Iħjut Earnhardt JR. isejjaħ lilu nnifsu-Xortik tajba, lest għall-isfidi 2013

Dale Earnhardt Jr. jaħseb li t-tim tiegħu ta' Hendrick Motorsports tjieb kontinwament u jista' jkun f'xifer ir-rebħ tat-tiġrijiet u forsi titlu.

BAJJA DAYTONA, FLA. - Huwa l-bidu ta 'staġun ieħor tan-NASCAR Sprint Cup u, inevitabbilment, mistoqsija familjari terġa' ssir:
Din hija s-sena li Dale Earnhardt Jr. finalment jirbaħ l-ewwel kampjonat tal-karriera tiegħu?
Jista 'jkun għajjien b'din it-tip ta' ħaġa, iżda jibqa 'l-fatt li l-leġjun tal-partitarji ta' Earnhardt Jr. - ġie vvutat bħala l-iktar sewwieq popolari 10 darbiet wara xulxin - stennew affarijiet kbar mingħandu minn meta ngħaqad għall-ewwel darba ma 'Hendrick Motorsports fl-2008.
Earnhardt Jr. temm ir-relazzjoni spiss akkanita tiegħu ma' Dale Earnhardt Inc. fl-aħħar tal-2007. Ir-rapporti kienu li ried jeżerċita aktar kontroll fuq it-tim, immexxi minn missieru Teresa.
F'konferenza stampa bally-hooed ħafna, Earnhardt Jr. iddikjara li Hendrick kien tim li miegħu "Nista 'nirbaħ tiġrijiet u kampjonati."
Fir-rigward tar-rebħiet, Earnhardt Jr. kiseb biss tnejn f'ħames staġuni. Fl-aħħar għamel il-Chase fl-2011 u fera s-seba 'fil-punti - l-aqwa wirja tiegħu ma' Hendrick.
It-tamiet żdiedu s-sena l-oħra meta Earnhardt Jr. ħawwel lilu nnifsu b'mod sod fost l-aqwa 10 fil-klassifika tal-punti u żamm l-art tiegħu.
Madankollu, huwa tilef it-tiġrijiet Chase f'Charlotte u Kansas minħabba l-effetti ta 'żewġ konkussjonijiet, waħda minn ħabta iebsa waqt sessjoni ta' test 29 ta 'Awwissu f'Kansas Speedway, l-oħra waqt ħabta multicar fis-7 ta' Ottubru f'Talladega Superspeedway.
Earnhardt Jr. għamel it-tajjeb. Billi poġġa żewġ tiġrijiet ma ħa l-ebda ċans b'saħħtu. Huwa rritorna għat-tlielaq biss wara li t-tobba ħelsuh.
Iżda t-telfa ta' żewġ tiġrijiet neħħiet iċ-ċansijiet tiegħu li jirbaħ kampjonat u spiċċa 12^{t 1} fil-punti.
Huwa naturali biss li ħafna mill-partitarji tiegħu staqsew x'seta 'kien fl-2012
Earnhardt Jr. seta 'kien fattur fil-battalja tal-kampjonat fl-2012 ma ġiex imġiegħel jitlef żewġ tlielaq chase minħabba concussion.

U issa jistaqsu: Jista 'Earnhardt Jr. iżomm, jew itejjeb, il-prestazzjoni tiegħu fl-2013?
"Naħseb li konna fil-konversazzjoni s-sena l-oħra," qal Earnhardt Jr. "Konna verament eċċitati dwar kemm konna konsistenti s-sena l-oħra.
"Stajna ntejbu kif ħdimna flimkien. Jien u Steve (Letarte, kap tal-ekwipaġġ) irnexxielhom jitjiebu b'mod kostanti matul l-aħħar ftit snin. Nispera li kapaċi jkompli.
"Nispera li ma rrealizzajniex il-potenzjal veru tagħna. Forsi din is-sena, jekk nistgħu nżiduha talja oħra, inkunu hemm fejn ilna nagħmlu ħilitna biex inkunu l-aħħar snin tal-koppja.
"Mhux se tieħu ħafna biex titjieb matul is-sena l-oħra u tkun wieħed mill-aqwa timijiet. Konna pjuttost qrib is-sena l-oħra u nħossuna pjuttost tajbin dwar dan."
