Dale Jr
Dale Jr
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr., known professionally as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Jr., or just Junior, is an American professional stock car racing driver and champion team owner. He is the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Sr. He is also the grandson of both NASCAR driver Ralph Earnhardt and stock car fabricator Robert Gee, the brother of Kelley Earnhardt-Miller, the half-brother of former driver Kerry Earnhardt, the uncle of driver Jeffrey Earnhardt, the stepson of Teresa Earnhardt, and...
aspect best builds chiefs comfort cousin crew easier expect family good great last optimistic race though uncertain whereas year
I was pretty optimistic last year going into the season. The only thing different this year is I have my cousin working with me again. So, there is that comfort aspect and familiarity. It is easier to know what to expect this year, whereas last year, we were optimistic but uncertain about how well we were going to do. He (Tony) is really good at what he does. We are family and just communicate well, even though we don't always get that right either. For the most part, he is one of the best crew chiefs in the garage. He builds a great race car.
experience last learn learned maybe mentally mistakes needed season year
You learn more from your mistakes than you do from your success, and last year I learned a lot. That was an unfortunate season but maybe I needed to experience it to get back mentally to where I need to be.
capable certain driver felt full given harder learn realized situations understand year
I've raced harder this year than I've ever raced before. You think you're doing all you can. I've always felt like I've given 100 percent, but you're put in certain situations and you find you're capable of doing more. Hopefully, I still haven't realized my full potential. I feel like I've got a lot to learn and as a driver I can get a lot better and each year I understand there's more to me than I even thought I had.
figure forward gotta next sure year
I'm pretty disappointed I didn't make the Chase, but you know, we gotta look forward to what we can do these next 10 races, to make next year a better year. (We'll) just try to figure out what we need to do to make sure the team's right ... the car's right.
best capable driver great ground opportunity team top
We're making some great ground on these tracks. This is the best opportunity I've had as a driver and the team is really capable from top to bottom.
continued drive wheels
We bounced off a lot of things and it just continued to drive great. The wheels were still straight, and everything was still going in the right direction.
definitely good mentality relationship tested tony
Working with Tony Jr.'s going to be a lot of run. We've already tested with each other, and we've got a good mentality ... This is a new start. We've always been close, but the working relationship is definitely improved.
bond close tony
Working with Tony Jr. is going to be a lot of fun, there's a good, close bond there.
both listeners
Listeners to my new show on XM will get a real sense of who I am both on and off the track.
follow hardest trying
I was trying my hardest to follow all the rules.
assumed bound coming deal determined everybody final glad good last motions next people proud races remind saw start tony weekend win
I think everybody saw it coming, and I'm glad he's back. Last weekend was a good start for us. I was real proud of my team. People assumed that we'd just go through the motions in these final 10 races, but honestly, Tony Jr. coming back has kind of put a jolt in our enthusiasm. He's bound and determined to win some of these races and remind everybody what they've got to deal with next year.
continued drive drove great
It drove great all day. We bounced off a lot of things, and it just continued to drive great.
five good miss people seem
(It) don't seem like five years. You know, it's good that he's still on people's minds, people still miss him.
chad
I think what Chad did is nothing new in the garage.