rowdy fans. In other words, no beer no problem.
May 14th, 2008 at 5:01 am
Well said James!
Cheyenne, how can any driver get through to these types of fans you ask?
By doing just what James has suggested. Come out forcefully and for all the world to see denounce this type of behavior, support a track life-time ban that has been done at Texas, and I believe also at Vegas already, for anyone caught throwing any objects on the track.
But sadly, it will never happen.
May 14th, 2008 at 5:18 am
Excellent commentary…now if Junior could just get a win!
May 14th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Cheyenne, I’m sorry but I have to disagree on where the problem resides. The can is not the culprit, it’s the person and their character. It’s not the gun’s fault that someone gets shot; it’s not the cars fault when a drunk driver wrecks; and it’s not the can’s fault when it is turned into a deadly projectile. Furthermore, it’s not the fault of what is in the can either. I drink, and I control how much I consume. But even if I were to become inebriated I would not be throwing full beer cans. While the alcohol can impair judgment and certainly bring out the worst in an already rotten apple, I think the rotten apple itself is the problem here. IMO, the inebriated fan that throws a beer can after a race is just as capable & likely of doing it at some point when they’re sober and in a fit of rage or something. It’s a lack of character issue.
[Not directed to Cheyenne or anyone specific here.]
This is part of the problem with society today. We are less willing to take responsibility for our actions, and sadly, society as a whole is becoming less willing to hold others accountable for their actions. Society is often too willing to blame someone, something, or some company. We see it with all sorts of situations.
- It’s Phillip-Morris’s fault that someone who smoked for 25 years now has lung cancer.
- It’s Burger King’s fault one chose to eat 1,000 calories for lunch 5 days a week and now they’re fat.
- It’s McDonald’s fault when one orders a hot cup of coffee at the drive-thru and then decides to hold it between their legs resulting in leg burns after an accident.
The list goes on and on. At some point, people have to be accountable for their own actions.
No, the problem here are the individuals. I’m pretty much all about personal freedoms. Go ahead, drink till you kill your liver. Smoke till you pop a lung. Shoot roman candles out of your butt if that’s what you want to do. But when your actions interfere with my personal freedoms, safety, property, security, or rights, then that’s where you’ve went too far. And once you’ve went to far, don’t blame others and expect us to compensate,absorb the cost, or pay the price of your stupidity.
May 14th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
James,
Clap, clap, clap.
May 25th, 2008 at 3:07 am
Who cares the fan are just supporting the driver they support. The same thing happend whe fans hated Gordon and Dale Sr. Just they are supporting Dale Jr. and the media are getting a hard on over it. Especially the haters of Dale Jr. This type of stuff has been going on in nascar forever. Now nascar has gone mainstream its just drawling attention,and the media is just feeding on it!!!!
May 27th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
To Joe Taylor and others * This has not been going on for years like this !Ive been to races since 1962 and before but i cant remember them.when some one did get out of hand they were escorted out ,sometimes by the fans ,and thats the hard way of leaving. Lets all get along. and what has been going on for years is good hard racing and extreme competition, Kyle and JR are over it WHY NOT YOU.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:51 am
good points in beginning, but this article got stupid quick
May 31st, 2008 at 6:50 pm
any time you sit on the 1st 10 rows aka ” The Chicken Bone Row” you should have been already been use to getting hit in the back of the head
June 11th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Any responsible person would agree as I do with this article. Any responsible fan would also. I’ve been to races, pro football games, etc… and witnessed this immature(HUGE UNDERSTATEMENT AND NOT THE EXACT WORD I’D LIKE TO USE)behavior. What blows me away is seeing a Dad pulling this garbage and acting like a complete !@$OI*(*&( while his 4 or 5 yr old kid or kids sit there and watch. NICE role model.
I’m a huge Junior fan and dislike Kyle Busch more than anyone, not just for what he pulled with Junior. But C’MON!!! people, grow up and act your age. There are plenty of other ways to voice or show your disapproval. It’s no wonder why a popular sports analyst still calls this sport “The In-bred Cup Series”. If you feel compelled to act like an idiot then stay home and let the rest of the people enjoy the show. In my opinion, anyone who disagrees with an article supporting common sense and courtesy is a complete idiot and should watch the race from underneath their rock or trailer home. No offense to the good people that live in trailer homes.