Earnhardt Jr. still riding on ‘Daddy’s Coattails’

Only in America are the worst drivers the most popular. The IRL and NASCAR suffer with the same problem

Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn't sound like a driver who was sure Lance McGrew should be his crew chief in 2010. In fact, he didn't sound like a driver who was sure about anything: "I'm about to the end of my rope," he said. NASCAR's most popular driver, who for months has been upbeat about the progress he was making under McGrew, appeared as low as he's been all season Friday at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "Yeah, I feel like I don't have any control, you know," Earnhardt said before practice for Saturday night's Sprint Cup race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "Rick Hendrick has put me in a great position, but I haven't made the most of it or for whatever reason we're just not getting it done. I don't know what to do. We were top-15 in practice and we go out to qualify and we were one of the worst cars here. … It's like really encouraging one day and the next day it's equally discouraging. That gets really old. I'm about to the end of my rope on it." Earnhardt isn't in favor of switching crew chiefs during the last six races, but he didn't give McGrew the ringing endorsement he has in the past. Hendrick recently said he planned to meet with his driver about the crew chief following this weekend's race. "I don't have the credentials to make the call," said Earnhardt, who made the switch to McGrew at midseason after a struggling start with Tony Eury Jr. "If I told you that I wanted to be with Lance next year I wouldn't be telling you that out of my knowledge of expertise and talent. I'd be telling because it's fun hanging out with him. Hell, you don't even know if Lance wants to do it. Hell, I wouldn't want it. It's a tough job." Earnhardt said whomever he works with needs to be a dictator like Tony Eury Sr., who was his crew chief for 16 of his 18 victories. Asked if McGrew wasn't that type of crew chief, Earnhardt said, "I didn't say that." Earnhardt added that Eury Sr. would have no interest in moving from his job as the crew chief for the #88 Nationwide Series team at JR Motorsports. Earnhardt is 22nd in points. His teammates are first, second and fifth. They have 11 wins among them. He has none. More at ESPN.com

[Editor's Note: We told you years ago Earnhardt was ridding on his daddy's coattails and in fact he can't drive nails. His fans blamed the car, the crew chief, and everyone else. Well now he is with the best team in NASCAR and has turned out to be the worse driver on the team, and if you gave him a hammer today, he still can't drive nails. What or who will his fans and the 'ga-ga' journalists who write about him every day blame next?]