Earnhardt supercharges NASCAR’s mood
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A sport desperate to connect to a new, younger audience took a significant step toward that goal with help from Dale Earnhardt Jr.
For those who haven’t heard the big news: Earnhardt, the most popular driver in NASCAR, finally joined Twitter and posted his first comment Monday.
“Tonight seemed like as good a night as any to join Twitter,” Earnhardt said. “How is everyone doin?”
As for that other accomplishment by Earnhardt on Sunday? Well, that was important for NASCAR, too. Earnhardt outraced a pack of top drivers in the Sprint Cup series, including Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards, to win his second Daytona 500.
The victory gave long-suffering Earnhardt fans more than a reason to celebrate. It was an invitation to tune back in to NASCAR to follow Earnhardt as he contends, possibly, for a title for the first time in a de- cade. Earnhardt’s victory virtually assures he will be in the 10-race playoff at the end of the season.
He has been there before, of course. But it has been a long time since Earnhardt was in the thick of the chase.
“It’s good for the sport,” said
Rick Hendrick, the team owner. “It was good TV. It was a great race. It doesn’t hurt to have him, the most popular driver, win the biggest race, the Super Bowl of our sport.”
Hendrick added: “I think it will be good for NASCAR. It’s good for all of us. It’s definitely good for our organization. It takes a little heat off of me with his fans.”
Hendrick is the dominant team owner of the past 20 years, with six championships by Johnson, four by Gordon and another by Terry Labonte. But Hendrick has not won a championship with Earnhardt. Fans have not forgiven him for that failing.
Although Sunday’s victory is not the Cup title that Junior Nation craves, it is a start. NASCAR could not have made a better choice to draw attention to the sport, which has seen a drop in ticket sales and flat television ratings. It also comes at a time of contraction, with the hallowed Daytona International Speedway reducing capacity by 46,000 seats in a $400 million renovation designed to make the facility more modern and fan-friendly.
“There’s been a big feel building around this season for the past few weeks that has re-energized our traditional fans and attracted the attention of new ones at the same time,” NASCAR’s president, Mike Helton, said in a statement after Sunday’s rain-delayed finish. “There is no question that Dale Jr.’s performance in, and win of, the Daytona 500 complements that feeling.”
Earnhardt, voted by fans as the most popular driver in the sport for the past 11 seasons, has understood all along his role in driving interest. The failure to match those lofty expectations has worn on him.
“It’s not a weight when you’re able to deliver,” he said after the race. “It’s a weight when you’re not able to deliver. When people say you’re the face of the sport, you’re running fifth or 10th every week, it’s very chal- lenging because you want to deliver and you’re not delivering.
“I don’t know that I realize how big a deal it is, but I know I got a lot of fans that are really happy, really enjoyed what we did tonight. Can’t wait to go to work tomorrow to brag to all their buddies around the water cooler. Monday is going to be a fun day for a lot of people in Junior Nation.”
Just as noteworthy is the reaction by Earnhardt’s fans to the news that he is now on Twitter. The team had reserved the DaleJr handle long ago, and the account had about 235,000 followers as of Sunday, even though Earnhardt had refused to post anything. But Earnhardt vowed before the race to make his presence felt if he won the Daytona 500, and he followed through with that initial tweet, which included a photo of him with the Harley J. Earl Trophy.
Earnhardt later posted a selfie from Daytona International Speedway, with a statue of his father behind him.
“Look who I ran into at the Daytona Experience. Dad’s Happy!”
As of Monday afternoon, Earnhardt had added nearly 200,000 followers in less than a day.
As Gordon said of Earnhardt’s victory after the race, “The world is right, right now.”