Dale Jr. OK with staying Dale Jr.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. stepped off an airplane Wednesday night, walked to a car and was whisked downtown to the Westin Hotel, where he met with four reporters.
En route to the second floor, Earnhardt Jr. passed Jeff Gordon, nicely dressed in a sports jacket and holding a glass of wine as he met with members of his foundation. Earnhardt Jr. might not have been able to get in. He wore a brown T-shirt, brown cap and jeans.
Earnhardt Jr. is second in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. He trails leader Kurt Busch by 29 points after being docked 25 points and fined $10,000 for saying a bad word Oct. 3 in a celebratory postrace interview.
Speaking of 25, Earnhardt Jr. talked for about 25 minutes Wednesday. As always, there was no pretense about him. The race world, sponsors, promoters and fans will tell you how big a deal he is. Earnhardt Jr., who turned 30 Sunday, either doesn't know or, more likely, doesn't care.
The questions that have nothing to do with racing are mine.
TOM SORENSEN: "Are you going to watch the Bush-Kerry debate?"
DALE EARNHARDT JR.: "What time's it start?"
TS: "Nine."
DEJr: "I might get home in time to see the end of it." (He had another engagement after the interview.) "I watched the majority of the first one. I like to see those guys face off. It's really cool to see them in the same room together and really having to face the issues man to man. That's what everybody really wants to see. I think they should have them more often."
TS: "Who are you going to vote for?"
DEJr: "George Bush."
TS: "What's wrong with the Carolina Panthers?"
DEJr: "I probably could answer what's wrong with the Redskins better than that. I'm a real big Redskins fan. I've been a Redskins fan since 1982 and I'm just not the kind of guy who can jump ship. But I did pull for the Panthers last year. I was really proud of the season they had, and when they're not playing the Redskins I'm pulling for them.
"I met Jake (Delhomme) for the first time a couple months ago, and I was just real impressed with his attitude and personality. He's really a likeable guy, and it kind of made me a bigger fan of his, me knowing him."
TS: Not me, actually. Racing questions also are being asked, and in response to a question from NASCAR Scene, Earnhardt Jr. says the penalty for using the bad word, "s---," during the post-race interview at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway has made his team stronger.
DEJr: "It's fired us up to be a little more gritty. Sometimes you think you're performing at the highest level you can perform and something kicks you up another notch and it's a notch we didn't know was there."
TS: "That's gritty with a `g,' right?"
DEJr: Kind of laughing: "Yeah."
TS: "Have you used a bad word since Talladega?"
DEJr: "Not in public. I wouldn't ask anybody to change who they are, and I don't claim to not say those types of words in the privacy of friendly conversation. And at 30 years old, it's probably not the easiest thing in the world to try to change your whole vocabulary around, and I'm not going to try.
"Like I said, I totally agree that it's offensive and it's offensive to many people and I apologize for that. And obviously I'll take better steps not to offend anybody again."
TS: "Do you know anybody in NASCAR that will vote for John Kerry?"
DEJr: "Hmmm. Jade (Gurss, publicist for Budweiser Racing). I spend a lot of time with Jade, so (his support for Kerry) is kind of a surprise." Earnhardt Jr. pauses. "Knowing him, it really isn't.
"Kerry is a likeable guy. I like Kerry a lot. He's really positive and I thought he kind of got a bad rap for not having enough of a personality or being colorful enough early in his campaign, and I like who he picked for his running mate.
"But I'm a Republican, and just like the Redskins, I can't jump ship."
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