Earnhardt Jr. jista 'jaqbeż l-istaġun 2013 tiegħu b'ġirja tajba fil-Daytona 500 - u għandu jiġi nnutat li, storikament, kien b'saħħtu fuq il-binarji tal-pjanċa tar-restrizzjoni.
Huwa sofra xi ħaġa ta 'daqqa ta' ħarta fl-20 ta 'Frar meta l-magna fiċ-Chevrolet tiegħu falliet waqt il-prattika għall-Budweiser Duels.
L-impjant tal-enerġija ġie sostitwit u Earnhardt irritorna fil-korsa għal żewġ prattiki addizzjonali.
Madankollu, il-bidla fissret li kellu jibda t-tellieqa tiegħu ta' 150 dawra minn wara tal-grawnd. Kien jibda fis-sitt post.
"Inkunu tajbin," qal Earnhardt Jr. "M'għandi l-ebda inkwiet dwar il-magni tagħna u aħna biss niġu minn wara għal quddiem malajr kemm nistgħu."
Kif inhuma l-kompetituri l-oħra kollha, Earnhardt Jr. se jikkompeti fil-karozza l-ġdida "Ġenerazzjoni 6" għall-ewwel darba. Filwaqt li kellu ftit esperjenza mal-karozza, jammetti li għad hemm mistoqsijiet.
"Verament ma nafx kif il-karozza se tiġri u tabbozza, x'tip ta' strateġija se jkollna bżonn nużaw jew naħsbu dwar l-użu," huwa qal. "Dak it-tip ta 'bidliet u dawriet, jagħmel affarijiet differenti matul il-ġimgħa. Din tinbidel hekk kif tmur il-ġimgħa.
"Se naraw. Ikollna nġibu koppja tiġrijiet taħt iċ-ċinturin tagħna. Kulħadd irid jitgħallem il-karozza, ifhem dak li jagħmilha tmur malajr. Nisperaw li nistgħu nagħmlu dan qabel ħaddieħor."
Fir-realtà, il-lavanja ġiet imsaħħna nadifa għal Earnhardt Jr. Huwa għeleb il-ġrieħi tiegħu - u jiddikjara li jappoġġja bis-sħiħ l-ittestjar obbligatorju tal-konkussjoni fin-NASCAR (ippjanat għall-2014) - u għandu tamiet kbar li jista 'jilħaq l-għanijiet li ħarbuh.
"Huwa diffiċli li tpoġġi subgħajk fuq dak li għandu bżonn tim," qal Earnhardt Jr. "Ma jimpurtax kemm hu qrib jew 'il bogħod minnu, huwa diffiċli li verament tpoġġi subgħajk fuq eżattament dak li tkun nieqes, speċjalment meta taħdem ma' kumpanija bħalma nagħmel li għandha l-partijiet, biċċiet, il-persunal kollu, tagħmel xogħol daqshekk tajjeb li jwassallek il-karozza tat-tellieqa fiżika.
"Verament jiġi għall-imħuħ li huma fil-kontroll ta 'kollox, jien u Steve nagħmlu t-telefonati u d-deċiżjonijiet it-tajba fuq il-korsa tat-tellieqa."
Tabilħaqq, Earnhardt Jr. kien pjuttost qrib is-sena l-oħra u tilef l-art biss minħabba inċidenti mhux previsti.
Dan, madankollu, kien dak iż-żmien. Dan issa.
"Ir-realtà tas-sitwazzjoni, m'hemmx ħafna x'nista 'nagħmel dwar dak li ġara s-sena l-oħra," qal Earnhardt Jr. "Jien kuntent biss, tassew, li sibt opportunità biex nerġa' lura, li stajt negħleb l-intopp fiżikament u hemm daqsxejn ta' serħan u eċċitament li nħossni tajjeb u lest biex niġri u kapaċi nerġa' naqbad, naħseb, fejn tlaqna.
"Int biss qatt ma taf meta tkun f'dik is-sitwazzjoni bilqiegħda d-dar tistaqsi jekk kollox hux se jerġa' jasal sew.
"Allura nħossni xxurtjat. Kif verament ninżlu għall-imħuħ li huma fil-kontroll ta 'kollox - Steve u jien.
"Yup, jien lest."

BUDWEISER DUEL: Earnhardt Jr. tabilħaqq mar minn wara għal quddiem fl-ewwel duel ta '150 mil, iżda ma ħax it-triq kollha hemm.
