The Real World: NASCAR style
Oh, Jeff. Oh, Junior. Tsk, tsk.
So it turns out Jeff Gordon really was ticked at Dale Earnhardt Jr. for not helping him during last weekend's race at Talladega. And Junior, not wanting to upset the applecart, has apologized, and now all is good.
"Yeah, we're good," Junior said Friday. "We sat down and I said, 'Look man, I got nothing but respect for you. I'm the first guy here ready to cooperate. I'm the last guy wanting to make any problems or cause any issues.' "
This is good and all, but it's not much fun. It's kind of like an episode of "The Real World" - yeah, I still watch it for the train wrecks - where the angry guy makes a bad blonde joke and the blonde gets pissed and wants to beat him up, but instead explains to the angry guy how the words made her feel, and then they hug and say they love each other (even though they met yesterday) and the angry guy goes into the confessional to explain how his mom was never around when he was young so he didn't know any better and that now he'll be a better person in the future.
So what exactly did Junior do?
Well, he tried to win the race.
Can you imagine?
With only a handful of laps to go in last Sunday's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, where winning always - always - is determined by having a good drafting partner, Junior sat right behind Jeff. The two were going along pretty good when David Ragan got in their way, slowing them up.
Instead of sitting behind Ragan, waiting, Junior changed lanes.
Ohhh, but Jeff didn't. And when he saw Junior pass right by him on his left side, Gordon was livid, screaming over his radio that now he knows what Junior is all about.
Now, here's the thing: I get having a teammate and get how working together is the better recipe for success. Earlier in the race, Earnhardt Jr. did everything he could to allow Gordon to lead a lap for that all important five-point bonus. So Junior's not a bad teammate.
But at some point in the race, protocol gets thrown out the window, especially if you think your teammate is wrong.
Junior was going for the win. That's it. Yeah, it would have been great to have helped Gordon, too, but not to his own detriment.
You don't choose A when you know the answer is C just because your best buddy picked C and you don't want to make him feel bad.
Gordon chose the wrong answer. Ragan was 10 mph slower than everyone else. Earnhardt Jr. recognized it, made a split-second decision and changed lanes. He didn't know Gordon wouldn't do the same.
"From where I was at, I felt like I was making the wiser choice between the two of us," Junior explained. "After I moved in I couldn't lift and let Jeff try to get the spot. We were running too fast and guys were coming."
Gordon offered this explanation: "I wanted to be third, fourth, in the top five. I didn't really want to be up front. I was trying to position myself for the end, and he was trying to position himself. I mean, that is the bottom line. Where we disagreed is that he wanted to be in a different position than I wanted to be in. And that happens sometimes. It does. That is his thing. I am more clear about that going forward and I think he is as well. "
We are, too. Thanks for the confessional.
