While a testing session is typically used to do more than strive for the fastest speed on the track…every single fan of the main man will be glued to the internet, TV, radio…any means they can find to see the speeds the minute they are posted. Why? Jr’s fans are sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that this move from Dale Earnhardt, Inc. to Hendrick Motorsports is the ticket that Jr. has been destined to hold. They are sure that once he is behind the wheel of a HMS car, he will emerge from the stifled cocoon he’s been in and show the stuff he’s really made of.

Will it happen? I’ve no idea, nor does anyone else, they just think they do. I do know that the pressure of what the fans expect, what Jr. expects of himself and what the naysayers are mumbling can be the one thing that Jr. will let eat at him and eat at him…unless he quits trying to please them all and just concentrates on being successful for himself and no one else. I’m pretty sure this past season has opened his eyes to that fact. Sometimes you have to just make yourself happy, something that can be very difficult for those that tend to be people pleasers, a group that I’m pretty sure Jr. is a member of. And no, I’m not saying that’s a bad trait, I happen to know a few of those folks myself.

So Jr’s going to climb in his new car, and his team is going to tweak what little they can tweak on the new car and then turn him loose on the track. Every testing run will give them more and more information that they’ll need to get Jr. and the car tuned in for the first real test…the Daytona 500. Sure, he’s been in the car before, and the uniform, but this is the beginning of the new season…this is it.

Will he come out of the bull pen and break a track record with a phenomenal speed? Who’s to know? I do know that whether you are a casual observer or a diehard fan of Dale, Jr…patience is a must. Believe you me; he’ll be hanging on to enough self made expectations for the whole bunch of you.

I must admit, I will, like several million of you be anxiously watching to see those speeds get posted…but not because I want him to impress the world of racing…I’d just like to see him climb out of that car with one of those genuine smiles that reveals what’s happening in his heart…a smile that I’m betting we’re going to see a lot more of this year.

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