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Originally Posted by GTO_6970
Dale Jr. has two Nationwide (Busch series) championships (two more as an owner), 18 cup wins, a Daytona 500 win, a Winston (all star race win), etc.. To imply that he doesn't have talent or that he is only with Hendrick because he attracts sponsors, is ludicrous. His career accomplishments are very much in line with any of the current Roush drivers. Matt has more Cup wins and a Cup championship, but Biffle and Edwards have stats very similar to Dale's.
At this point, I'd say Danica -to- Joey "Sliced Bread" Logano (who seems like a nice kid, by the way) would be a better comparison.
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Dale Jr is not a top caliper driver and just because he has the name doesn't transfer to talent. He isn't his father and to imply he has car control like his father or anyone else in the upper echelon of drivers is simply ludicrous. He does do well on restrictor plate tracks, can't deny that, he is not a great talent by any stretch of the imagination and being voted favorite driver many years in a row still doesn't make him an outstanding driver. He'll probably win a race or two here and there, I doubt he'll ever win a championship. Cup and Nationwide aren't the same or even close, Tony Stewart had no wins in Nationwide before moving to cup, Joe Gibbs saw the talent there though and moved him to cup so stats don't prove ability or talent. Stats are a way to backup whether a driver has talent, not definitive by themselves.
He isn't hungry for wins, you remember last year when Stewart won 5 races during the chase and tied Edwards for points and won the championship just on determination, Jr doesn't have that. You want to talk about natural ability in a stockcar, Kyle Busch, I'm not a fan of his, however if you want to judge anyone on ability, car control, and natural talent, that's the yardstick.
Hendrick unofficially adopted Jr after his own son was killed and Jr was happy to have a father figure again, another factor in the mix in Jr's favor. Marketability is huge right now in NASCAR right now and to think it's not in this economic downturn is hiding your head in the sand. If Jr wasn't able to bring big bucks he wouldn't have a top ride, same as DP.