Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2010 Fantasy NASCAR Preview
[picapp align=”left” wrap=”true” link=”term=dale+earnhardt+jr&iid=7102888″ src=”2/d/6/2/Ford_400_Practice_dffa.jpg?adImageId=8714354&imageId=7102888″ width=”234″ height=”156″ /]Dale Earnhardt Jr
2009 Stats: Points Finish 25th, Wins 0, Top Fives 2, Top Tens 5, Average Finish 23.1, Average Position 18.3, Laps Led 146, Driver Rating 76.8
Was 2010 really that bad for Dale Earnhardt Jr? Absolutely it was. In fact the 88 team was selected the worst team in 2009 by Onpitrow.com. The main story line of Juniors 2009 season was that he ran good before he had problems. Many times Earnhardt Jr had a good day going until he blew up his engine, had pit problems, lost the handle of his car late, wrecked etc., etc., etc.
Earnhardt Jr’s 2009 season was a disaster, but to me that doesn’t necessarily mean that 2010 will be bad. Many times people become “prisoners of the moment” and limit their view on situations. Did you know that Earnhardt Jr has made the Chase every other year since its inception in 2004. According to this theory of every other you can book it that he’ll be in the 2010 Chase.
Strengths- When you analyze what happened last year there really isn’t any great strength to talk about. Traditionally Earnhardt Jr’s best tracks have been short tracks, flat tracks (shorter ones), and some intermediate tracks where Jr can properly utilize the highline. He hasn’t been to bad on restrictor plate tracks either but his success has been rather limited when you compare it to 5 years ago.
Weaknesses- Perhaps his greatest weakness is that he never finishes races strong. This has been the case going all the way back to his #8 Budweiser days.
Intermediate Track Grade- B, You honestly don’t know how good he was on these tracks if you just look at the finish result. The 88 team really came to life at these tracks at the August Michigan race when they finished third. At Atlanta (September) he ran good all day but then the 88 team fell apart at the end of that race. His running position mid race was 5th and his average position was 12.5. His end result that day was 17th. The next (typical) intermediate track was Kansas where he ran extraordinarily well leading laps until a pit road penalty ruined his day. Junior ran good the very next week at California until a late wreck took him out. Jr also had a success at Texas until he had fuel issues at the end of the day. I guess you get the picture now of how things went on these tracks for him in 2009. I expect him to find more consistency in 2010 and start to reel in the good finishes at these tracks. Expect his best runs on these tracks to come at Texas or Atlanta.
Flat Track Grade- B, What I said about Earnhardt Jr at the intermediate tracks also applies to these tracks. He had good runs going for him at New Hampshire, Indy, and Pocono until his day went south for him. His best runs on these tracks will undoubtedly come at New Hampshire and Phoenix.
Restrictor Plate Track Grade- B+, These tracks used to be “give me” tracks for him, but lately in points races it’s been anything but that. His best run of 2009 came in the first Talladega race. He was competitive in the Daytona 500 but pit road mistakes took him out of contention.
Short Track Grade- A-, Earnhardt Jr’s best days are more than likely to come on short tracks. He’s capable of winning on all 3 of them.
Road Course Track Grade- C, The only time Earnhardt’s has had any success on these tracks is years when he’s a championship contender. That’s about it. I would highly recommend not picking him at these track no matter what.
How to use Dale Earnhardt Jr. from a fantasy racing perspective in 2010?
Earnhardt Jr will be fine next year. Don’t let “prisoners of the moment” tell you otherwise. He has the talent, resources, and the team behind him in 2010 and all that he really needs a little bit of racing luck. Use Earnhardt Jr like you would in years past. Really focus on using him at short tracks and select flat tracks. I personally think he’s a tad overrated at restrictor plate tracks but by all means use him there if you want to.
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