It's rant time!!!

Most things I let slide, but there are two things that have really been on my mind since the races last night and Friday night. We'll start with the race Friday night. Now the race itself wasn't bad, it was actually better because Brad did an awesome job saving his car several times. What bugs me is that there's part of me that says that Vile Kyle has grown up some, then I watched the race and that part just flew out the door. I know he refuses to lose, but he 24 years old man, and Friday he had his mind already set that he was gonna win that race. Kyle can't do that, because Friday night just showed should have and hopefully did show him that even with however many laps there were to go, that just because he led however many laps and it's near the end, doesn't mean that it's all in the bank. He's been in this series since 2004, he should know by now that he's not gonna win every race and things like what happened to him on Friday night are going to happen. I'm not saying he should be fake and paint a smile on his face when he doesn't win, but he should be adult enough to say to himself, "Hey man it happens, and there's always next week."

On to my second rant topic. I love being a fan of Dale Jr and being a member of Jr Nation, which is the reason this blog has been kept up for so long. Some of you might like what I have to say here, some of you may not, that's a matter of personal opinion, which leads me to say this: This is my blog and I will voice my opinion when I feel I have something that needs to be said. Having said that, is it just me or does Dale Jr seem to be getting the short end of the stick again? I mean, Jimmie Jeff Mark and Brad (when he runs in the 25) all do very well and usually (unless they're having a very rare bad race day) finish in the top 10 if not top 20. For the past two weeks Dale Jr has finished 27th and has remained 18th in the points. So what gives? I'm the type of person that refuses to blame one person for the downfall of any team. I do listen to Dale Jr's scanner during the races, and although it is delayed, you do get a complete understanding of what the driver is telling his crew chief. I bring that up because I have heard hints of how Mark Martin talks to his crew chief in Dale Jr lately. Rather than just telling his crew chief what the car is doing and what's wrong with it, Mark tells him what he wants done to the car. Over the past two weeks I have heard Dale Jr either suggesting or telling Tony Jr what he feels needs to be done to the car to make it better. Good for him! What I haven't heard a lot of, and they probably do this and we don't know it, is the fact that they haven't been sharing information between teams. Hello?! Hendrick has four teams (five when Brad drives), the drivers that are doing better need to be sharing their info with the 88 team. You've heard the saying, "There's no "I" in the word "team." Well that applies here as well. Also, Junior (if he isn't already) needs to get his butt in that garage at Hendrick Motorsports with Tony Jr, and know what's going on with his car for that weekend. He won't know anything about his car if he's not there to hear it and offer his opinion on it. I'm not saying Little E should be breathing down Tony Jr's neck, but he should have some input on what he would like to have done to the car going into the weekend. Tony Jr is only one person and can only do so much. He's not driving the car, Dale Jr is and the only way that the car is going to do what Dale Jr wants it to do is if he's there during the week. (Even if it's once a week or whatever) Another thing that would help (if their not doing it already) would be if Dale Jr would meet with Rick, Tony Jr and/or the whole team at least once or twice a week. Figure out what is and isn't working. What's working, keep it, what's not working, toss it and be done with it. Finally, when race weekend comes, focus on the task at hand, which would be, the race of course. So to close this long rant which I really meant to be short, I do have a few things to say to those people who feel that Rick needs to get another crew chief for Dale Jr. #1 Did you really think that thought when Dale Jr won at Michigan last year? #2 (And I know I've said this before) Do you honestly think that Rick would have kept Tony Jr as Junebug's crew chief for this long if he didn't think Tony Jr was doing a good job? and #3 Any real fan of Dale Jr would stand up for Tony Jr any day of the week, as would any other fan of any other driver, and if you're not one of them, then I'm sorry to say, you're not a true Dale Jr fan.