Dale Jr, why so popular without proving anything but that he has his daddy's name?

Question

Junior is very poplular, why is that? He has not won a cup championship. He has done nothing for nascar except keep his daddy's name in it. Have you heard him interview? OMG, he cant even do an interview without looking like an idiot, so why the popularity. Do people root for him just because of his name? If so, why does Kerry not have the same popularity, h**l he at least looks like his dad?

Answer 1

Hmm, 2 Busch Titles, 18 Cup wins, 22 Busch wins, and career numbers similar to Matt Kenseth's for one. d**n Jr haters are an ignorant bunch aren't they. I've noticed when anyone trys to make a valid point in this thread it's thumbs down galour. Bascially, I think Jr haters are Jamie McMurray fans who can't come to grips with the fact that Jamie just sucks.

Aww what's the matter folks, getting ACTUAL FACTS thrown in your face too much for you. Funny over88ted Jeff Burton and Mark Martin have 34yrs and 55 wins between them and no Cup championships either,  so according to hater logic, they're overrated too. I guess you're right about the whole #2 AC Delco thing, I mean Kevin Harvick won a Busch title driving that car, and let's face it the guy who got Sr's cars is way more overrated than the guy who got Sr's name. Oops one more thing over88ed, Jr's rookie season looked like this 2 wins(not including the WInston, which he's still the only rookie to do so), 3 top-5's 5 top-10's 16th in points. Matt Kenseth who was ROY in 2000, was 1, 4, 11, 14th in points so Jr wasn't that bad as a rookie.

Answer 2

How narrow minded is someone that believes you can only like somebody if they have a few championships or 100 wins etc.

I was never a Dale Sr. fan at all when he was alive. I started to like Jr. because he's a real guy and he's cool, hip, etc. Not because of his dad.

Proving nothing? He has 18 Cup wins, two Busch series championships(the only two years he raced Busch full-time BTW), he's third in points...........

If he's so overrated then why does Tony Stewart and others constantly say "he's the best restrictor plate driver on the track. Probably better than his dad".

Yes, that is a real quote from Stewart.

Answer 3

WEDGE anyone could win with the #2 ac delco car. That was the fastest car in busch series history. You dont have to be as great as "Dale Junya" to win in it. So he won two busch titles...so has Truex Jr....now tell me how many CUP championships he has? You know...the place where the big boys play...awwww whats a matter dont like it when the facts are in your face? Dale JR was so bad he didnt even win rookie of the year, and to answer your question, yeah all he has is his daddys name and a bunch of ignorant fans like wedge that think hes god

Answer 4

Jr. is a great driver. He won the Busch Series as a rookie and repeated it the next year. He has proved his dad good, he just needed a good team, like HMS and he will win a Cup, he's 3rd now, so it's very possible.

Answer 5

He did win back to back Busch championships!

Answer 6

You are right about some of the things you mention but he is a good guy.  

The Pepsi 400 summer of 2001 was a huge influence for a lot of people including myself even though I am not a fan.  That is something Kerry could not do nor would Kerry run as well as Dale Jr. out there.

That was perhaps one of the greatest races I ever saw and I believe it was the start of the madness.

Answer 7

Two Busch championships, many Cup wins, Daytona 500 win, real southern guy. People like him for who he is, not entirely based on his last name. He is a very real guy who also has some nice accomplishments.

Answer 8

Junior has way more fans than his Dad ever did.

As far as Senior fans who became Junior fans, too.....well, just who do you think Earnhardt fans should pull for?

Senior got a lot of fans, like me, that used to pull for his Dad, Ralph.

And he earned a few of his own but for most of his career the ABE (anybody but Earnhardt) club was way bigger.

I believe Junior helped add a little to Senior's fan base because Junior helped bring out a side of Senior that had been overlooked. Dale "the Father" was a lot more likeable, to some, than "The Intimidator".

Looking forward to having another Earnhardt on the track to pull for soon, Junior's nephew.

Championships have never been the only requisite for being considered a good driver.

Cale Yarborough was a good driver every year and every race he competed in. He competed part time and full time for 18 years without ever winning a title. He won some lost some, crashed some and blew up a lot. He was considered good in all those years. Then he reeled off three Cups in a row. He was 37 when he won his first Cup.

Both Ralph and Senior put together their best seasons after they reached the age of 32. Junior is now on pace for one of his best points finishes ever.

Senior won 6 Cups and 69 races after his 32nd birthday.

I'm confident Junior will get more wins and at least one Cup before he retires, but that's not really the most important thing to me. It's more important he's an Earnhardt.

Reasons I pull for Earnhardts:

A Local family that made it the hard way. The reason I pulled for Kerry.

Carolina born and bred. (One of the very few in a sport once dominated by the Carolinas)

Southern. (One of the few in a sport once dominated by the region)

Tradition, in the form of his ties to the sport's roots.

I'm 55 years old and if there were a year in which an Earnhardt wasn't racing somewhere, it would be a rare one.

