Q&A: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Saturday, 11th February 2006

After missing last year’s Chase for the Championship, Dale Earnhardt Jr has a more familiar back-up crew for the 2006 season, a season in which Earnhardt Jr says he will definitely be a contender.

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You know, we're strong. I got the car to beat over in the garage for the 500. It's the fastest car. You know, it won't run fast in qualifying, but that's the way we built it. We build it to race good. A lot of guys build their cars to go fast by themselves in a straight line. That's not how you win.

Q.
Were you embarrassed by the way things ended up last year?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.:
Not really. I wasn't bothered by it at all. I just kind of took -- I had a lot of extra free time so I wasn't complaining.

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But, you know, we learned a lot. I mean, I don't want to really separate myself too far from where I am last year because I learned a lot and I want to remember those lessons and maintain the mentality and the traits that I gained from last year.

I've said it before, and nobody seems to understand because I don't really read about it too much, but working with Steve Hmiel taught me a lot. Going through the changes, working with Pete, going through those changes taught me a lot. I mean, I still got a lot of respect for Pete. You know, those people had an effect on me, for the better I believe. You know, we didn't have any success on the racetrack, but I learned a lot.

It was something that had to happen. That was an unfortunate season that I had to experience for some reason to really get back -- to really mentally get back to where I needed to be.

Yeah, I felt real good, like we were going to have a good season, but it all kind of unfolded like it did. I think now we got a better understanding.

Q.
Do you learn more from adversity than success?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.:
Yeah. You don't learn much from success. Obviously, you learn a lot when you make mistakes.

Q.
Do you feel under pressure to get off to a fast start this year because of your fans?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.:
I want to get off on a fast start because I want to prove not only just to the fans but to everybody that this team's strong. I look at my racecars and they're better looking than I've ever seen. The cars that we're going to unload in the garage in Daytona, they're beautiful. I never really felt that way about a racecar, but I saw them getting loaded up and I couldn't believe how they looked to me.

Q.
Do you think Martin Truex Jr. has enough experience plate racing to be as strong a drafting partner with you? Everybody said, if the 8 and 15 hooked up, good-bye.