Jimmie Is Looking A Lot Like Earnhardt

#1
RockyTopVol

RockyTopVol

2011 STANLEY CUP CHAMPS
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#1
#2
#2
Other than winning races, I don't see a lot of similarities between Johnson and Earnhardt. Their driving styles are different with Earnhardt being more aggressive and their personalities are completley different.
 
#4
#4
RockyTopVol said:
What do you guys think? I'm not old enough to remember the other drivers mentioned in the article. Petty was on the downside of his career when I started watching NASCAR. Dale was and is the best I ever saw.

I think it's to hard to compare drivers in different eras. Points system has changed and there's a lot more short tracks these days.

Jimmie Johnson starting to look a lot like Dale Earnhardt - Jeff Owens | NASCAR Racing News - SceneDaily.com
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There are only 6 short tracks races currently on the schedule, all of which were on the schedule during Earhhardt's heyday. He also had to run twice a year at North Wilkesboro, not to mention twice a year at Nashville early in his career.
 
#5
#5
If anything, I would say he is most like Jeff Gordon, just more robotic. During his heyday, Gordon and Evernham were unstoppable, I think at one point he averaged a win every third race. Johnson and Knauss are very disciplined and surgical in their racing and setups, Earnhardt relied on his driving ability, I guess what I'm trying to say is he could manhandle a car to the front. Still miss seeing Dale take that black #3 to victory lane!
 
#6
#6
Winning is the same yes...style is different. Althought I was not a Earnhardt fan, at least the races he were winning were exciting.
 
#8
#8
Earnhardt didn't make excuses or act like it wasn't his fault when he got into people.
 
#10
#10
As has been stated, Johnson has dominated similar to Dale, Sr., but they are miles apart as driving styles and personality. Dale, Sr. bridged the "fram & bam" days to the current days of more sanitary driving. Most drivers biggest fear was to be leading Earnhardt and have him on their rear bumper. They knew if they didn't give him racing room, he would make it anyway. Earnhardt also loved to joke around and pull tricks on other drivers he liked - Neal Bonnet and Rusty Wallace being most likely.

Johnson's personality is all business with no apparent close relationships beyond Gordon, and that one is on thin ice. I will give Johnson credit for winning championships when they are more hotly contested. There are many more cars capable of winning a race today than when Dale, Sr. won his.

Just for the record, I was not an Earnhardt fan after his first few seasons. I liked him originally because he beat Waltrip and Yarborough, particularly at Bristol.
 
#11
#11
jhen713 said:
Earnhardt didn't make excuses or act like it wasn't his fault when he got into people.
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I was at Bristol in '99 when he wrecked Labonte... "Just wanted to rattle his cage" Give me a break! Is that what you call completely spinning someone out? I threw my Earnhardt hat in the trash that day. That's not racing someone, it's just wrecking them outta the way.

This was not just an isolated incident. He did it so many times that it wasn't about racing someone when you just slam them outta the way.
 
#12
#12
What people seem to forget is that Labonte nudged Earnhardt out of the way to get around him just a lap earlier in that race. Earnhardt just returned the favor, difference being Labonte didn't save it when he got bumped.

Not that DE ever needed to be provoked to knock someone out of the way, but he just evened things out in that particular race.
 
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