 |
| "Sorry about that, dude." |
Dale
Earnhardt, Jr. said today that he has apologized to crew chief Steve Letarte
for publically questioning Letarte’s late-race strategy calls at Martinsville
Speedway.
“I know
I was a pain in the ass,” admitted Earnhardt to reporters today, saying he overreacted
to Letarte’s decision to forego a pit stop in the final laps of Sunday’s TUMS
Fast Relief 500. Earnhardt and then point-leader Brad Keselowski were the only
contending drivers who remained on-track during the final caution, and both
faded badly on worn tires during the final green-flag run.
He
finished 21st after a tangle with Carl Edwards, and after the race, criticized
Letarte for what he called “poor choices. We didn't have a really good car,”
said Earnhardt. “(We) fought some issues all day long and made poor choices at
the end that got us run over.”
Today, the
Hendrick Motorsports driver backed off his previous comments.
“We talked about it just a little bit,” he
said. “When we made the decision to stay out, I was positive coming to that restart.
I was positive about what we were doing. When (Steve) made the decision for us
to not pit, I didn't immediately throw my hands up in the air. I was like
‘alright, you know I'm going to go as hard as I can go here.' I was starting up
front and I really didn't think we were going to be as bad as we were after
that restart.
"Then
we had the restart and the car was real tight, real slow and just in the way.
People were all over me trying to get by me. I know I was a pain in the ass and
I was just getting more and more frustrated.
"I
lost control of my emotions a little bit, in how I expressed my opinion after
the race to him, to you (and) to everybody," he said. "Looking back
now, I really wasn't that mad about it. I was being a bit of a backseat driver
or armchair quarterback.
He also
said Letarte “had done a great job -- been real supportive of me (at
Martinsville). I need to realize he is trying to help me. He's not trying to
throw me to the wolves. He is trying to help me win races.”
Is Junior being honest here? He says something, then backtracks. Why can people not be truthful to everyone else?
ReplyDeleteAs an 88 fan who was watching on Hot Pass I really got p.o.'d at Juniors attitude. He whined, then decided to make his point by sliding backward until he got in an incident. Compare Kez' finish to his. Come on Junior; stand on it and turn left.
ReplyDeleteDon't be a silly monkee - Davy Jones never said something in the heat of the moment, then had a week to think back on what he said, and decided to make note that he was out of line?
ReplyDeleteSounds like human behavior to me.
Did Jr & his spotter apologize to Sam Hornish for calling him a "1 bar" and blaming the spin on him when it was really Newman's fault??
ReplyDelete