It takes a lot to make Junior Nation happy.
Those would be the thousands if not millions of Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans around the world that have sat through two years of disappointment from the driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
In reality, what would make them happy isn’t that much. After all they’re just like every other NASCAR fan: they want their driver to win.
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[/media-credit]On Tuesday, Junior Nation became very happy and it didn’t come from anything that happened on the racetrack. Team owner Rick Hendrick announced that Earnhardt Jr., along with teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon, would all be getting new crew chiefs. As soon as Earnhardt Jr.’s name was mentioned, all the focus immediately went to him because of his performance the last two years and by passed the changes on the 5 and 24 cars.
Just two days after the 2010 season ended and nearly two months before the 2011 season starts, members of Junior Nation are saying they already feel like winners.
Lance McGrew moves on and will no longer have to endure the numerous unflattering names that were bestowed upon him. In comes Steve Letarte who for the last five years had been atop the pit box of Jeff Gordon. The two nearly won the championship in 2007.
Included in the crew chief move is the change in scenery for Earnhardt Jr. as he will now be receiving all of Gordon’s old cars. Hendrick made it clear in his Wednesday teleconference that everything was staying intact with the three teams except who the drivers were.
That means Martin receives Earnhardt Jr.’s old team and Gordon receives Martin’s old team. For Earnhardt Jr. and Gordon, they will also be switching shops, as Earnhardt Jr.’s cars will now be prepared in the same building as five-time champions Jimmie Johnsons.
What wasn’t to be excited about?
Knowing that Chad Knaus will never leave Jimmie Johnson, to Junior Nation it’s as if they are getting the next best thing. Letarte has worked side-by-side with Knaus in the same building and many have said what is now the former 24/48 shop has always stood above the 5/88 shop.
The move brought so much discussion on social networking sites such as Twitter, that ‘Hendrick’ as in Hendrick Motorsports or Rick Hendrick became a trending topic. Meaning that it was being used in status updates so much it was recognized by the site as something that had many peoples attention and a large number of people were talking about.
Junior Nation was certainly paying attention and they were talking. So was Letarte, who even formally introduced himself to Junior Nation in a video message that was posted on Earnhardt Jr.’s Web site on Wednesday.
Said Letarte, “Hey, I’m the new face in town. I’m Steve Letarte, the new crew chief of Dale Jr. and the AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet. I hope you’re as excited to have me as I am excited to be included in the whole Junior Nation.”
No worries for Letarte, he’s already been welcomed with open arms and hailed a hero. All four HMS cars are being predicted to win races and contend for the Chase and Letarte will lead the charge for the No. 88 team in their big turnaround.
Was it mentioned that the season is two months away?
With finishes of 25th and 21st the last two season, and winless sine June of 2008, this was a spark that Junior Nation needed to even have the desire to watch in 2011. Things needed to change and after months of calling for them, Hendrick gave Junior Nation what they wanted and now the countdown begins.
A few immediate reactions were much like Corey Rutten’s, who said he was for the move and is excited about the years to come. Upon reading up on Letarte and how he’s looking to immediately establish a relationship with Earnhardt Jr., it has made Rutten like him already.
Lacy Keyser has already started calling Letarte, “Steve LeAwesome.” She echoed the sentiments of many other Junior Nation members that were pleased to hear Letarte say that he has faith in Earnhardt Jr.’s abilities. Publicly backing their driver and speaking about the possibilities of a successful season are what they needed to hear, to feel as though someone from the team also believes that their driver can get the job done.
Others have stated that Letarte will be an authority figure that Earnhardt Jr. needs to keep him calm on the radio. Gordon is a driver that also gets very animated during a race, giving Letarte plenty of practice. Former crew chiefs Tony Eury Jr. and McGrew just didn’t stack up in that department.
Tony Eury Sr., who was crew chief from 2000-2004 when at Dale Earnhardt Inc., may have been the only guy that could put Earnhardt Jr. in his place. At least, Junior Nation believes so and has been calling for his return ever since but Eury Sr. doesn’t want to be a cup crew chief ever again.
So here’s Letarte, ready for the challenge and all that Junior Nation has to offer.
Of course, there are some that are still skeptical. A few, including Dave Marshall, who says a new crew chief isn’t going to help. To him, Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t know how to properly communicate with his crew chiefs.
The negativity however, is going to have to wait until next year. This is Junior Nation’s moment and they love every minute of it.
The offseason isn’t even a week old and the season-ending stories haven’t even been published yet. The ones about how much Johnson is celeberating his fifth title and what he plans to do during the offseason. They don’t care about how Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin plan to take down Johnson next year and stop his quest for a sixth straight title. Or even about the many other sponsor and team changes around the garage for other organizations.
When those pieces are published however, they’ll continue to be pushed to the backburner as the continues to be around what the future holds for all four HMS teams. Will they be as successful as many are already predicting and expecting?
One thing will be for certain when the season arrives in Daytona Beach for Speedweeks, Junior Nation will announce their presence to be alive and well. And they’ll let everyone know that they’ll be stronger than ever and have a new reason to be the passionate fans that NASCAR knows them for.
