For Dale Jr. and his fans, the Hendrick move is about winning
For Dale Jr. and his fans, the move is all about winning

By Jenni Carlson

Published: February 17, 2008

Eyes locked on his computer monitor, Rick Olson searched for the necessary data.

"Checkered flag,” he said. "He won.”

He slapped the desk.

"Yes!”

Olson's salesman duties at City Chevrolet get a red flag whenever Dale Earnhardt Jr. is racing. During the Gatorade Duels earlier this week, he monitored the live Internet race tracker on his office computer, then celebrated Junior's victory.

"Right now, I feel real good about Junior,” he said. "He's winning. He's running up top. I think he'll have a good season.”

Olson will be cheering him every step of the way.

Following him, though, was a decision Olson and every other Junior fan had to make before the season, which kicks off today with the Daytona 500. That's because the most popular driver in NASCAR switched teams, sponsors and car numbers after last season.

He left Dale Earnhardt Inc. for Hendrick Motorsports, Budweiser for Mountain Dew AMP and No. 8 for No. 88.

An informal survey by The Oklahoman determined that vast majority of Junior fans are sticking with him, even if it means buying new apparel and cheering for a team that includes rivals Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. On the flip side, a small percentage of folks say they just won't be cheering for Junior any more.

"I can see how a Junior fan ... could be conflicted,” said Bob Thompson, a professor of popular culture at Syracuse who has studied fan behavior for years. "There's a lot going on here.”

Not enough, though, to drive away all of his fans.

Thompson said, "I don't think this is a fan base that is going to completely bail on Junior because he adds an eight and goes to a new team.”

David Keeton became a Junior fan the same day he became a NASCAR fan.

For years, his father told him how great the sport was. Keeton, an Edmond resident, couldn't understand why.

"Cars going in circles,” he would say. "What's the big deal?”

Then in 2000, a buddy convinced Keeton to go with him a race at Texas Motor Speedway. Keeton decided to cheer for the car that he deemed the coolest, Earnhardt's Budweiser red No. 8. Four hours later, Junior won the race — his first career victory — and Keeton was hooked.

He started collecting Junior memorabilia, particularly diecast cars, and converted a room at his house into his NASCAR room.

So when Junior announced last fall that he would be changing teams, Keeton panicked.

"What am I going to do with my room?” he thought. "I've gotta start all over.”

That branding transformation is one of the issues with which fans must wrestle. Thompson, the pop culture professor, believes there are several others.

•Recent struggles: Junior hasn't won a points race since 2006, enduring a rash of blown engines a year ago.

•New teammates: Junior's move to Hendrick has linked him with his chief competitors, Gordon and Johnson. Gordon is a sworn enemy of Junior fans, and Johnson has won back-to-back NASCAR titles.

•Family loyalties: Many Junior fans started out as fans of his father. When Dale Sr. died in a crash at Daytona, they transferred their loyalties to his son.

"For a lot of NASCAR fans, Dale Earnhardt is a sacred name,” Thompson said. "There's a sense of loyalty.”

But now, Junior has left the team that his father started, placed his name on and intended for his son to eventually control.

"This isn't just a switch from one team to another,” Thompson said.

Junior's new team is the reason Rick Markel has taken his loyalties elsewhere. The Moore resident started rooting for Dale Sr. in the early '80s because he drove a Ford but became a diehard because of his take-no-prisoners style.

"It got to the point where it didn't matter if he was driving a Volkswagen,” Markel said, "Dale was my guy.”

Cheering for his son seemed a natural. Like Keeton, Markel started collecting Junior apparel and memorabilia.

Now, all of it is boxed up in the garage because of Junior's new team.

"I felt like Dale Jr. went over to the dark side,” Markel said.

His disdain for Hendrick stems partially from its association with Gordon. Markel grew weary of the praise heaped on Gordon when he first arrived on the NASCAR circuit. He turned against Gordon and, by association, Hendrick.

Markel also took issue with team owner Rick Hendrick's past legal problems. Back in 1996, a federal grand jury indicted Hendrick on conspiracy, fraud and money-laundering charges after he allegedly made payoffs worth thousands of dollars to Honda executives. A year later, he pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and was sentenced to a year of house arrest.

"Anybody but Hendrick's and it would've been no problem,” Markel said of sticking with Junior, "but I cannot root for anybody driving for Hendrick's just because of the man's apparent lack of ethics.”

One afternoon late last season, Markel was shopping at Wal-Mart. A Gordon fan noticed his Junior shirt.

"We're gonna be teammates next year,” the Gordon fan said.

Markel shook his head.

"No, the Junior stuff is only this year. I cannot root for a man when he's driving for Hendrick.”

Markel is now a Tony Stewart fan.

For Junior, the move from Budweiser to Mountain Dew AMP, from red to green, from No. 8 to No. 88 has been made.

For his fans, the change is ongoing.

Keeton received his first bit of No. 88 gear — a hat — at Christmas, but he only just received his first diecast cars with Junior's new sponsors. He isn't sure, though, what to do with all of his No. 8 memorabilia.

"Part of me still thinks Budweiser may come back in the picture,” Keeton said of the sponsor who signed a two-year deal with Kasey Kahne.

Still ...

"I'll have an 88 room.”

Ditto for Olson. He already flies a No. 88 flag in front of his house. He's also cleared space for a No. 88 car Fathead in his Junior room and changed his car tags. His reads HMSJR88, for Hendrick Motorsports and Junior's new number, and his wife's reads DALE88.

He switched the tags the day Junior announced he was headed to Hendrick.

"At first when he was leaving DEI, I thought it was kind of sad,” Olson said. "He wanted to stay there because the father founded that company for him. But he had to do what's best for him.”

Olson believes Junior did just that.

"He's got a very good chance of winning the championship this year. He's serious. He's focused. He wants to win.”

Olson wants the same.

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