Is Dale Earnhardt below average & living off his name?

Dale Earnhardt Jr had a crew chief change announced with his Sprint Cup team this week. Since then the radio and websites have been buzzing about Dale and in particular his talent level.
Dale is unquestionably one of the most popular and recognizable drivers in NASCAR today.

There is no doubt much of this popularity can be linked to his famous last name. But the name alone does not translate into success or talent. If I wanted to join the off the cuff critics, I would insert ‘see Kerry Earnhardt’ here. But its those off the cuff critics that have inspired me to write this column.

Many of the Dale Jr critics this week have called him over rated and below average, which is an opinion they are entitled to. But then many feel the need to follow up the comments with the statement that he is merely living off his fathers name.

This is where I get irritated. Earnhardt was his fathers name, but its his name too. He was born with it, he didn’t choose it. Many people follow him because they followed his dad, but many more claim his success has been due to his name. His name certainly helped open some doors as he progressed into the sport, but his talent has kept him at the top level and made him an above average driver.

His stats bear out that he is an above average driver:
18 career Sprint Cup wins so far in just 339 races. His 18 wins put him 37th on the all time win list. When you consider there have been 1000’s of drivers attempt Sprint Cup careers, that puts him above average right there.

Dale Jr’s 18 wins have him tied for 37th with three other drivers, Geoff Bodine, Neil Bonnett and one of my all time favorite drivers, Harry Gant. For those that need a ‘recent’ history lesson, that’s pretty good company.

Of those drivers, Dale has fewer starts than all of them. One more win and he will tie Buddy Baker, Davey Allison and Kurt Busch. Three more will tie him with Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte and Benny Parsons. There are a couple Sprint Cup Champions in that group. I think its fair to say those guys are all above average drivers. If all the guys around Dale are considered above average, why would some body say he is below average?

Rather than compare him to the talent level he is most equal to, his critics will try to compare him to Kyle Petty. Why? His name. They both have famous fathers. Rather than look at facts and stats, lets blame his success on his name. Lets compare him with his father, then we can call him below average or even say he is a failure in comparison.

Look, nobody can compare to Dale Earnhardt or Richard Petty, or at least VERY few racers can compare.

It is not fair to criticize Dale Jr’s talent on his name. You can say his popularity is directly tied to his name, that’s fair, because there is no way to gauge that. His name clearly has instant recognition in this sport, that you can compare to Kyle Petty.

But to say his success is due to his name is ridiculous, and blatantly unfair. To say he has no talent and is living off his name, which has been said several times this week on the radio and website forums, is ridiculous. Once you say this, you clearly have no grasp of the facts and have decided to just shortcut the facts and show your dislike for the man. Rather than say something stupid, how about saying you just don’t like him, and then we can put your ‘feelings’ into the popularity topic, maybe you have a case there.

If not for his lineage, few people would be arguing his talent. He would be considered equal to his peers, the few drivers with 18 wins in the past ten years.