Is Jr. back on track???

[PERCHJR]

I know I will catch dump for this one but I was wondering what you guys thought about Jr and his bad luck being over??? Be nice and give me and the other EARHARDT fans your opinions!!!

GOOD LUCK AND GOOD FISHING!!!

[Sifty]

There should be no dump giving. He has had a rough year name a driver who has not. I think his 3rd place finish should help with whats going on. I hoped he was going to win and that would be a good shot in the arm for the 8 team.I just do'nt think anyone had a shot at the 20. They had a great car.

Sifty

[lawdog]

The problem never has been on the plate tracks. I don't think this race showed anything positive, frankly probably a negative for DEI. If anything it showed that others have caught up to if not surpassed DEI on the plate tracks. Hendrick has won a bunch and JGR has been strong. Jr. couldn't even lead a lap at Daytona and you are asking if its a plus?? I think not.

Also, he was 3rd in the 500 too and that didn't do anything to jump start his season.

Unless/until he gets faster and starts competing for wins on the intermediate tracks there isn't anything to get excited about 8 fans...

[Eric Wettschreck]

I don't think the bad luck is over, mostly because I don't think luck has much to do with it. Sure, he got a 3rd and congrats to him for going top 5. It's a track that the Earnhardt family and DEI has done well at so kudos to ya kid.

Until DEI itself gets their act together an occaisional top 5 is all we're going to see.

[TNFL]

I agree, I don't think 8 has had bad luck, they have had bad cars, bad set-ups, and bad communication (maybe even bad driving ). Even the day he blew 3 or 4 tires, that was a set-up issue. To finish 3rd is all good, but he and mikey used to go 1-2 at the plate tracks just a few years ago. I wonder if Tony befriended him only to get him drunk on some budweisers so he would share DEI's plate track secrets. If 8 goes even top 10 the next 3 races then the DEI crew should be praised. But right now it just seems like this is the one track that he was supposed to do well at.

[eyepatrol]

I'd have to agree on what's being said here. I just don't think you can pin one good finish on a track they're expected to finish well at to how he might finish in the future on other tracks. If he finishes well at the next race, my eyes will begin to open, a second good finish will open my eyes even more, but if they have 3 good finishes, say top ten or better, I would certainly think that they've got things straightened out. Time will tell though, and I think we need the time to elapse and have the races run before a good opinion can be made on this subject. At this time, however, I would have to say no, as the plate race is completely different from the other races run.

[JohnMickish]

I think this weekend will tell. Mile and a half flat tracks have not been good to Jr, especially the impound races. I do think that he need the good run just to keep him from going crazy but I'm not willing to say the slupms over....yet.

[PERCHJR]

HUH!!! Sure it was strategy and his car wasn't the fastest but a WIN is a WIN!!!

GOOD LUCK AND GOOD FISHING!!!

[LMITOUT]

Yep, he wasn't the best car out there today, but a solid top 10 for most of the race which put himself into a position to use strategy for the win.

A good run for the #8 on one of these cookie-cutter tracks that are flooding the schedule... I never claimed the slump was broken after last week as they are expected to do well at the restrictor plate tracks, but this is a definite step in the right direction....especially on a track configuration that has troubled DEI cars for the past few years.

Looks like Big Mo is shifting and the #24 hasn't found it's coattails yet. The Bud-Ritz-Oreo-Remington-Draakar team still has some ground to make up in the points but at least they're heading up and not down.

[Guest]

A WIn is a WIN--GO JR

[NAPAFISH]

Hey Perch Jr and Lee harvey

Can a brother get a little love?? Now its our time to gloat

[JohnMickish]

All a guy can ask for is to be put in a position to win and let the cards fall where they fall. I didn't get a chance to see the race but it sounds like there where a few guys that kind of got shafted for one reason or another.

8 races left before the chase and 7 of them are impound races. This is gonna be good. If we can count on repeats of the impound races then the 24 and 8 are in trouble and the 16 and 48 should be in real good shape.

You never know, andthats why the run the races.

By the way, the 400 point thing is no longer an issue as the 97 is in 10th place and 376 behind with the 88 in 11th at 409 out.

[PERCHJR]

Hey NAPA, I am with yah here, GO DEI!!!

GOOD LUCK AND GOOD FISHING!!!

[TNFL]

He's definately back on track. But can he stay on track is the question. I think they gave him his cars back, notice the back of his car was blue??? At least for one week he can justify why he is so many people's #1 driver.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I'll give Jr kudos, and more importantly, his team. He did not have the car to win, but teamwork and good pit strategy came through in the end for the win.

He does deserve credit for having the car in the position needed for his crew to work some magic at the end.

Now, keep it up!!!

[LMITOUT]

Quote:

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He's definately back on track. But can he stay on track is the question. I think they gave him his cars back, notice the back of his car was blue??? At least for one week he can justify why he is so many people's #1 driver.

---

The back of the car was blue because he had the MLB All-Star Game color scheme...

Hmiel did say in a post-race interview that they tried one of Mikey's set-ups and Jr. said he could get used to it, so they completely changed the build of his car to match the characteristics of Waltrips. I don't mean the basic spring and shock packages either, they changed how the car is fitted and aligned on the frame and whatnot. Next week they are bringing two brand-new "Hmiel" designed cars for him as well.

[lawdog]

He didn't have a winning car, but he had a real good competitive car which he hasn't had on a mile and a halfer for forever so that is definitely a step in the right direction. The win was a pit strategy win, but they all count the same. Man was Kenseth fast though, another lap or two and Jr. was toast.

[Guest]

The good thing to hear was that Tony Eury helped set up the front end of the car for Jr.Maybe that is the start of some team work within DEI which will surely help both teams.No,Jr didnt have the fastest car but they put themselves within striking distanse and with a good pit stop, they got the win and thats all that matters.With the last two weeks being pretty good and climbing up in the points,Jr now has a very good chance to get to the top ten if things continue to go well.As far as Gordon,I would be pretty concerned as his luck has been very,very bad and he cannot afford to have any more DNFs,or he will be OUT of the running,as Jr cannot have any either.

[PERCHJR]

3rd straight top ten finish for Jr. Looks to me that maybe he might be back on track, for now that is!!!

GOOD LUCK AND GOOD FISHING!!!

[outdoor ran]

You do have to give Jr and his crew credit. They have battled back from a horrible start.

[JohnMickish]

Still 13th, with impound tracks up ahead.

[Guest]

He may still be in 13th,but he gained 56 markers up on 10th,so its closer not farther and deeper in the hole like Gordo,as that boy has bad luck and probably out of the chase.I said in my picks that gordo would break or not finish,to many bad things happening for Gordo now,and running out of time.GO JR

[eyepatrol]

As I mentioned earlier in this post, if Jr. has a 3rd top ten finish (excluding the Daytona race), then I'd think for certain they're back on track. Pocono will be a real tell tale sign of whether they're back on track or not. If he gets a top ten here, then I'd definitely say they're back on track.

As for the 24 car...MAN!!! He was right there for a top 5 finish and the brakes go out. Kind of sums up his season to this point. I'm realling having my doubts about his chances at this point. I haven't given up hope yet as a couple wins or a couple top fives could bring him right back into the thick of things depending on the outcome of the leaders and others. As I commented on a different post, it's going to be tough for him to get into the chase, but even moreso now.