The first comment from Earnhardt on the situation was that McFarland’s mentality and attitude didn’t match up with what they, as a race team, were looking for. McFarland, apparently, was too laid back for Earnhardt’s tastes. That’s fine, but it doesn’t seem that attitude should be any kind of benchmark for a driver. In the past three years, Nextel Cup has had two champions with an attitude (Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch) and one that seems as laid back as they come (Matt Kenseth).

Results are a different story. Earnhardt’s team was well down in the standings, and if results were solely the reason, perhaps it’s a bit more understandable. (The expectations of that team are a different story, and one we’ve already covered.)

Being a stark-raving lunatic as a driver, of course, has its advantages. While Earnhardt didn’t exactly say that about soon-to-be driver Shane Huffman, he did say Huffman has an edgier attitude than McFarland. On the other hand, a sense of calm could be a benefit too.

Will Earnhardt jump the gun as quickly if Huffman proves to be a loose cannon, on and off the track?

Earnhardt added that he tried to get McFarland to reveal more of his personality to the media. Somehow, I’m guessing that if McFarland ever drove into Victory Lane, we’d see plenty of that which Earnhardt would like to see.

That comment, of course, brings a sense of marketability to the question. I’ve written about Tony Stewart and Casey Mears and others when they’ve been jerks; and maybe there really is no such thing as bad publicity. But I don’t buy for one second the notion that a first-class jerk is a prerequisite to being a first-class driver.

But it’s Earnhardt’s team and ultimately, he can do what he wants. But he’s also been around enough to know that in the wake of a driver change, it’s the owner that has to stand up and explain why everything went down like it did and tell his fans why their driver needed to go.

To his credit, Earnhardt did stand up and explain that. But his comments were hardly enough to fully button up the issue.