Posted on August 23, 2007

The Reality Check was Needed

by Shannon Poe About The Author	Email   Print

While watching the uproar over the course of the 2007 Nextel Cup season, it all became quite clear. This season never had a chance. No matter what happens on the track, the focus remains about the same tired subject, and has since December 2006. To recap is not necessary, that’s certain. Finally, as the summer drifts to a close, the NASCAR community has all the answers it needs. Dale Earnhardt Jr will be making a fresh, clean start with Hendrick Motorsports next year. A new owner, new car, new number, and new sponsor. I thought over those facts, along with every other fan out there, these past few months.

Now the reactions and they come from all over. I declare, I have heard it all! Now I wish to document my own. After a lot of soul searching, I think it will all be for the greater good. I discovered I root for a driver, as opposed to a corporation. I have no qualms about rooting for drivers I like, and booing drivers I don’t like, and I do not care for whom they drive. Suffice to say, I will continue to boo Jeff Gordon next year, and probably Jimmie Johnson too. That is my right as a NASCAR fan. We need a NASCAR fan’s Bill of Rights! Thou shalt be able to do this…thou shalt not do that…

Should we put all the blame on Teresa Earnhardt? Maybe not all of it, but I’d wager that more than half of the controversy is rooted at her doorstep. Beginning with casting that first stone to the print press in December, and ending with denying usage of the No. 8 to Dale Earnhardt Jr. The truth is, she did not really hurt her stepson with the latest refusal to cooperate, she hurt Earnhardt Jr’s legion of fans. You see, Teresa never cared about the fans. Unless it suited her, she pays no attention to those that think highly of her. She knows how to manipulate, and make money out of nothing—hell, she’s been making money off a dead man for over six years now. Why didn’t I see that before? I’ll tell you why; I was mourning the losses and not looking at the gains. Teresa has no clue how to express compassion and caring for the legions of those that have afforded her to right to live a lifestyle she desires. Perhaps we ask too much of her? I realize all of the above sounds insulting, but there are truly some admirable aspects to her abilities. I concede she is a brilliant businesswoman in her own right.

No matter, I needed a reality check. I realized something; I have supported her in this line of thinking. The fault is mine, and the millions of others out there that fed this woman. She’ll control me no more though for I am wiser. She’s very smart, our Teresa. Make no mistake; her kind of manipulation is the kind you can bank on. It comes at a price, but the gold it reaps is remarkable. I no longer dislike her; I pity her. I pity this woman who is barely at the second stage of grief. I feel sorry for this woman that has put a business before her family, before her own well-being. I feel awful for this lady for hiding behind charities and work to avoid the grief, the longing, and the loneliness that comes with losing your husband and your world crumbling. I also pity her for lashing out at those that have been there for her—namely the fans of her late and great husband, Dale Earnhardt. I’ve been pledging allegiance to a dead man, folks. As much as I’d like to continue rooting for that black No. 3, it is not out there. It hasn’t been there for years. I realize that now, and make my choice. I no longer root for DEI. That company is no longer Dale Earnhardt’s company. It changed ownership on February 18, 2001 on the last lap of the Daytona 500. That is when it was turned over to a new world. I was set free then, only did not realize it. No true Earnhardt has owned that company since, and that’s a fact. I no longer ask myself what Mr. Earnhardt would have wanted, what he would think, what he would say. It no longer matters; he’s not here. It makes no difference to him that I no longer wish to support his company, either. He does not live there anymore.

I choose to support Dale Earnhardt Jr. You can say what you want about his season, but I finally have seen him fight and fight back hard. I have seen him finally wrestle his way to better finishes. I figured out it was great to see him smile and mean it again. Do I blame him for making a decision to leave his father’s company? Not at all, he does what he has to, just as we all do the same in our own lives. Who can begrudge him the right to control his own destiny?

I do not care what his relationship with his stepmother is like or has been like. That is irrelevant. She didn’t pitch him out--he elected to go. That much is not her fault. Is DEI going to go under? No, I don’t think so. That might be a rash theory, and a poor wish on the part of any fan. I don’t wish them bad luck. I wish them…nothing. The world has to go on, and mine as well. I owe Teresa a world of thanks, however. Without these interesting acts on her part, I might have never awoken from this stupor I seemed to have been steeped in for some time. To call her foul names is useless; besides, it’s hard to take shots at a person who never replies. She chooses to hide under her desk, and show indifference to the press, fans, and world in general. I choose to remain behind mine and type about it. You might say we have a lot in common. Space and opportunity, so to speak.

Now about that No. 8…

I did wish that number could continue with Dale Earnhardt Jr behind the wheel. Alas, it wasn’t to be. It’s not the end of the world; it was just a small favor to ask. So we soldier on, and see what is in store next season. I feel exhilaration again, and excitement at the prospects. How about you?

You can contact Shannon at shanjrfan8@aol.com

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