Though admittedly not a morning person, Earnhardt couldn't wait to get up each day to read the latest installments regarding his controversial victory at Talladega.
The heated debate provided welcome comic relief, not to mention solace that he'd stepped up his game.
"We kept a close watch on all the traffic on the Internet and gathering up the gist of the press' opinion, the public opinion," said Earnhardt, Jr., who qualified second for Sunday's Virginia 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
"It's been pretty interesting. It's been a lot of fun to be at one of the key figures involved in such an explosion, if you will.
"There were a lot of polls and whatnot, places you could vote. It was fun and amusing at the same time. You sit there and smile in the face of jealousy and envy and move on.
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"There were some people that wrote columns that defended what we accomplished, yet their argument was with NASCAR and not necessarily with me, or an individual. Those were interesting.
"A thought-out, well-written column would have covered all the bases. Some were just lavishly one extreme or the other and you can't really credit them on either account. It was cool. I knew Monday morning it was going to be an interesting week. It was fun. I had a good time each day getting a new article."
Rarely has he had so much fun in competition. Junior said that whether or not he was penalized, he was as proud of the effort he and his team put forth at Talladega as any in the team's history. The notion that he received preferential treatment produced the Earnhardt smirk.
"I don't feel that I get treated any differently," Earnhardt said. "It's humorous to me to hear that somebody thinks NASCAR would show favoritism, because if you were in my shoes you would see the other end of that. They don't.
"They are under so much pressure, because they want to show an equal playing field, and if they feel like we're bending those rules they're going to dig under every rock they can find to see what we got.
"So we're probably having to clean out our closet a little more thorough than the rest of the field when it comes to going through the tech line.
"So it's good to come to Martinsville and put up good numbers and qualify well. I haven't really seen in the past 20 years that I've been around the sport that I felt like NASCAR made a call that was for one guy over another. It's always seemed almost disgustingly fair at some times. Kind of like a parent would be, in a way.
"I've seen my old man get throw out of races when I just thought it was so ridiculous I just couldn't believe it. And I know the drivers and crew chiefs weren't making those calls."
Following the Talladega victory, Junior jumped to second in the championship point standings, 129 points behind leader Matt Kenseth.
"I'm not really surprised where the team is, I'm just surprised where I'm at in the points," he said.
So are the critics. Just six weeks ago, Junior ranked 38th in the standings. But four top-five finishes in the past six races prove his new points-first attitude pays dividends.
"I'm real dedicated to trying to gain points this year and see what the turnout of that is," Junior said. "Last year or any other year we've just kind of raced one week after the other.
"And I think the falter there is that you don't prepare well enough for the duration - four or five weeks in a row and what that can do to your energy level and drive and determination. You open the door on each Thursday or Friday and the preparation's just not there.
"This year, myself personally and the rest of the team, sees there's a lot of drive and determination in us. I'm really enjoying the driving part.
"It's more enjoyable on my end and more enjoyable on all the crewmembers' ends to have the good finishes and have something good to come home to and talk to wives about and look forward to next Monday at work."
Work was certainly enjoyable Friday, as Junior placed the Budweiser Chevrolet in the top-five on the starting grid for the third time in the past four events at the Martinsville bullring. His best career finish came last fall, a fourth-place effort.
A win would garner lofty rank on his resume.
"It's a tough racetrack. It takes a lot from the driver and the crew," Earnhardt said. "You can understand how hard it must be to churn out good consistent stops all day.
"One bad stop on that pit road right there will cost you many more positions than any other racetrack. They're hard to make up here. It's very difficult to pass.
"It used to be so frustrating to watch here when I was younger and would watch with my father, because it's so competitive and so close, so winning a race here, I have a good understanding of what that would mean. It'd be a good accomplishment."
BULLSH!T
The heated debate provided welcome comic relief, not to mention solace that he'd stepped up his game.
"We kept a close watch on all the traffic on the Internet and gathering up the gist of the press' opinion, the public opinion," said Earnhardt, Jr., who qualified second for Sunday's Virginia 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
"It's been pretty interesting. It's been a lot of fun to be at one of the key figures involved in such an explosion, if you will.
"There were a lot of polls and whatnot, places you could vote. It was fun and amusing at the same time. You sit there and smile in the face of jealousy and envy and move on.
ADVERTISEMENT
"There were some people that wrote columns that defended what we accomplished, yet their argument was with NASCAR and not necessarily with me, or an individual. Those were interesting.
"A thought-out, well-written column would have covered all the bases. Some were just lavishly one extreme or the other and you can't really credit them on either account. It was cool. I knew Monday morning it was going to be an interesting week. It was fun. I had a good time each day getting a new article."
Rarely has he had so much fun in competition. Junior said that whether or not he was penalized, he was as proud of the effort he and his team put forth at Talladega as any in the team's history. The notion that he received preferential treatment produced the Earnhardt smirk.
"I don't feel that I get treated any differently," Earnhardt said. "It's humorous to me to hear that somebody thinks NASCAR would show favoritism, because if you were in my shoes you would see the other end of that. They don't.
"They are under so much pressure, because they want to show an equal playing field, and if they feel like we're bending those rules they're going to dig under every rock they can find to see what we got.
"So we're probably having to clean out our closet a little more thorough than the rest of the field when it comes to going through the tech line.
"So it's good to come to Martinsville and put up good numbers and qualify well. I haven't really seen in the past 20 years that I've been around the sport that I felt like NASCAR made a call that was for one guy over another. It's always seemed almost disgustingly fair at some times. Kind of like a parent would be, in a way.
"I've seen my old man get throw out of races when I just thought it was so ridiculous I just couldn't believe it. And I know the drivers and crew chiefs weren't making those calls."
Following the Talladega victory, Junior jumped to second in the championship point standings, 129 points behind leader Matt Kenseth.
"I'm not really surprised where the team is, I'm just surprised where I'm at in the points," he said.
So are the critics. Just six weeks ago, Junior ranked 38th in the standings. But four top-five finishes in the past six races prove his new points-first attitude pays dividends.
"I'm real dedicated to trying to gain points this year and see what the turnout of that is," Junior said. "Last year or any other year we've just kind of raced one week after the other.
"And I think the falter there is that you don't prepare well enough for the duration - four or five weeks in a row and what that can do to your energy level and drive and determination. You open the door on each Thursday or Friday and the preparation's just not there.
"This year, myself personally and the rest of the team, sees there's a lot of drive and determination in us. I'm really enjoying the driving part.
"It's more enjoyable on my end and more enjoyable on all the crewmembers' ends to have the good finishes and have something good to come home to and talk to wives about and look forward to next Monday at work."
Work was certainly enjoyable Friday, as Junior placed the Budweiser Chevrolet in the top-five on the starting grid for the third time in the past four events at the Martinsville bullring. His best career finish came last fall, a fourth-place effort.
A win would garner lofty rank on his resume.
"It's a tough racetrack. It takes a lot from the driver and the crew," Earnhardt said. "You can understand how hard it must be to churn out good consistent stops all day.
"One bad stop on that pit road right there will cost you many more positions than any other racetrack. They're hard to make up here. It's very difficult to pass.
"It used to be so frustrating to watch here when I was younger and would watch with my father, because it's so competitive and so close, so winning a race here, I have a good understanding of what that would mean. It'd be a good accomplishment."
BULLSH!T
