Conversation: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

BRUSHY MOUNTAIN, N.C. - This gives entirely new meaning to "Dirty Mo Posse."

Dale Earnhardt Jr., the ringleader of a small pack of Mooresville, N.C. 20-somethings that refer to themselves affectionately as the Dirty Mo Posse, is most certainly dirty.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Driver Page  Video Highlights  Article Archive  Merchandise

His face is stippled with BB-sized clods of mud and his clothes painted brown with soil, the result of a high-speed duel with protégé Martin Truex Jr. aboard souped-up all-terrain vehicles.

Truex is likewise covered in North Carolina red clay. Everyone is. Precipitation rains from the sky. Hence, with assistance from 500cc engines, mud rains from the ground.

We are high in the mountains, some 50 miles northwest of Charlotte at Brushy Mountain Motorsports Park to participate in the Polaris "Ride of Your Life."

AUDIO CLIPS Listen to the Conversation! 1.10 MB / 17:26 Listen

Jim Boatwright, a 51-year old ironworker from Andover, Minn., won the nationwide sweepstakes, which ran the entire month of April and promised the opportunity to draft Junior through mountainous terrain on a brand-new Polaris Sportsman 500.

Midway through the event, a thunderstorm rolled up and briefly postponed the action, allowing NASCAR.COM's Marty Smith the opportunity to corner Earnhardt for a conversation about his run at a Nextel Cup title, recent comments about teammate Michael Waltrip, what it must be like in Mike Helton's seat and the boisterous shoutout he received on a recent commercial.

Weeks like you had (at Dover) often determine championship seasons. To not have the best car on the track, and even go a lap down at the beginning, and come back to nearly finish as the runner-up is a big deal in the big picture.

Earnhardt: Yeah, that's the kind of races Matt (Kenseth) kept having last year. We were like, 'Damn, how does he get so lucky?' A lot of times he'd catch breaks. When he'd have flat tires, cautions would come out, stuff like that.

	Earnhardt Jr. on Waltrip: "Well, I haven’t say anything I didn’t think everybody didn’t already know."

There were just so many times when we thought, 'Man, we're going to gain on him,' and he'd come out ahead. So we're having those kind of breaks this year. I noticed that in a couple races earlier in the season. And we'll take 'em.

We had a good car, but we didn't position ourselves. We had a lot of stuff happen on pit road, didn't have good stops, had some changes on pit road that took a long time and weren't putting ourselves in position to run good with that car.

It was pretty decent though, but to come out of there with a top five? I never would have thought we'd be top five.

Is it at all frustrating that in the year you're doing so well, have found consistency, and have begun to build a decent points lead, that there's the opportunity you'll have it taken away from you?

Earnhardt: Yeah, it kind of sucks. (We) finally figure everything out this year, and we're putting together a year that's really good, gaining a lot of points over the past couple races. But it's going to be exciting for the fans, and I still feel real confident about our chances to win the championship.

Archive  Conversation

We're having such a great year so far, and I feel like we can do what it takes, we just have to remain calm when things aren't going right. But at the same time, I'm not really worried about the points lead, keeping it or losing it or whatever, because of the shootout.

There's a lot of pressure off everybody all year long. You're able to really enjoy each week, because there's not so much pressure as far as maintaining consistency all year long. You can have a couple off weeks and still be in the shootout at the end.

Luckily, there's a couple good tracks in that shootout, too, that we feel confident we're going to be fine at, and should be able to put together what it takes at the end.

A lot of your peers have been pretty outspoken about NASCAR scoring and how long cautions are taking, etc. I saw where you said that you've learned to keep your mouth shut about all that stuff. But is it frustrating to be riding around for 25, 30 laps?

Contests and Sweepstakes  Gillette Young Guns Challenge

Earnhardt: It is frustrating just to be under caution, period. Well, it goes either way. Sometimes you're glad to see the caution. Sometimes you need tires. Sometimes you need track position, or you're getting ready to be lapped. There were a hundred times where I wanted the caution to come out in that race and it didn't.

So I wasn't going to complain when it did come out, because we needed those breaks, and getting the Lucky Dog and track position and stuff like that. But it was tough to sit there and run 25 laps under caution...

It looked like you just barely missed that wrecked that took out Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle and about 15 or 16 cars. Were you right ahead of that?

Earnhardt: I was right behind Michael when he and the 23 got together. I was fortunate, there. The 23 went in the direction he went, didn't go further. We just kind of squeezed through there. I looked in the mirror and saw a bunch of cars crashing.

I've seen wrecks like that before, but haven't seen one in a long time at a track like Dover. It was unfortunate. A bunch of guys lost a lot of points in that deal, and some people left there with some bad attitudes. But I've been in that situation, too, so I just felt lucky to miss the wreck. I went from 18th to eighth in that matter of time. So that's incredible.

