Earnhardt, Jr fans float conspiracy theory-UPDATED
Quote selected text Published September 12th, 2007 in NASCAR News
UPDATE:
NASCAR’s most popular driver doesn’t believe his failures are the result of somebody taking chances to generate more power and get him into the Chase.
“I would be surprised if I turned into the guinea pig over the last five weeks,” he said. “I don’t think that’s what happened. I’m hoping it was a two-dollar part, small stuff out of everybody’s control.”
Richie Gilmore, who oversees the DEI engine program said it’s been a different problem almost every time.
“There has not been one systematic underlying issue,” he said. “For instance, last weekend we lost an oil pump belt off the No. 8 car. That’s one of those things that just happens.
“You hate to dismiss it like that, but something came up and knocked it off. It’s not a bad part or anything that you would need to be concerned with heading into this weekend for any of our cars.”
Earnhardt’s problems aside, Gilmore has been pleased with the power of the engines that are a product of a recent alliance with Richard Childress Racing.
He reminded that Earnhardt was running in the top five of most of the races before the engine blew.
“We’ve had some really good power at the track and we are excited about what we have been able to do with the engine merger between ourselves and RCR,” he said. “Next week at Dover we will have R-07 engines in all of the cars, so that is a big step for us.
“At Talladega we’ll have our first true combination of DEI/RCR engines that have been built by a combined effort by our departments working under the same roof, so we are making some really big strides in the right direction.”
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If not for five blown engines, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be racing for a Nextel Cup championship in this final season driving for his late father’s company.
Instead, three failures in the last seven races — including one with six laps to go Saturday night at Richmond — knocked NASCAR’s most popular driver out of the Chase for the championship.
“We broke another motor, and they seem to fall apart when they plug ‘em into my car,” Junior said. “It’s just really frustrating.”
It’s also more than a little suspicious to his legion of fans, who have wondered for weeks if this was sabotage on the part of his stepmother.
After all, his relationship with Teresa Earnhardt “ain’t a bed of roses,” and Junior’s impending split is far from amicable. They’ve publicly feuded since December, he claims she’s been unreasonable during negotiations, and he’s bolting for rival Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the season.
The squabbling has been so intense on so many issues — most recently Teresa’s refusal to let Earnhardt take his beloved No. 8 with him to Hendrick — that the idea she would intentionally derail his season wouldn’t surprise anyone. And because the DEI motors never even seem to sputter under the hoods of his teammates, it’s actually believable.
But DEI officials call the entire idea preposterous.
“I can assure you that’s not the case,” general manager John Story said Monday. “We understand there might be a natural assumption that because he is leaving, the team would say ‘Who cares? We are not going to try for him.’
“But if anything, it’s the other way around. We tried hard to get him in the Chase. We wanted him to win a championship. We always said that would have been the most appropriate way for him to leave DEI.”
Of course, DEI is going to say that. And conspiracy theorists will forever be convinced Earnhardt was the victim of an intricate and evil plot to punish him for his betrayal.
More at Statesman.com
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I have been wondering the same thing. It’s too fishy and too coincidental to not have some truth to it. He is too GREAT of a driver but yet, something, busted motors, keep him from finishing. I went to Richmond with a broken foot, just hoping that he was going to make the chase. But they all factor in, all the races he wasn’t able to finish. He should have definitely been there.
What does the broken motor at Richmond have to do with making the chase? Had he finished in 3rd or even won the race, he wouldn’t be in the chase.
JR said he over-reved the motor at Watkins Glen, now he blames someone else.
“They always seem to over-rev when you plug them into my car. It’s a dang shame.”
That’s racing JR.
What has he doen to earn the moniker of GREAT?
We know why SR is great and why the King is great and even Gordon, but, what has JR done to make him great?
I don’t think GREAT men blame others or make excuses.
Will JR nation just have one big group crying session and GET OVER IT?
I agree with Anon,,,,17 wins by no means makes you a great driver,,,maybe good but not Great. The only time great and jr should be used in the same sentence is when describing how great jrs dad was.
WAY TO GO ANON….u know if it wasnt for those 5 blown engines..Dale Jr woulda been locked in bk when Jimmie was…he would have a win or 2 this season and be in the chase contending…how can DEI deny it??? Jr was in the top-5 every single race..was he not? and he blew up when he was contending for wins…no wonder why me and the other JR fans are out raged…ud be the same way if this was happening to ur driver..i didnt want JR in the chase b.c of the way DEI has treated him..but the way he missed out on it is just rediculous..i hope to hell he wins 10 races next season in that #81 car just to prove he is a good driver and it was all DEI’s equipment that kept him out of victory lane and the head table in new york..F*** THA HATERS.. Go Dale Jr in 2008!!!
i think he is getting a bumb deal! we all know now that anonymous is a great!! great big mouth! i had to say that that! i think that the 1 car has got better stuff ever sence jr said he was going to leave. the 1 car never dorve that well the whole year until that happend. think about it!
and i have never heard JR BLAME others…hes not JEFF GORDON or SMOKE…hes takes blame for his actions on and off the track….this is nothing but a bunch of BS and u all know it..u wont be talking shit next season when hes owning everyone…NASCAR is all about equipment…Give JJ Yelley Hendrick equip..i bet u he can win a damn race..u give Jeff Gordon DEI Equip? i bet u he wouldnt have half the wins he does and no champions..thats a fact..so get the hell over it…
Well lets see, Oh yea he out ran Gordo for one thing.
