Earnhardt: Don't look for changes in radio chatter

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants there to be no mistaking how badly he wants to win the Sprint Cup championship, and Friday at Dover International Speedway he insisted that anyone who monitors his radio communications with his team will understand his passion.

He didn't apologize for the emotion he displayed last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on his way to fifth place, and said not to expect any changes in the future -- despite a lot being made about car owner Rick Hendrick coming on his radio frequency during last week's Sylvania 300, ostensibly to calm him down.

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It's real easy to get frustrated when you're not realizing the potential every weekend, because I feel like we're a great team that should be in the thick of this. I don't want to be sitting there five races in, 150 points out, going, 'What the hell did we do wrong?'
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DALE EARNHARDT JR."I would love to be calmer under those types of situations, I would," Earnhardt said before qualifying 10th for Sunday's Camping World RV 400. "And I was [calmer], when I first started, I was. And then I got called lackadaisical. I got compared to my father and his determination. I got questioned about if I quit partying so much and focused and this, that and the other -- so now I'm on the chip and want it more than anybody else and I am getting hell for getting too excited.

"Regardless of how I act, somebody is going to criticize me one way or another and find an angle. I don't really want to change because I don't want to lose my enthusiasm and I don't want it to matter less -- I want it to matter as much as it matters to me. If that means it is going to get me excited when things don't go right, I just need to be better at controlling that, you know?"

But don't expect Earnhardt to seek professional help, such as from the sports psychologists some of his competitors have sought.

"No I haven't [seen a sports psychologist]," Earnhardt said. "But I could probably teach him a thing or two."

Virtually all of Earnhardt's success has come with his cousin, crew chief Tony Eury Jr. Earnhardt said that relationship and the cousins' affinity for each other leads to some of their broadcast emotion.

"Me and Tony Jr. have worked together for a long, long time," Earnhardt said. "I think Rick likes being in the middle of it because it's fun. I don't know of any driver on the racetrack that doesn't get hot under the collar. I don't do it every race. But I have had some real good ones you all missed apparently -- last week wasn't my best. I've had some pretty good ones.
"The Chase is real important to me. My determination has never been higher. Those things are hard to harness, you know, when you're trying to accomplish what you want to accomplish. You're leading the race all day and things go away and the car changes and there is no answer. That is all you want is an answer. So it's real easy to get frustrated when you're not realizing the potential every weekend, because I feel like we're a great team that should be in the thick of this. I don't want to be sitting there five races in, 150 points out, going, 'What the hell did we do wrong?'

Still, Earnhardt said his emotion in the car is part of who he is, and his relationship with Eury makes it easier to communicate -- something others may not understand.

"I guess I can understand how my comments are offensive and definitely over the top at times," he said. "As you get older you try to do better at that because that is just how you are supposed to act. It's hard in the car. It's hard to remember. I look at those guys and I think they are great friends of mine, but they don't know me well enough, maybe, to talk to them like that."

That was what led Hendrick to get more involved with his newest driver last weekend. With five days to digest that, Earnhardt said he welcomed his owner's involvement, anytime, anywhere.

"I think it's great," Earnhardt said. "I welcome and want Rick's input on exactly what he thinks about exactly what I'm doing every minute of the day that I'm on the job -- and even some of the things I chose to do in my personal life. I want his opinion on it, because I trust him that much. I believe what he says. I wouldn't argue with him. I just told him it would be hard to talk me off the ledge. I know he's talked a few drivers off of it before, but it's hard to get me calmed down, because I want them to get excited. I want to hear the same frustration from them. I want to know -- I'm sitting in the car, I want to know they are as diligent about it as I am as far as finding what happened.

"It makes you more angry and more angry when you hear '10-4' or 'things are going to be better.' I don't want those stock answers; I want to know exactly what's going on. Tell me exactly what you're looking for and what you think it might be. Make up something, lie to me, I don't care. That is what's going to make me feel better."

Earnhardt said the one thing he'd have a hard time doing is taking Hendrick's advice to "tone it down a little."

"I don't know," Earnhardt said. "I mean, it's just hard to take it down a little. I'm serious. I grew up in this sport and I've been raised around this and it's all I can do and it's all that matters to me. I'm very serious about it. When I'm hot on the radio, I'm challenging everybody else to get to that level and get that serious and make it mean that much to you.

"I take it pretty seriously. I understand what Rick's saying and I believe he's right, that I do need to chose my words wisely and take it easy -- only probably because of the exposure it gets, not so much because of how it affects me and Tony Jr.

"I can't do any better at communicating. I only know the car as good as I know it. I'm only going to be able to tell them and explain it to them the best way I can. I feel like I do that. I don't think when I get [upset] I communicate worse, I think it is harder for them. I think at that point, Tony Jr. isn't listening to what I'm saying and thinking how to fix the car -- he's hearing me raise hell, and wanting to raise hell back, you know?

Moving forward, Earnhardt said anyone could scan his radio communications, but at their own risk.

"I don't mind if ya'll listen, but keep your opinions to yourself -- all right?" Earnhardt said. "Because I'm doing business out there and I'm doing my job and that is how I do it. Ya'll can listen all you want, but if you hear something that upsets you, don't come crying to me or whoever said it on my radio. That's the way I feel about it. I don't want to restrict the fans' access, I like the access. If I am a fan, that is what I would want.

"Ya'll can tell, you can sit on the Internet all week and talk about [what] you want. I don't like answering questions about it and I'm not going work too damn hard about changing it because I kind of like how it is -- it keeps me motivated and enthused during the race, it keeps me from getting relaxed and monotone during the race. I don't want that to happen."