Earnhardt Jr. a flop

For years now AR1.com has told its readers that Earnhardt Jr. is a mediocre driver at best. His results on road courses will tell you all you need to know about his driving skill. With Hendrick he now has the best cars on the grid. No more excuses folks. Typical American racing – the sports "poster child" is not the best driver.

It started with a bang, one of the loudest in NASCAR history, but it's ending mostly with a whimper.

When Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved from his family's team to the powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports at the start of this season, it sent shock waves through stock car racing.

Earnhardt, son of the late NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt and himself the sport's most popular driver, was joining forces with arguably the best team on the track.

And as Earnhardt's army of fans relished the new marriage and snapped up the jackets and other merchandise minted with his new number and logo, Earnhardt immediately responded.

He won the opening race of the year — the non-points Budweiser Shootout sprint at Daytona International Speedway — in his new No. 88 Hendrick Chevrolet.

Now, his fans hoped, Earnhardt was on the way to his first Sprint Cup championship, which, after all, was the reason he moved to Hendrick.

Except it didn't work out that way.

With only two races left in the season, including today's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, Earnhardt's season has been a glass half full and half empty. More at LA Times