Madankollu, huwa spiċċa d-disa ', komdu fil-medda ta' "trasferiment" -15^{t 1} jew aħjar - biex tagħmel il-Daytona 500.
Kevin Harvick, li rebaħ ukoll is-Sprint Unlimited fis-16 ta 'Frar, rebaħ it-tellieqa ta' rousing, li kien fiha ħafna abbozzar li kien assenti minn avvenimenti preċedenti. Kienet l-ewwel rebħa ta' Harvick f'avveniment duel.
Ħabta multicar ġiet skattata bi tmien dawriet biss biex tmur meta Toyota ta' Denny Hamlin inkisret fit-tieni dawra u ġabret il-karozzi ta' Carl Edwards, Trevor Bayne u Regan Smith.
Greg Biffle spiċċa t-tieni segwit minn ċċarġjar Juan Pablo Montoya. Jimmie Johnson kien ir-raba' u Kurt Busch il-ħames.
Daytona 500 pole rebbieħa Danica Patrick iltaqgħet ma 'problemi ta' trattament u spiċċat 17^{t 1} – mingħajr ħsara, bil-mod, li jfisser li se żżomm il-pożizzjoni tal-bidu tagħha fil-filliera ta' quddiem.
Jeff Gordon iddomina t-tieni Duel sakemm, b'20 dawra li fadal, kien nabbed minn NASCAR talli daħal fit-triq tal-fossa biex isum f'waqfa tal-bandiera ħadra.
Gordon, li jinsab fil-Daytona 500 bis-saħħa tal-kwalifikazzjoni t-tieni, irritorna fit-tellieqa f'16^{t 1} post u stralċ 12^{t 1}.
Sadanittant, Kyle Busch wiret il-vantaġġ u kiseb ir-rebħa b'marġni rqiq tal-leħja fuq Kasey Kahne. Ir-rebħa kienet it-tieni waħda ta' Busch f'150 miler.
Austin Dillon kien it-tielet, Clint Bowyer ir-raba' u Matt Kenseth il-ħames.
B'differenza mill-ewwel tellieqa, ma ntefgħetx bandiera tal-kawtela. L-uniku inċident ġara b'20 dawra biex imur meta, hekk kif diversi karozzi ħarġu, Ryan Newman spun fuq il-frontstretch.
It-tellieqa baqgħet taħt il-bandiera l-ħadra u b'hekk kellha veloċità medja ta' 193.95 mph, it-tieni l-iktar Duel veloċi li qatt saret.
Mike Bliss u Brian Keselowski naqsu milli jagħmlu l-Daytona 500.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. thinks that his Hendrick Motorsports team has constantly improved and may be on the verge of winning races and maybe a title.

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – It is the start of another NASCAR Sprint Cup season and, inevitably, a familiar question is asked yet again:
Is this the year Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally wins the first championship of his career?
You may well be tired of this sort of thing, but the fact remains that the legion of Earnhardt Jr. fans – he’s been voted the most popular driver 10 times in a row – have expected great things from him ever since he first joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2008.
Earnhardt Jr. ended his often-acrimonious relationship with Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of 2007. The reports were he wanted to exercise more control over the team, led by his stepmother Teresa.
In a much bally-hooed press conference, Earnhardt Jr. declared that Hendrick was a team with which “I can win races and championships.”
As for victories, Earnhardt Jr. has earned only two in five seasons. He finally made the Chase in 2011 and wound up seventh in points – his best showing with Hendrick.
Hopes rose last year when Earnhardt Jr. planted himself firmly among the top 10 in the point standings and held his ground.
However, he missed the Chase races at Charlotte and Kansas because of the effects of two concussions, one from a hard crash during a test session Aug. 29 at Kansas Speedway, the other during a multicar crash on Oct. 7 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Earnhardt Jr. did the right thing. By sitting out two races he took no chances with his health. He returned to racing only after doctors cleared him.
But the loss of two races obliterated his chances to win a championship and he finished 12^th in points.
It’s only natural that many of his fans have wondered what could have been in 2012
Earnhardt Jr. might have been a factor in the championship battle in 2012 has he not been forced to miss two Chase races because of a concussion.
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And they now ask: Can Earnhardt Jr. maintain, or improve, his performance in 2013?
“I think we were in the conversation last year,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “We were really excited about how consistent we were last year.
