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As Dale Earnhardt Jr. fades from DEI's view, he's already been plotting out next season with new boss, Rick Hendrick.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was channel-surfing one day earlier this month when he came across a show that riveted his attention. Up on the screen Little E saw himself on an elevated stage at JR Motorsports, located outside of Charlotte. The clip was from last May, and it captured Earnhardt, frame by frame, announcing that he was leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc., the race team that his father founded.
All the anxiety, the nervousness and the sense of uncertainty that Junior felt that spring day came rushing back him as he gazed at the television. "I had something prepared to read, but I was so nervous that I could hardly even see the words on the paper," Earnhardt told me last week as we chatted in his motor coach that was parked in the infield at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. "I usually don't get nervous, but that day, man, I was as nervous as I've ever been. It was just awful, really awful."
Minutes later, the show that Earnhardt was watching showed clips of another of his press conferences, this one from the day he informed the motor sports masses that he would be joining Hendrick Motorsports next season. The difference in Earnhardt's demeanor was striking. "Night and day," Earnhardt told me. "It was like I was a new person. I can't wait for next season."
To prepare for 2008, Earnhardt has been talking with Rick Hendrick every other week. The two are still trying to figure out what number will be plastered on Earnhardt's car next season -- the guess here is that it'll be No. 81 -- and they're also working on the transition that Little E will have to make in the offseason. Earnhardt will be housed under the same roof at Hendrick as Casey Mears and his team, and Earnhardt has recently gone out of his way to spend time with Mears, trying to develop a rapport and chemistry.
This should turn out to be a good fit for Little E. His crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., is going to move with him to Hendrick, and Mears' crew chief next season will be Alan Gustafson, who is currently the crew chief for Kyle Busch. Eury Jr. and Gustafson are two of the most respected guys in the garage and both are humble, diligent, easy going and quick to laugh. In other words, they shouldn't have any problem sharing information, which is really the foundation of all the success at Hendrick Motorsports.
As for this season, Earnhardt won't make the Chase -- unless, that is, he's the beneficiary of a mountain of luck on Saturday night at Richmond. He currently trails Kevin Harvick by 128 points for the 12th and final spot in the standings that advances to the Chase. This means that even if Little E wins the race and leads the most laps, all Harvick has to do is finish 31st or better and Harvick will qualify for NASCAR's playoff while Earnhardt will miss making the cut for the second time in three years. And considering that Harvick won this race last year, well, it doesn't look good for Earnhardt.
But next season will be a different story for Little E. If he doesn't seriously contend for the championship, it would be a surprise -- a big one.
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