I've been pretty outspoken that I don't think beat-up cars should be out there riding around, and we saw what happened to Kasey Kahne (at Dover). I was thinking we should give the same amount of points to 30th through 43rd, but then Casey Mears went back out after an early wreck and finished 28th. So that shoots my hypothesis down. Is there a remedy there? Can we fix that?

Earnhardt: I had said something earlier in the year, before the season started, about the top 25, and how anybody from 25th on back should get a stock amount of points, and that that would cure that problem unless you're talking about Talladega.

You know a guy isn't going to bring a car out with no hood or fenders and be able to keep minimum speed, anyway. You're going to get guys that will pull out and run a lap to get a few spots on the guys who can't get back out on the racetrack. But he isn't going to be out there the whole rest of the race.

I've had races where I've been wrecked on the first lap and had to ride it out - at Bristol of all places - and not been competitive, just in everybody's way and wanting off the racetrack. But you can't get off the track because your crew wants you to finish and get points.

So yeah, there needs to be something done to help that, because you're in the way, you're wasting your money out there running around wearing tires out and gas and all that. It could save some expense, because you've already torn your car up, ya know?

We've been out here in the mountains riding ATV's today, slinging mud around. Is this a cooler appearance than most, like autograph signings and the like?

	Credit: Harold Hinson

Earnhardt: Actually, it is. It's cool to be paired up with Polaris. I'd been wanting to work with them for a long time. I've enjoyed riding four-wheelers for a very long time and they're a company I can endorse with my heart behind it. To come out here is a lot of fun.

To be able to come out here and bring Martin (Truex Jr.) and Sean, my other buddy, and J.R. (Rhodes, business manager), and ride, we can all just have fun. You (Marty) can get involved and ride a little bit. It's just neat that we all aren't just standing around talking about it, we're actually doing it. It's cool.

Y'all are making me look bad out here, man, up there going about 65 mph and I'm two miles behind you.

Earnhardt: Well, we're just trying to do what we can do. It's pretty fun out there. We'd already been on that trail once, so we kind of knew some of the jumps and stuff coming up, and I'm on a little bit lighter, quicker four-wheeler, so it's easier to get going on that thing.

But it's fun. I heard about this place (Brushy Mountain Motorsports Park) from several other drivers that had been up here riding around. I've heard this is the place to come if you want to ride four-wheelers.

As fast as y'all were going? I don't think it'd matter if I was on an F-16, I think you'd still be taking me to school. Now, I'm excited because you gave me props on the new NASCAR.COM commercial. So you think I'm a good actor?

Earnhardt: Yes. I was really proud of you, man. I didn't know that you had any interest, and I'm sure somebody talked you into doing that. You probably didn't volunteer.

But it was a good job of acting, I mean really, really good. When you have to make it up on your own, it's tough, so I knew how hard a job that was for you.

I definitely do have a new respect for what you guys have to do. Now, when Budweiser needs somebody to be crazy in their commercials, you're going to call me, right?

Earnhardt: Yeah, you're probably going to shoot up the list, I think. So your phone ought to be ringing, here, with all kinds of people wanting you to come work for them.

Obviously, the guys in the tower have a real tough job, and they're taking a beating this year. You probably wouldn't want to be in Mike Helton's seat.

Earnhardt: No, I don't. I get real frustrated with the media because they're real hard on NASCAR. Not to say they don't have a point. But the sport's in a transition mode. In a sense, it's going through some sort of puberty if you will, you know?

You know how people are in that situation. They're kind of rebellious against their parents or what not, or people that know what's right. They're not listening to everyone that's telling them what needs to be done.

I just think everybody needs to back off and let the sport evolve, because it's really in a mode right now, changing so fast that there's nobody – I don't think there's anybody that could do a better job than who's in the position right now.

Everybody's going to make mistakes. With how fast the sport's growing, there's not a man that can run it and not make mistakes, and not have situations like we had (at Dover) and in the past. You've just got to understand.

I don't think anybody in the media center would want the headaches those people have to deal with, and I get frustrated when the media ask me questions about, 'Is NASCAR in a credibility crisis?' 'Is NASCAR having trouble?' 'What do you think NASCAR ought to do?' I'm not one to say.

In the past, I've learned from my own mistakes. I've opened up my own mouth about what I think ought to be done, only to find out months down the road how wrong I was in the first place. Mike Helton – that position wasn't handed to him. He earned every bit of it. He knows exactly what's going on.

What I like about him is he can handle a lot of problems at one time, and he's got a wide vision. It ain't narrow. He can focus on everything at once, and that's what kind of guy you need right now, with the sport changing like it is. It's a handful, and I think everybody ought to give the people that are running the sport a little more credit than they are.

Just sit back and enjoy the show. I was out there busting my ass all day long, and I walk in the media center on Sunday and to hear all the questions about how big a joke the race was? That kind of pisses you off.

I'd say it upset Mark Martin to know the race he won everybody thought was a joke. What kind of damn deal is that? He was out there busting his ass. He didn't get handed a trophy at the green flag. He ran every damn lap just as hard as everybody else. So that's kind of frustrating to deal with that at the end of the race.

