NASCAR mailbag: Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans are getting worried

With the regular season winding down and the Chase for the Sprint Cup field coming into focus with each passing week, it is understandable why fans of certain drivers are starting to get a bit antsy. Witness a couple of Dale Earnhardt Jr. supporters, who lead this week’s NASCAR mailbag by adamantly expressing their displeasure with the current performance of the No. 88 team.

I’m fed up! Something is amiss on Dale Jr.‘s team and changes need to be made. No way should he ever be this bad at Daytona and Talladega, and every week he keeps saying his cars are undriveable and too loose. Either Greg Ives needs to figure this out ASAP or Dale need a new crew chief.

--Jacob

You said it wasn’t time to panic the last time I asked, but can this Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan start panicking now? I keep thinking a turnaround will come, but every week it’s been more of the same and Junior keeps creeping closer and closer to falling out of the Chase. I’m tired of this!

--Cathy

While it’s not time to start nervously sipping the hard stuff, there is greater reason to have angst than there was a few weeks ago. Since Cathy last asked whether she should be worried, Earnhardt squandered a solid chance to earn a top-five finish on the Sonoma road course (he slid from fourth to 11th after late contact with Joey Logano), was a complete nonfactor at Daytona due to a car with woeful handling, and admittedly didn’t do a good enough job of saving fuel at Kentucky, costing himself a handful of spots.

What should cause consternation for fans of NASCAR’s most popular driver is how Earnhardt has repeatedly cited a lack of strong communication with crew chief Greg Ives as the reason for the current malaise. Now in their second season together, there is no excuse why Earnhardt and Ives aren’t operating from the same playbook, but it seems they aren’t. And as evidenced by Earnhardt’s recent growing distress on the radio during races, his level of concern is rising.

Still, barring a complete collapse or a rash of new winners emerging, Earnhardt remains in sound shape to reach the Chase for a sixth straight year. He’s 32 points above the threshold to qualify with a host of favorable tracks upcoming, including Pocono, Bristol and Michigan.

Providing further solace is that, while the results have been absent, Earnhardt has continually stated his No. 88 Chevrolets have the speed to contend. That element is a key ingredient to overcoming any deficiencies, and it means that with a bit better execution a win may occur sooner rather than later.

NASCAR should apologize to Martin Truex Jr. for taking away the Kentucky win. He didn’t do anything that others driver haven’t done all year when on pit road, but because it happened to Kevin Harvick NASCAR feels it must call a penalty. Why would NASCAR pick that time to enforce a penalty everyone breaks?

--Sammy

While some may object, the infraction Truex committed was rather clear and quite obvious. Drivers are not permitted to pass on the inside on pit road unless pulling into their stall, and in Truex’s case, he did by speeding up and pulling in front of race leader Harvick. On the scale of penalties NASCAR can call during a race, this was rather straightforward.

NASCAR finds itself on the defensive because Truex did something that occurs multiple times during a race and yet goes unpunished. It’s just another instance where NASCAR’s lack of consistency hurts its credibility, making it seem as if it’s subjectively dictating the outcome. With this perception of bias, the sanctioning body doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt among many fans, who feel NASCAR is acting without prudence.

If drivers were regularly admonished for passing on pit road illegally, then Truex’s penalty wouldn’t be a big deal. Instead, it comes across as NASCAR picking and choosing when to take action. Simply not a good look.

Now that Tony Stewart’s won a race and made his way into the top-30 in points, he’s a lock to make the Chase, right?

--Ryan

Seeing as he holds a 31-point buffer to remain championship-eligible, Stewart’s Chase spot is virtually assured. Of course, that comes with the caveat that he doesn’t miss any races the rest of the regular season. As history has shown, with Stewart’s life full of tumult in recent years, nothing is a given -- including whether he earns a playoff berth.

What’s going on with Denny Hamlin? When he won Daytona it seemed like he was set for a big year, but most weeks he’s been off the pace while his teammates are up front and winning races.

--Gene

The nice thing about winning the Daytona 500 is that you win the sport’s marquee race. Conversely, it also raises expectations to sometimes unreasonable heights.

In Hamlin’s situation, Daytona wasn’t a realistic snapshot of how the opening months of the season would likely unfold. Not with a first-year crew chief in Mike Wheeler, only in his second year in that position overall, who was going to need some time to acclimate and integrate his leadership into the No. 11 team.

It also doesn’t help matters that Hamlin has been error-prone this season, frequently committing blunders that have knocked him out of contention. Among the gaffes: crashing while running in the top five at Martinsville; overdriving the final corner while leading at Sonoma; and incurring seven penalties related to getting on and off pit road. Winning is hard enough as it is without repeatedly handicapping yourself with avoidable mistakes.

The good news is that Hamlin has that Daytona victory and with it a Chase spot. That means he, Wheeler and the entire No. 11 team can essentially use the regular season to fine-tune for the playoffs.