He drove a 10 place car to the front from the back.
He put to rest the rumor “that he can’t drive or has lost the will to win.
His driving ability at Richmond showed all that he still wants to win a championship and has the goods to do it .
To me and a lot of his fans that = GREAT
As far as the rest of the crap tossed his way by Anonymous people who hide behind the Internet moniker of “No Name” thinking it relives them of the burden of civility… lets just say its to bad they are such childish cowards.
damm darrell!!! you tell them!!
Knock off the swearing and name calling!
You know the rules.
Next time it’s not going to be a warning!
I was bummed he didn’t make the chase, but even if his engine hadn’t blown, he wouldn’t have made it. Harvick and Bush finished where they had to in order make it. There was nothing Jr. could do. And maybe Teresa did give Truex better equipment, but it’s all business. Name calling isn’t necessary. Next year will be better and Jr. will kick some tail.
no angel were not talking bout RICHMOND..its all together if his engine hadnt blown at indy, watkins glen and places where he was a race win contender..NO JUST RICHMOND..DEI sucks and i hope they completely fall apart..they dont deserve to compete..hell their owner dont even go to the track to watch them race..what other team does that?? besides HAAS..whos going to prison HAHAHAA
Hey anon. I agree with you on some of what you said for a change. I am a huge Jr. fan And I don’t think he is a great driver at this point in his life (might have done better over the last few years with better equipment but we’ll never know) but he is good or his daddy would not of put him in a cup car and Hendricks wouldn’t have hired him. And I also dont think there is anything happening to them on purpose. Between truix and Menard they have also had a hand full of motor failures this year. But you are wrong Jr. did not say that the motors over rev when they plug them into his car, but that they seem to blow up when they plug them into his car. (I just watched it again on Tivo) as for the over rev at the glen he over rev’d it on a down shift trying to get it to slow down at the corners. the valve springa are what can’t handle the high rpm’s and TEI’s engine DEpt. should have changed the valve springs after he did it( which is leagel) and he might not have had that failure. The problem with Jr’s motors have been with faulty parts and poor Equipment.
is haas red bull? what did he do?
I doubt TEI is sabotaging him! I think he was just driving the bolts off the motors! He said he was over revving at the Glen!
Hey anon… what is the deffinition of “doen”?
Anon… five blown motors not just richmond.
Andy Petree said that the motors are built to run hard. (for those of you who do not know him he was Sr’s crew chief)
He “maybe” over reved on engine. More than likely they are pushing the limits on the way they are building his motors. Trying to get more power out of them and they are breaking.
~Career finish=16.1
~no poles since 2002
~finished top 5 in points 3 times(twice before the dumb chase was introduced) in 8 years.
~17 wins- 6 the most wins in one year.
Not exactly GREAT stats. Not bad…but, not great!
wrote:
on ‘f’
8CANDRIVE wrote:
You make some very good points and I agree. Sr loved Kerry as well and he took him out of DEIs cars.
You can over-rev on a downshift coming into the pits.
Jr, takes the blame even when it is not his fault!
No, Jr. is not GREAT. He is a good driver and a good guy. I am personnally a fan of his, as I am a fan of many. I’m not one for conspiracy theories, I just think that Jr. has had some bad luck with the engines. But it hasn’t just been him, it’s been Paul Menard and Truex Jr. too. DEI has to just figure out why they are blowing engines and fix it. I also think that Jr. may also be contributing to blown engines too. I think he is pushing the car to it’s limits to try to win or finish good. But that’s what we want him to do, right, win? I think he just needs a team that will give him strong enough engines to drive the car the way he needs too to win, and as much as I hate to say it, I think Hendrick will provide the right engines for him.
I guess this could be true.
His teammates don’t have much engine problems.
I dont know if Teresa would go out of her way to sabotage Jr.
ya know jr fans constantly talk about gordon being a cry baby and blaming others for things that happen to him but but the moment jr. sucks it up he for one blames other which in turn makes all his cronies blame someone else too.
to think someone would intentionally mess with his car like that is rediculous. for 1. he admitted what happened at watkins glen was his own fault and 2. even if jr. would of won at richmond he still wouldnt of been in the chase anyway but most earnhardtians are just going to sit their and cry about it just like they say gordon does.
pretty hypocritical if you ask me.
GOOOOO GORDON!
If it is true they lost the oil pump belt, how does a team determine which belt will come off? Another one was the front pulley…how do you do that on purpose?
They can’t……
wrote:
This post is so accurate it almost made me cry, but, I’m leaving that to the nation.
we will all see jr spank the beeeeeep outa the 24 and the 48! if they all have the same stuff it should be awsome
GordonOwnz wrote:
Who did Jr blame?
