Earnhardt Jr. gets call from President Bush

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The phone rang during Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Daytona 500-winning press conference early Sunday evening. It was Junior's cell phone, and after a glance at the number, he answered it.

	Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"Yes, sir," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Thank you very much."

A congratulatory call, of course. But it wasn't from a friend or a sponsor rep. No, it was a guy with a higher office.

President George W. Bush.

"Yeah, it was the most exciting race of my life," Earnhardt Jr. said into his phone.

President Bush had flown on Air Force One to see the start of Sunday's race, but left before it ended. Still, the president wanted to offer his best wishes. And Junior handled it as only Junior can.

"Take it easy," Junior said as he hung up.

	President Bush

Someone then joked about the Caller ID on the cell phone, and Earnhardt Jr. was already one step ahead.

"I tried to look, tried to memorize that number," Earnhardt Jr. said.

But there was no number. Perhaps that was the only thing that went wrong Sunday.