Along those same lines with the media -- me included -- I said on Pit Bull the other week regarding Tony Stewart, we want you guys to be outspoken, we want you guys to be controversial and say what you think. And then as soon as you do, we light you up like a Christmas tree. We need to make up our minds.

Earnhardt: Well, I ain't trying to tell the media how to do their job. This ain't something new. That's part of the media's job, to break things down for the public to understand, because nobody knows the true story. The people in the stands, they're not down there talking to people like you guys are.

	Tony Stewart

I think everybody does a good job in the media, but sometimes they stick in the knife and they twist it. It's kind of frustrating being one of the guys -- I look at myself as kind of like a roadie, and somebody telling me the show sucked. It's just as much my job. I feel like you're hacking me just as much as you're hacking the guy that was out on stage singing.

I just wish people would relax a little bit, because it's not an easy task to put that race on. And when you get throw into certain situations like we did with that caution (at Dover), maybe they should have thrown a red flag. Maybe that would have been okay. But the time it took to sort it out?

A red flag? What would that fans have thought? Would they have gotten unruly? Maybe they were trying to worry about a situation like they had at Talladega, and to have that not happen again and things like that. So you've got to imagine, what they did turned out.

The checkered flag fell, we had a winner and a pretty exciting race. We had a lot of action and a lot of drama. I don't think you could ask for any more. It just sucks that it had to happen over five hours.

All this stuff with Michael Waltrip has been all over the place. Do you still stand behind all you've said?

Earnhardt: Well, I haven't said anything I didn't think everybody didn't already know. I thought everybody knew we've speculated over what to do about Michael for years, whether this is going to work itself out or we need to change drivers.

	Slugger Labbe

We've done this for a couple years now. We've stuck behind Michael. We feel like he can do that job. There's just times where that team self-destructs. It's just as much Slugger and the guys on the team, just as much their responsibility, each and every one.

It's not just Slugger's responsibility to maintain morale, and to maintain focus. It's Michael's. He can't go hide in that motor home. He's the worst about when he don't run good, he gets down on himself. He's so hard on himself.

He's been around for long enough that when he has a tough day or feels like he let everybody down, he should be the guy keeping them motivated for the next trip. And he sometimes fails to do that, I think.

I'm not saying I haven't before. I've learned from my own mistakes doing that, too. I used to race in the Busch Series, and when I'd wreck a car, I wouldn't go to the race shop the next Monday because I thought everybody would hate my guts. I think that's where Michael's at sometimes. When they get down, they don't get back up because everybody goes their own, different directions.

	Michael Waltrip

So it takes a good run to spark it all back going again. Now they're going again. Now everybody's happy with each other. You can't have that. Even when things don't work out good, you've got to go pump everybody up and try to get that next weekend going, get everybody going to the racetrack in a good mood.

You can't let that good run just happen, and let that be the thing that sparks everybody and gets everybody motivated again.

But as far as what I said, I don't think I said anything everybody didn't already know. We're going to run Martin again in the Busch Series next year.

We'd like to keep Michael, but we need more performance. We need better finishes. We need the team to believe in him, and him to believe in the team. All that stuff has to happen. It comes and goes. We need it all year long.

Is it hard, at times, to be the face of this thing? So much comes your way.

Earnhardt: Yeah, it is. When Mike Helton asks you to help him out, or go with him to a function, that's an honor. That's a pat on the back for what you're doing.

When he asks me to go with him to an appearance or do something for NASCAR, that's an attaboy for everything you've done up to that point. When they asked me and Michael to do the Nextel commercial, same thing.

2004 Nextel Cup Series  Results  Standings  Schedule  Tickets  Drivers  Crew Chiefs  Teams  Statistics  Video Highlights  Best 25: Last 6 races  Best Starts by Driver  Best Finishes by Driver

You could look at it like, 'Damn! I gotta to Miami for two days and sit around and do this commercial. This ain't gonna be any fun.' But you've got to look at the repercussion of doing it's going to be, what the reaction to it's going to be. You take advantage of those opportunities when you can. I'm pretty lucky to work with Polaris and Budweiser, Remington.

I enjoy all those things, so when we do appearances and stuff, I know when I can sit down with a bunch of that work for that company, I can talk to them. I can relate to them and talk to them about their products.

I enjoy those things. I'm not sitting there working with a company I don't like and know nothing about, where there's awkward silence or no communication and I'm at the track and they're in a boardroom. There should be an open line of communication, and there has been with me and Remington, and me and Budweiser. That's companies I'm really comfortable with.

So I'm not really bothered by all the responsibilities I have to deal with off the racetrack anymore. I used to be because I didn't understand it. I didn't have that connection to it.

Now I'm getting a little more connected to it. Plus, it's my future I'm dealing with. There ain't nobody like Daddy that can pull strings anymore. It's kind of me in control of it, so I'm doing it for myself.

Conversation runs every Monday at 3 p.m. ET on NASCAR.COM.