Darrell Waltrip on Dale Jr's Ride in The 5 Car: "It's Coopetition"

by 4ever3 on Apr 18, 2007 11:34 PM EDT Comment 5 comments

What is Coopetition? Let good ol' DW explain it for you,

"I've used that word a million times, but nobody seems to get it. You work with the competition for the betterment of everybody. NASCAR is built on coopetition. There are all kinds of rules that are written, but the unwritten rules, gentleman's agreements and handshake deals make our sport special." - source: Darrell Waltrip foxsports.com

No matter if you are a fan of DW or not, you have to admit he is right. 'Coopetition' is something some of these newer younger drivers are lacking and hopefully this little 9 lap piece of good-will by Dale JR will go a long way in helping those who are 'coopetition' deficient.

The Spotter, aka John Newsom wrote about Dale Jr's ride in the "They're Great!" car and provided links to other site providing their opinions of Dale's actions. Some thought he shouldn't have, others thought he wasn't looking out for the best interest of his sponsor, and others, like DW, tried to explain his actions by looking at the past.

But let's look at it differently. The only reason anyone is making a fuss about this is because it was Dale Jr getting into that car. If it were Kenny Wallace, JJ Yeley, Mike Bliss, Reed Soronsen, or David Ragan - all who were out of the race before Kyle - who got into that car we would not be having this discussion.

As I said at John's site, "people are making this a mountain out of a mole hill".

I for one applaud Dale Jr for doing what he did, he showed respect for his competitors and leadership beyond his years. He gets what 'coopetition' is, and others need to follow his example.

Photo Credit: Michael C. Johnson Motorsport.com

For some reason Blogger won't let me post any pictures today so just hit the link if you want to view what I intended to put up with my article.

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Comments

I'm glad you 'splained that. LOL Junior did the right thing. Shows he has class and WAS raised manners.

by Tiredawg on Apr 19, 2007 5:55 AM EDT reply actions

Coopetition? Thanks for bringing this to my attention. That is freaking hilarious. I can't stand DW, but I gotta give him credit on that one.

I guess coopetition is also what happens when you let your buddy (not on the same team) lead a lap to get points.

I think Junior did the right thing too - but it wasn't completely selfless. I'm sure he gained some knowledge being behind the wheel of the Hendrick car. At least for his sake I hope he got something out of it besides just being a nice guy.

by thedope on Apr 19, 2007 12:54 PM EDT reply actions