Earnhardt, Patrick Need To Change Directions

By ESPN

In sports it seems as though for something to transition from bad to good there needs to be a catalyst for change.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick are on a short list of high-profile names needing to change directions in terms of performance and it needs to happen soon.

From where I stand there's room for optimism.

Dale Jr. is plagued by tough luck, and a few pilot errors. He hasn't seemed to compete instinctively in many races beyond the season-opening Daytona 500.

Having missed the second half of 2016, Dale has shown the hangover effect of losing calibration to the car and the racetrack, with the three not being synchronized.

In spite of bouncing around in the first half of last weekend's race at Sonoma, the driver of the No. 88 soldiered on and demonstrated a mental toughness and resilience that rewarded him with his second-best finish of the season, sixth.

The timing couldn't be better as Junior now heads to the famed Florida track synonymous with his family name. Daytona International Speedway and Earnhardt seem connected for life because the father-son combination has dominated the famed 2.5 mile track over the last 30 years.

I expect Dale to finally benefit from the value of competing with some confidence and composure when he straps in Saturday night for the 400-mile event.

The difference between where he has been thus far in 2017 and where I believe he is going is the difference between racing stiff and racing relaxed. That's often the difference between failure and success.

At age 42, Earnhardt is in the late innings of his career -- but he can still knock the ball out of the park.

I'm not convinced he will win Saturday night, but I absolutely believe he will contend, and in many people's eyes he will be considered a favorite. To some degree his chances of rolling into Victory Lane depend heavily on him being one of those people, and that's something I don't think has existed many times leading into a race weekend in 2017.

Danica's story is a bit different.

The progress seen early in her career has stalled for quite some time.

Sprinkled in were several major impacts -- most not of her own doing -- but a byproduct of running in 25th position. That's a compromising and dangerous place to compete on a weekly basis.

Reflecting on the last month, it appears as though Danica toughened up after being swept into a wreck with Joey Logano and Aric Almirola at Kansas.

Danica's post-wreck interview illustrated the level of her frustration and perhaps despair regarding how unfair the sport of NASCAR can be to a competitor. Regardless of how well you run during an event the business only focuses on your finishing position.

To that end, it's been a weak time for the only female in NASCAR's premier series.

What I see from Danica that encourages me is the first sign of consistency, some lead lap finishes and an ability to push the car to the limit while improving its balance during practice and the race.

That seems an obvious, straight-forward and expected approach for any NASCAR competitor.

Well it's much easier said than done.

Remember this, when things are not going well for a driver, everything inside the cockpit accelerates, you feel as though you are behind on everything. Consequently, you do not trust your car because it often surprises you.

When things are going really well for a driver, the opposite occurs. The car seldom surprises you, you feel as though you are ahead of everything in terms of inputs, steering, braking, turn in points, etc.

And your confidence in the car is enormous.

In layman's terms, you are driving the car rather than the car driving you!

Danica Patrick has been driving the car and doing a decent job of it in recent weeks.

So for Dale and Danica, this week's Daytona race could continue to be the catalyst for change. It's very difficult for teams and drivers to begin the season poorly and then correct it during the summer months when the tracks are the slickest, the hottest, the most uncomfortable.

These two have done exactly that, and it's why I'm so encouraged.