As a member of NASCAR’s newly formed drivers’ council, #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had the ears of the fans, drivers and NASCAR in the past four weeks. And now that he’s more comfortable than ever about giving his views on the sport, Earnhardt appears to relish his place on the council, which met with NASCAR executives for the first time May 30. At a promotional appearance on a hot midweek afternoon a couple of weeks ago for Amp energy drinks, one of his sponsors, Earnhardt acknowledged that he’s more opinionated now than he was when he started racing. “All the drivers have very strong opinions, and we all feel like we have a handful of answers of things that we could change to make this sport better,” Earnhardt said before going onstage. “I don’t know that my ideas are better than anyone else’s. We all sort of get together and talk it over.”
Being elected as an inaugural member of the council shows that Earnhardt could fill the role that his father once played in the garage as the person who can walk into the NASCAR hauler and truly have the ear “ and respect “ of NASCAR brass. Jeff Gordon somewhat assumed that role in the 2000s. Earnhardt isn’t necessarily ready to fill that role when Gordon retires after this season, nor does Earnhardt feel that one driver should have that role. The council membership is designed to change year to year; it includes the top driver from each manufacturer, some past champions, the top rookie and other members selected to represent a cross section of the standings. “You take a little pride in that your peers respect you,” Earnhardt said about his selection to the council. “I think we all share that respect for each other and won’t be on the council every year. The way the voting is with the points and everything and the way the guys are kind of chosen and locked in, it will change every year, which is going to be good because it will get fresh guys in there with new ideas.”
“There’s a lot of guys that are not on the council that probably belong on the council,” Earnhardt said. “There’s more drivers, certainly, qualified, deserving and smart. There’s a lot of guys with a lot of amazing ideas that should be in that room. But NASCAR thought it would be good to sort of keep it down to a small number so the conversations are reasonable.” Earnhardt isn’t sure what impact the council will have this year. He believes this group is laying the foundation. “It won’t really bear fruit right off the bat,” Earnhardt said. “It will take a few meetings. Let’s get down the road several months so we can understand how to talk to each other and how to work together. Then this next crop of guys, whoever comes in the council next year, will be more productive then.”(see full article at ESPN.com)(6-23-2015)