The problem with conspriacy theorist is in racing only winning counts.
We can go back in time and say if the ‘whoosh mobile’ only finished 5 more laps at Indy, we would have had a turbine powered winner.
But, it didn’t and that’s it. Winning is everything in racing.
Even without 5 bad motors(and you should expect a couple per year…come on now), Were would he have finished in the points…….7th or 8th? That is not exactly championship material, is it?
wrote:
So?
That means it can happen not just on road course, but everywhere.
He blamed DEI!!!!!!
I myself have never heard Jr. cry or blame others, unless there were actually others to blame. I just wish that people would get things straight before they come on here to comment. Facts people, facts. Now, if I’m wrong, show me a quote from Jr. where he is whining or blaming someone else when they really weren’t to blame, I’ll be ok with that, just don’t go making stuff up.
wrote:
When did he do that?
wrote:
When did he do that?
And btw the use that thing called the breaks to slow down coming into the pits or does Dowhshifting cause the front wheels to lock up. They are running low rpm’s in 2nd. or 3rd.(depending on the track) in the pits.
You really can’t say if the engine would have lasted, he would have finished 3rd or in the top 5.
How do you know? He could have spun in someone’s oil or had a flat tire or been caught up in an accident.
It’s safe to say at Richmond, he would have finished 3rd because there were only 6 laps to go…but, how do you know how things would have transpired?
Look what happened to SR at the Daytona 500 on the last turn…you never know, do you?
wrote:
right there…they always seem to blow up in my car.
wrote:
I won’t even comment on this one..the front wheels(eyes rolling).
they can’t help it Dustin, Its the curse of being anonymous, it makes your mouth run just to hear yourself talk.
Jr. did say that ” they seem to fall apart when they plug them into my car”
5 motors are to many for any team especially when you are running for the chase.
Of course he rung every ounce outta the motor that’s what he should have done to win and that’s what the engine shop should of expected. But if he did over-wind the springs or thought he did the engine builder should have replaced them as a safety issue for the engine and that’s DEI’s job not Jr’s fault.
He drove that car for all it had and then some.
Bud Girl…it’s the fingers talking here on the ‘net. Ok Cletus?
i think its funny that one chick said that he is too great of a driver. and the whole page blows up! its kinda funny. SO HOW MANY PEOPLE THINK HE IS GOING TO WOOP THE HELL OUTA JIMMY AND JEFFY NEXT YEAR????
“And it makes your mouth run just to hear yourself talk” Ok Cletus ??
Should the engine builder stop the race and replace the parts?
Count me in as a Big YES on that one hot rod..
We broke another motor, and they seem to fall apart when they plug ‘em into my car,” Junior said. “It’s just really frustrating.”
He wasn’t blaming them…he was just pointing out something that seems to be honest….and he should have said it….it’s just odd and off that it happened way too often to him since he said he was leaving….
Hear the keys talk? Hmm Cletus?
No, but replacing them before the race would have been appropriate..Ya think
Kenneth,
This is the best thread ever!
I’m eating cheese and listening to all the whine!
And if it happens during the race?
Do YOU think?
wrote:
Really not worth a reply!
At least NASCAR does not have spies in the mix!
OK Kenneth, It’s your turn to watch the Kid’s. over and out!!
What about the other 40 drivers who missed the chase? Maybe it wasn’t their fault either…………how about we call this “the no resposibilty racing league”?
The Sprint NRRL!
wrote:
Of corse you wont comment because you don’t have a good answer to my question
wrote:
That is blaming TEI? he is stating a fact!!
Jr stories always get the conversation going don’t they??
wrote:
No but at the glen he told them he over rev’d it in practice and they should have changed the valve springs before he ran the car again knowing it could have hurt the springs.
8CANDRIVE wrote:
Amen!
wrote:
No one serves up the whine like jr haters!
u NASCRAP fans make us Die-Hard Champ Car fans laugh.
o its a conspiaracy that the loser dale jr. cant win a race because of a conspiracy theory
wow u need to just stop watching NASCRAP and watch sum REAL racing like F1 or Champ Car.
Champ Car fan wrote:
You must be a comedian! Lets see, the number one motorsport in the us vs chump car…hmmm or oops f1… Spies lies and traction controled cars.
I will stay with Number one….NASCAR.
What is there to spy on?
The COT?
This article is odd, I get on several of the diffrent Nascar chat sites and I have seen very few posters saying that TEI is doing this to Jr. on purpose. Most just think that TEI’s equipment is junk, so were did this suposided fact of Jr’s fans floating a conspiricy thery come from. I saw no facts to back it up and havn’t seen any other “news” articles reporting it. JUst becouse a few fans might think that it is going on doesn’t think mean that the majority does.
Champ Car fan wrote:
Spoken like a true anonimus
That’s right…the #1 form of entertainment!
Tony said it and I believe it!
Face it…he is not so good.
average finish=16.1
Champ Car fan wrote:
Then why are so many open wheel drivers thinking about coming to NASCAR
Not Anonymous wrote:
The spies are over on the F1 blog.