Post by dalejrfan on Feb 18, 2006 17:34:37 GMT -5
Earnhardt left a leadership void
No one has replaced NASCAR legend, but a few drivers quietly wield clout
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - When he joined Richard Childress Racing in 2004, Jeff Burton learned quickly how strong the late Dale Earnhardt's influence was on the team for which Earnhardt won six NASCAR championships.
"You can't walk into a building without seeing an image of him," Burton said. "You can't have a conversation where his name isn't mentioned or somebody has a Dale story.
"One of the most frustrating things I heard when I first got here was, `We didn't do that when Dale was here.' I'd think, `You didn't do it because Dale was maybe the greatest driver of all time, but you'll have to do it with me. And, oh by the way, everybody else is doing it, too.' "
Burton, who'll start from the pole in a Childress-owned No. 31 Chevrolet in Sunday's Daytona 500, hears that less as time goes on. And while things are changing at RCR, Burton understands why that process has been difficult since Earnhardt was killed -- five years ago today -- in a crash at the 2001 Daytona 500.
"I think that Richard and everybody (at RCR) knew they needed to move forward," Burton said. "But I also think that any time they moved away from something that they were doing, they were moving further away from Dale."
In many ways, the same thing can be said for the entire sport. Since Earnhardt's death, no single driver has become the leader the seven-time champion was.
"There is no driver in the sport who carries the size of stick that Dale Earnhardt carried," Mark Martin said. "Every sport needs its heroes and we have our heroes here, but there are heroes who are very much different than Dale Earnhardt. There just won't be another one."
Martin is one of racing's most respected veterans. The voices of Dale Jarrett and Kyle Petty carry weight, too, as do those of four-time champion Jeff Gordon and Burton, who has a particularly strong reputation as a leader on safety issues.
Tony Stewart, the reigning Cup champion, made an impact this week. After last Sunday's Budweiser Shootout, he warned that NASCAR needed to control "bump drafting" at Daytona International Speedway before someone else gets killed. Tuesday, NASCAR announced it would enforce "no zones" in the 2.5-mile track's turns, calling penalties for "unnecessary" bumping in those areas.
"I don't really know that we need a leader," Stewart said. "I would prefer not to be that person. It's hard enough just to do the jobs we have to do, let alone having to feel like you're responsible for everybody there. But I would say the closest person that we have is probably Jeff Gordon, and I think he learned a lot of that from Dale Earnhardt. I know NASCAR respects Jeff and his views and his opinions."
Gordon, the defending Daytona 500 champion, begins the 2006 season with 73 victories -- three short of Earnhardt's career total. But Gordon, 34, said he doesn't feel that it's his place to lead the same way Earnhardt did.
"I don't think even Dale really chose to be the leader," Gordon said. "It just kind of happened over time. His personality I think kind of led to that, and his success on the race track. ...
"I feel like over the years I've earned more respect. But I don't know if I'll ever have the type of respect Dale had. Everybody really looked up to him, and he enjoyed using his voice and his opinion."
Jarrett agrees.
"I think Earnhardt took that role, just like he did everything else," Jarrett said. "He was in charge of everything, and he'd put himself in that position. Not that anybody could have taken that position away, but we all had a huge respect for him."
Earnhardt had strong relationships with then NASCAR chairman Bill France Jr. and Mike Helton, who is still NASCAR president.
"I got a little closer to him than I probably should have from a personal standpoint," France said. "I don't regret it; I'm just saying it probably wasn't my smartest decision. He had a good relationship with us, and we respected what he said."
Helton chuckled when asked if he thought Earnhardt actually had the kind of power it is generally believed that he did.
"He thought he did," Helton said.
"There are individuals throughout the history of this sport who, I think, taught the next generation. Richard Petty taught the next generation how to deal with the fans. Dale taught the next generation how to see the big picture."
Earnhardt had direct influence on other drivers, too.
"He had a tremendous impact on how other drivers behaved," said Lowe's Motor Speedway president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler. "If somebody was misbehaving, he got them up in his truck and sat them down and said, `Look, you need to stop doing this.'
"I don't care how many times NASCAR had a guy in its truck, nothing was more powerful than Earnhardt sitting down and talking to somebody. And he wasn't afraid to do it."
Burton laughs when he's asked about such "chats" with Earnhardt.
"Earnhardt's personality was such that when he spoke he expected you to listen," he said. "And you were entitled to your own opinion -- as long as it agreed with his."
These days, Burton said he's glad to be part of a sort of informal committee of drivers whose opinions carry weight in the garage and with NASCAR.
"There is a group of us who try to be very proactive and involved with NASCAR," Burton said. "Some of it is for selfish reasons, but some of it is because we have a genuine interest in the sport.
"Today, I think, more opinions are heard. Earnhardt's voice was so much greater than everyone else's and that hasn't been replaced. We don't have anyone of his stature right now.
