Mammoth Blog

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The first episode of ESPN's five-part series "Shifting Gears," a documentary on Dale Earnhardt Jr., debuted Thursday.

The behind-the-scenes look at Earnhardt last season could have easily been named "As The Wheel Turns."

And like any good soap opera, the Earnhardt story line has had peaks and valleys since May, when NASCAR's biggest name announced he would likely leave Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team his late father started.

With all the press conferences, unveiling of sponsors and questions about how NASCAR's super team would survive with another star in its stable, the time has come for actual racing.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes his first official Sprint Cup race for Hendrick Motorsports Sunday in the Daytona 500. He'll try to get a good spot today when he runs in the first of two 150-mile qualifying races.

"This deal, it has some pressure," Earnhardt said. "This whole situation can be difficult for me and [team owner Rick Hendrick], for my teammates, for everybody that's close to it. It can get up beside you at times. We all comment once in a while to break the tension and to bring things back to ground zero and get things cooled down. There's times when I feel a whole lot of pressure, and I just get a word or two from Rick, and I know where everything is at and I'm cool."

Earnhardt, 33, who spent his first nine seasons with Dale Earnhardt Inc., is teammates with four-time Cup series champion Jeff Gordon and two-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson. Earnhardt and the Hendrick team is all the buzz. It's all about Earnhardt in Daytona.

When former series champions Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch had a confrontation Friday during practice, Earnhardt saw it as a reprieve because there was someone else under the microscope.

"[That] took us off the front page," Earnhardt said. "I felt such a relief after that happened. I wasn't happy for those guys to be in that situation, but I felt like a load had been lifted off my shoulders when I saw them walking to the NASCAR hauler."

Still, it's hard to imagine an extended escape from pressure for Earnhardt, especially when the NASCAR chairman says Earnhardt's success directly correlates with NASCAR's success.

"Well, he's the marquee driver that we have, no different than a marquee franchise that other sports enjoy," Brian France said last month. "So when historically important teams like the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA do well, conversely the NBA does better. We're no different than that. If Dale Jr. has a big year, that will help. He's got the biggest fan base. It will energize that fan base, no question. I don't think anybody wants to have success any more than he does. If he does, it will benefit us."

While Earnhardt knows that, he also feels no driver is bigger than the sport.

"The sport doesn't ride on my shoulders," Earnhardt said. "If we weren't here tomorrow, there's guys in this sport that would carry the sport to wherever it goes and it would continue to do great things. I don't know why I got to be in this situation, but I thank the Lord for it every day, and I'm really lucky. I've won some great races. I grew up watching my Daddy win all them races and I didn't think I would ever be able to do it. So every one I win, I enjoy it like it's the last."

Gordon, who certainly knows about the weight of expectations, expects his new teammate to have little problem dealing with pressure.

"Isn't that why he's here?" Gordon said. "I thought that's why he came to Hendrick. I don't think he came to Hendrick to think, 'Oh boy, the pressure will be off me; I won't have anybody looking at me and having expectations on me anymore.' He's at one of the best organizations that's synonymous with championships. It just won back-to-back championships. And the pressure has never been higher on him, in my opinion. Everybody is waiting to see. He's in one of the best cars and with one of the best teams out there. Now he's really going to show what he's capable of. And I think he's going to have a great year."

Earnhardt looked prepared Saturday at Daytona. In his first competitive appearance for Hendrick, he won the 70-lap Budweiser Shootout.

"He has answered the question to me with a bold statement," Hendrick said. "He is as hungry and committed as anybody that has ever sat down in one of my race cars. That question has been answered. It just feels good. I think it is going to be a show. I think we saw Saturday, the fans are going to get their money's worth in these races." source