The national anthem:
Retirement DOVER, DEL. — Dale has been Blunt Dale. As his final season ticks away, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has grabbed a bullhorn and demanded change
— in 140-character bursts, on his podcast and through the media on matters big and
— small in NASCAR.
He referenced John F. Kennedy in a tweet and was the first driver to take a stand on NASCAR’s place in the national anthem debate. He angered fellow veteran drivers when he suggested they may have to accept pay cuts. And he chided NASCAR for allowing drivers to blow out their tires in victory celebrations and for parking Joey Logano on pit road during an entire practice because of infractions.
Earnhardt stands up for NASCAR — and isn’t shy about telling the sanctioning body when it needs to stand down.
Oh, and it’s not over when he is done racing.
He is headed to the broadcast booth and will join NBC Sports’ coverage of stock car racing next year. Junior unleashed with a live mic for 20 Cup races next season should make for mustsee TV for race fans.
Worried about sponsors or alienating a dwindling fan base, most drivers don’t have the desire or clout to speak out on much more than if the car felt loose or tight headed into a turn.
Not Earnhardt. He opines on the sport each week on his “Dale Jr. Download” podcast, and on his latest episode, he took aim at the “same tired stigma” NASCAR has faced over its racial and political attitudes. When two race team owners threatened to fire employees if they refused to stand for the national anthem, Earnhardt said he refused to judge athletes who take a knee in protest.
“I don’t always claim to be right,” Earnhardt said, “but I think in transparency in conversation and com- passion you can learn from others. There is only one way to sort of do that, and that is by communication and sharing. I have always sort of been eager in a sense to know more and to learn more and to try to under- stand both sides.”
Earnhardt’s farewell season went off the rails early and he’ll end his career with- out a Cup championship. He hasn’t won this season and is 22nd in the standings headed into today’s race at Dover International Speedway.
But the disappointment on the track hasn’t squelched his candor on the issues that affect the sport.
Sure, when he said this summer that veteran drivers would continue to get squeezed out of rides for younger, cheaper drivers if they didn’t accept pay cuts, he got a rare rebuke from former Cup champions Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth.
Otherwise, Earnhardt rolls on, perhaps hopeful he can exert some influence to change policy or even the way people think about issues that matter.
Of late, Earnhardt has spoken out on: “No surprise to me everyone at the track stood and addressed the flag during the anthem, which I think will continue. But I also under- stand that the man next to me, if he wants to do some- thing different, that’s his right. I might not agree with everything somebody does, but it’s their right to have that opportunity to do that.”
“Drivers are having to sort of under- stand that change is coming down the pike. If it hasn’t happened to them yet, it’s going to happen to them. And the young guys, they don’t know any better. They want to race and they’re taking whatever they can get. That’s a good change for the owners. That’s a shift that’s going to be better for the sport and get those salaries into a realistic range for how much money we have from corporate America.”
Driver salaries:
Jon Lester struck CHICAGO — out seven over five innings, Kyle Schwarber hit his 30th home run and the Chicago Cubs pounded the Cincinnati Reds 9-0 on Saturday for their 15th win in 18 games.
Losing pitcher Jackson Stephens (2-1) gave up four runs and four hits, and the last-place Reds lost for the 10th time in 11 games.
Lester (13-8) allowed four hits and walked none in a possible tuneup for Game 1 of the NL Division Series against Washington. The veteran left-hander has allowed one run in 11 innings over his past two outings.
Lester’s second straight win was a welcome development for the Cubs with Jake Arrieta coming back from a strained right hamstring. Kyle Hendricks also could start the playoff opener against the Nationals next Friday.
The d efending World Series champions continue to roll along with the playoffs approaching. They had their top players back in the lineup after resting most of them the previous two games with their second straight NL Central title locked up.
Schwarber, a Middletown High graduate, finished with four RBIs. He hit a two-run drive in the second and a two-run single in the third against Stephens, a rookie.
Rene Rivera came off the bench to hit a two-run single in the sixth and a solo homer in the seventh for the Cubs.
Stephens gave up four runs and four hits.
Willson Contreras singled leading off the second and Schwarber drove the next pitch about halfway up the center-field bleachers, with a fan reaching out to make a neat catch.
The home run was the sixth in 15 games for Schwarber, who was sent to the minors after struggling early in the season.
TODAY’S SEASON FINALE
Reds at Cubs, 3 p.m., FS Ohio, 1410, 700