(Don't ever confuse infatuation with loyalty)

Sure I would like to see Junior do well, but if he doesn't it won't mean I will like him any less.

More than wins, more than Cups, I just want to see one Earnhardt retire alive. If he retires as a Champion it would only be icing on the cake.

For me particularly, every week when the race is over and he walks away, it goes in the win column, where some wins just happen to be prettier than the others.

Daytona July 2001, that one was drop dead gorgeous.

As a loyal Earnhardt fan, I will relate a little story of how that loyalty began.

Ralph was backing his dirt car off the trailer for an event at Metrolina Speedway. The car was damaged as it the fuel tank got torn while rolling it off. He loaded it up and went home.

Every driver and most likely a lot of fans were thankful that Ralph wouldn't be there because their driver stood a better chance at winning.

Ralph didn't just go home.

He went home and got his asphalt car and made it back to Metrolina in time to start in the back for the feature.

He drove his asphalt car on dirt tires, no practice, no chance to make adjustments, to the front on Carolina red clay and won the race.

You see, in my eyes anyway, Dale Senior fell short of Ralph.

If he had half of Ralph's talent, heart and desire then 200 wins and 7 Cups would be long broken.

I pull for Junior because that would have made Ralph happy.

The same reason I pulled for Ralph's son.

Now, would anybody from the ABE club care to tell us Earnhardt fans why you pull for whatever washed-up-short-timer, Johnny-come-lately or flash-in-the-pan it is y’all pull for?

I mean really, from my perspective, it's all of them that need to prove something and Junior needs to only prove to himself how good he can be.

An Earnhardt on the track is all I ask. So far, so good.

Answer 9

I totally appreciate you asking this question. I personally wanted to ask this question also. The only thing I see he is popular for is his name. I want to know why Jr fans think he is ten times better than say Kyle Busch. Busch has done more in this three years than Jr has in his 7 or so years that he has been in. I dont mind Jr. Im not a fan of his but I'm not a die hard lets go against Jr either.

But anyways thanks for asking the question!

Answer 10

I Totally agree.

But I will say this about him.   He's a good enough driver that if you put him in the fastest, best handling car, and if Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Jimmy Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, and Matt Kenseth all wreck,  he may just win another race over the next two years.

Answer 11

Ok,so I am not a Dale Jr fan, but I will defend him on this.

First of all, he comes across as an everyday type of guy, so right there, that will get you a fan base. Secondly, he is a very marketable person, so right there, that will get you a fan base.  Third of all, he has won almost 20 Cup races in his career, so that does prove that he can drive a racecar, and actually win. Fourthly, he won at the track his father was killed at, just 5 months after his father was killed there. That will get you a lot of fans. And lastly, he now owns a Nationwide team, so if you root for the driver, than a lot of the time, you will be a fan of the owner.

Answer 12

do not speak of dale Sr. in that way..... how dare you come on here and talk about his son like that...... you try to be dale Jr.... bet you go home crying....... LEAVE DALE ALONE............. pick on someone else already............. D@M...........!

Answer 13

He does bring a lot to this sport. He has the highest merchandise sales and the weeks that he does well ratings always seem to be higher. He has brought the sport a lot of highly dedicated fans and Nascar should be thankful for that. So should all of its fans, that also includes the Jr haters. He has the like factor. Look at country music for example. Lets say Taylor Swift...she isn't the best singer in music...but...she has great sales and is winning a lot of awards because she has the same kind of like factor. People just love her. And people just love Jr. So lets stop hating him because a ton of people love him and all I've gotta say is bring on Daytona baby!!

Answer 14

See, I find fault with the theory about people liking him because of his dad for two major reasons. The first is because there are tons of fans who never saw his dad race. His dad died seven years ago. The other is.....If he was a real jerk that goes out wrecking others all the time, criticizing other drivers during interviews, whining contstantly, or just plain having a bad attitude about everything, he would not have near as many fans.

Why does it bother so many that he has a large fan base? I have never known so many jealous people in my whole life.

Answer 15

Why is the child of any celebrity popular? What did Lisa-Marie do?  What did Chastity do?  Dale Sr. was extremely popular - rags to riches story.  Heck, I'm not even a race fan, know zip about Nascar and knew who he was.   Good that others are rooting for him, because it's really hard to be the follow-up act to someone who earned their celebrity.  At least he's trying to earn his.

Answer 16

he will prove himself

watch and learn

Answer 17

Jr is popular for many reasons like his racing ability, great personality, and many other reasons. And yes the name might be one reason why people like him. Why cant you just find a reason and shut the **** up. Kerry's not as popular because he's not a good stock car driver look him up and watch him race he couldn't make it in NASCAR.

Answer 18

Dude, we play this game (question) at least once a day every day. Let it go.