“We’ve been able to improve as we’ve worked together. Me and Steve (Letarte, crew chief) have been able to improve steadily over the last couple years. I hope that’s able to continue.
“I hope we haven’t realized our true potential. Maybe this year, if we can step it up another notch, we’d be right there where we’ve been striving to be the last couple years.
“It isn’t going to take much to improve over last year and be one of the top teams. We were pretty close last year and feel pretty good about that.”
Earnhardt Jr. can jump-start his 2013 season with a good run in the Daytona 500 – and it must be noted that, historically, he has been strong on the restrictor-plate tracks.
He suffered something of a setback on Feb. 20 when the engine in his Chevrolet failed during practice for the Budweiser Duels.
The powerplant was replaced and Earnhardt returned to the track for two additional practices.
However, the change meant he had to start his 150-lap race from the rear of the field. He would have started sixth.
“We’ll be fine,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I’ve got no worries about our engines and we’ll just come from the back to the front as quickly as we can.”
As are all other competitors, Earnhardt Jr. will compete in the new “Generation 6” car for the first time. While he’s had a little experience with the car, he admits there are still questions.
“I really don’t know how the car is going to race and draft, what kind of strategy we’ll need to be using or think about using,” he said. “That sort of changes and turns, does different stuff throughout the week. It changes as the week goes.
“We’ll see. We’ll have to get a couple races under our belt. Everybody’s got to learn the car, figure out what makes it go fast. Hopefully, we can do that before anybody else.”
In reality, the slate has been wiped clean for Earnhardt Jr. He has overcome his injuries – and declares that he fully supports mandatory concussion testing in NASCAR (planned for 2014) – and has high hopes he can achieve the goals that have eluded him.
“It’s hard to put your finger on what a team needs,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “No matter how close it is or far off it is, it’s hard to really put your finger on exactly what you’re missing, especially when you work with a company like I do that’s got all the parts, pieces, all the personnel, does such a good job delivering the physical race car to you.
“It really comes down to the minds that are in control of everything, me and Steve making the right calls and decisions on the race track.”
Indeed, Earnhardt Jr. was pretty close last year and lost ground only because of unforeseen incidents.
That, however, was then. This is now.
“The reality of the situation, there ain’t much I can do about what happened last year,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I’m just glad, really, that I got an opportunity to come back, that I was able to overcome the setback physically and there’s a bit of relief and excitement that I feel good and ready to race and I’m able to pick back up, I guess, where we left off.
“You just never know when you’re in that situation sitting at home wondering if everything is going to get right again.
“So I feel lucky. How we do really comes down to the minds that are in control of everything – Steve and me.
“Yup, I’m ready.”

BUDWEISER DUEL: Earnhardt Jr. did indeed move from the rear to the front in the first 150-mile duel, but he didn’t quite get all the way there.
However, he did finish ninth, comfortably within the “transfer” range –15^th or better – to make the Daytona 500.
Kevin Harvick, who also won the Sprint Unlimited on Feb. 16, won the rousing race, which featured plenty of drafting that had been absent from previous events. It was Harvick’s first victory in a duel event.
A multicar crash was triggered with just eight laps to go when Denny Hamlin’s Toyota broke loose in the second turn and gathered up the cars of Carl Edwards, Trevor Bayne and Regan Smith.
Greg Biffle finished second followed by a charging Juan Pablo Montoya. Jimmie Johnson was fourth and Kurt Busch fifth.
Daytona 500 pole winner Danica Patrick encountered handling problems and finished 17^th – undamaged, by the way, which means she will keep her front-row starting position.
Jeff Gordon dominated the second Duel until, with 20 laps remaining, he was nabbed by NASCAR for entering pit road to fast in a green-flag stop.
Gordon, who is in the Daytona 500 by virtue of qualifying second, returned to the race in 16^th place and wound up 12^th.
Meanwhile, Kyle Busch inherited the lead and earned the victory in by a razor-thin margin over Kasey Kahne. The win was Busch’s second in a 150-miler.
Austin Dillon was third, Clint Bowyer fourth and Matt Kenseth fifth.
Unlike the first race, a caution flag was not thrown. The only incident happened with 20 laps to go when, as several cars pitted, Ryan Newman spun on the frontstretch.
The race remained under the green flag and thus had an average speed of 193.95 mph, the second fastest Duel ever.
Mike Bliss and Brian Keselowski failed to make the Daytona 500.