The Kennebec Journal

SIDELINES

Earnhardt deserved a shot

By Bill Stewart bstewart@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

Jeffrey Earnhardt came to Oxford Plains Speedway with high hopes and plenty of hype.

Neither, it turned out, helped him qualify for the annual TD Bank 250 on Sunday.

Earnhardt, the grandson of seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt, struggled at best and flopped miserably at worst while trying to qualify for the most prestigious auto race in Maine.

He raced a car owned by Archie St. Hilaire, but never really got going Sunday during qualifying heat races. Each time the No. 8NC car went out it didn't take long for him to slide out of sight.

He started a heat race third but finished well in the back. In a consolation race, Jeffrey started in the back and never recovered.

He didn't, however, slide out of mind, which is exactly why the decision to not give the young Earnhardt a provisional into the race was puzzling then and even more so now.

When asked about the track's decision to send Earnhardt home -- the 21-year-old arrived in Maine on Sunday after competing in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in Illinois the day before -- OPS President Bill Ryan Jr. said the driver simply didn't do enough to impress.

"It was just at my discretion," he said. "You can read into what you want. I didn't have any intention of giving him a provisional at all. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but there were 79 other nice guys out there."

True, but none of the other 79 drivers out there have a last name -- Earnhardt -- that is more recognizable than perhaps any other in the sport.

It's irrelevant that Earnhardt has accomplished little in his young career. It's also irrelevant that Earnhardt entered the race on his own accord and not through any urging from Ryan or other OPS officials.

Simply put, he's an Earnhardt, and spectators deserved to see him fail or succeed in the 250 race.

Spectators deserved to see him race the feature because while no one remembers who finished outside the top three, they'd would if it were an Earnhardt.

Furthermore, OPS trumpeted the entry of Earnhardt on its website in the week leading up to the big race.

They sold him to the fans, then sold him out.

It's true that Earnhardt showed little, if anything, during the late morning-early afternoon hours Sunday. And it's also true, as Ryan pointed out moments after the race ended, that Earnhardt is not a Sprint Cup driver or a former Oxford 250 champion

Ryan also said that Earnhardt was given no guarantee that he would receive a provisional.

The problem, however, is that you can't have it both ways.

If you are going to use a driver to promote a race, then said driver should get the opportunity to run all day, from opening qualifying to the 250 itself.

His appearance helped scratch the proverbial back of OPS. When Earnhardt struggled, OPS should have returned the favor.

Earnhardt, who was visibly disappointed in the decision, said after learning his day was over, "It sucks. I was hoping they'd give it to us to give something to the fans. It just sucks."

Indeed, countless fans outside the track were seen throughout the day wearing Earnhardt T-shirts and Earnhardt hats and even Earnhardt sunglasses.

Maybe Jeffrey Earnhardt had nothing to do with it. The guess here is that it did.

Bill Stewart -- 623-3811, ext. 515

bstewart@centralmaine.com