Answer 19

Just because you don't like him doesn't mean the rest of the world isn't allowed to. He has contributed much no NASCAR. If you remember correctly he has already won a Daytona 500. Something that took his father (an all time great driver) many many years to accomplish. He is driving for one of the best organizations in the entire sport.

Don't bash him just cause you don't like him. Sure he gained some of his popularity due to his father, but that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve it. He could have stayed driving for his father's team all his life and been totally sheltered, but he was a good enough driver to get hired by Mr. Hendrick. Don't bash what you don't know.

Answer 20

Hmm..and you care why exactly?

Answer 21

I would think that being in 3rd place for points would make you popular.  I wouldn't say "He has done nothing for nascar" while he's in 3rd.  He did finish top five 7 times this year; 11 top 10 finishes.  Not to mention that he won the Budweiser shootout AND Gatorade Duel at the begining of the season. Do you follow nascar?

Answer 22

Can you count to 3?  That's where he is in points.  

THIRD PLACE IN THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

Did you really ask why doesn't Kerry have the same popularity as Junior?  Really?  

Ummm Junior is a RACE CAR DRIVER.  Kerry is not.

Ohhh the joy the Trolls bring.   Did you miss your wittle nappy today?  Go find a dark corner, your matt and some milky and soon you will be in happy land.  Nighty-night.

Answer 23

I agree to some degree he is popular because of his last name but he is a nice guy & all but would his fan base be as big as it is without the last name of Earnhardt?  I don't thik it would & this is just an opinion of mine & I may not be a fan of his, but I am also not a hater of his & I hate no drivers but I may not like a certain driver who drives #20, the Home Depot car

Answer 24

Im not the biggest juniour fan. Go #99!  but the people above me said more than i can say.

the man can drive, has won championships. you might ask what has mark martin done>? he has not won a championship in cup either but has bush champions.

Hes the best running hendricks car right now and is 3rd in points with a chance for a championship. so give him a break.

btw id like to see you do a tv interview??  oh yea i forgot, the racing world doesnt care what you say, huh?

Answer 25

Here is my reusable answer to this question that is 100% true:

Because they are blind, cheering for a name, not a driver. They think what a driver does off the track dictates how good he does on the track. They have this wierd idea that JR is god and is here to save us from the "bad drivers" and the "evil stepmother." His fans are absurd. When he loses, it's always someone elses fault. When he was getting DNF's last season, it was Theresa's fault. When the fans threw beer at Jeff Gordon for beating Dale SR on the all time wins list, it was someone else throwing the beer, same with when Kyle Busch won at Darlington. Personally, if you're not sucked into his fan base from the beginning, it is not hard to realize how ridiculous his fans are in what they say and do.

It's sad to say that most NASCAR fans are fans of Dale JR because they are oblivous that this "hero" makes any mistakes, causes any wrecks, or anything else that contradicts their god-like image of him, yet they are the first to blame other drivers for nudging JR. The media continues to give fuel to his ego, and this gives him more fans. When they watch NASCAR on television Dale JR is talked about whether he's 3rd or 43rd, and if someone is new to the sport they must think that he is the best thing ever to climb into a race car simply because of all the undeserving media attention he gets. 80% of his fans came from his father who passed away in 2001, and they were quick to jump on the Dale JR bandwagon as he was the closest thing to Dale SR they could find. If JR fans say "he's the best" enough times, maybe eventually they will convince themselves that it is true, even though any outsider of JR nation can see that's not true at all.

A large percentage of JRs fans have no respect for the history of the sport, and they continue to turn viewers away with some of the things they have done in the past, like throwing beer on the track when JR doesn't win. They put a God complex on him, and are to disillusioned to realize he is not the greatest thing ever, and had it not been for his dad, he would have a very small fan base.

He is portrayed as a "good ole boy" and that's what some ignorant fans of his do to reason his popularity, but the fact is that Sterling Marlin, Morgan Shepherd, Reed Sorenson and many others are "good ole boys" and they have some of the smallest fan bases around. It just doesn't add up, and most of his fans are bandwagon jumpers that cheer for him because "everybody else is doing it" and not because they actually know anything about him. If you ask about 75% of his fans why they like him, they will give you a blank stare, occasionally breaking in with the words "umm, well, uhh he is a good ole boy" or "I like him because he is cute and the best" (without explaining why he is the best, unless they are saying he is so cute that automatically makes him the best?) something to that effect. What I don't get, is that his fans seem the complete opposite of JR himself. If someone says "JR might not be the greatest thing ever" they go crazy and resort to bad mouthing, knowing they cannot defend their stance. It's sickening when you try to have a constructive argument with some JR fans, only the first time you say something negative about him, his fans will resort to all out bashing.

The Most Popular Driver award is often given to the person who everyone loves, but doesn't get in victory lane much. Which is evident when looking at JR's stat sheet...3 wins since the beginning of 2005, not exactly "the best driver in NASCAR" type stats.

Some of us do not drink JR's kool-aid and realize he's not the greatest thing ever to climb into a stock car.