"But he deserved it."
No one has replaced NASCAR legend, but a few drivers quietly wield clout
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - When he joined Richard Childress Racing in 2004, Jeff Burton learned quickly how strong the late Dale Earnhardt's influence was on the team for which Earnhardt won six NASCAR championships.
"You can't walk into a building without seeing an image of him," Burton said. "You can't have a conversation where his name isn't mentioned or somebody has a Dale story.
"One of the most frustrating things I heard when I first got here was, `We didn't do that when Dale was here.' I'd think, `You didn't do it because Dale was maybe the greatest driver of all time, but you'll have to do it with me. And, oh by the way, everybody else is doing it, too.' "
Burton, who'll start from the pole in a Childress-owned No. 31 Chevrolet in Sunday's Daytona 500, hears that less as time goes on. And while things are changing at RCR, Burton understands why that process has been difficult since Earnhardt was killed -- five years ago today -- in a crash at the 2001 Daytona 500.
"I think that Richard and everybody (at RCR) knew they needed to move forward," Burton said. "But I also think that any time they moved away from something that they were doing, they were moving further away from Dale."
In many ways, the same thing can be said for the entire sport. Since Earnhardt's death, no single driver has become the leader the seven-time champion was.
"There is no driver in the sport who carries the size of stick that Dale Earnhardt carried," Mark Martin said. "Every sport needs its heroes and we have our heroes here, but there are heroes who are very much different than Dale Earnhardt. There just won't be another one."
Martin is one of racing's most respected veterans. The voices of Dale Jarrett and Kyle Petty carry weight, too, as do those of four-time champion Jeff Gordon and Burton, who has a particularly strong reputation as a leader on safety issues.
Tony Stewart, the reigning Cup champion, made an impact this week. After last Sunday's Budweiser Shootout, he warned that NASCAR needed to control "bump drafting" at Daytona International Speedway before someone else gets killed. Tuesday, NASCAR announced it would enforce "no zones" in the 2.5-mile track's turns, calling penalties for "unnecessary" bumping in those areas.
"I don't really know that we need a leader," Stewart said. "I would prefer not to be that person. It's hard enough just to do the jobs we have to do, let alone having to feel like you're responsible for everybody there. But I would say the closest person that we have is probably Jeff Gordon, and I think he learned a lot of that from Dale Earnhardt. I know NASCAR respects Jeff and his views and his opinions."
Gordon, the defending Daytona 500 champion, begins the 2006 season with 73 victories -- three short of Earnhardt's career total. But Gordon, 34, said he doesn't feel that it's his place to lead the same way Earnhardt did.
"I don't think even Dale really chose to be the leader," Gordon said. "It just kind of happened over time. His personality I think kind of led to that, and his success on the race track. ...
"I feel like over the years I've earned more respect. But I don't know if I'll ever have the type of respect Dale had. Everybody really looked up to him, and he enjoyed using his voice and his opinion."
Jarrett agrees.
"I think Earnhardt took that role, just like he did everything else," Jarrett said. "He was in charge of everything, and he'd put himself in that position. Not that anybody could have taken that position away, but we all had a huge respect for him."
Earnhardt had strong relationships with then NASCAR chairman Bill France Jr. and Mike Helton, who is still NASCAR president.
"I got a little closer to him than I probably should have from a personal standpoint," France said. "I don't regret it; I'm just saying it probably wasn't my smartest decision. He had a good relationship with us, and we respected what he said."
Helton chuckled when asked if he thought Earnhardt actually had the kind of power it is generally believed that he did.
"He thought he did," Helton said.
"There are individuals throughout the history of this sport who, I think, taught the next generation. Richard Petty taught the next generation how to deal with the fans. Dale taught the next generation how to see the big picture."
Earnhardt had direct influence on other drivers, too.
"He had a tremendous impact on how other drivers behaved," said Lowe's Motor Speedway president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler. "If somebody was misbehaving, he got them up in his truck and sat them down and said, `Look, you need to stop doing this.'
"I don't care how many times NASCAR had a guy in its truck, nothing was more powerful than Earnhardt sitting down and talking to somebody. And he wasn't afraid to do it."
Burton laughs when he's asked about such "chats" with Earnhardt.
"Earnhardt's personality was such that when he spoke he expected you to listen," he said. "And you were entitled to your own opinion -- as long as it agreed with his."
These days, Burton said he's glad to be part of a sort of informal committee of drivers whose opinions carry weight in the garage and with NASCAR.
"There is a group of us who try to be very proactive and involved with NASCAR," Burton said. "Some of it is for selfish reasons, but some of it is because we have a genuine interest in the sport.
"Today, I think, more opinions are heard. Earnhardt's voice was so much greater than everyone else's and that hasn't been replaced. We don't have anyone of his stature right now.
"But he deserved it."