Junior is first quarter Driver of the Year winner

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. has already wrapped up one prize in 2004.

After winning the Daytona 500 and at Atlanta and leading the NASCAR Nextel Cup points following the first eight races, Earnhardt is the winner of the first quarter voting for the Driver of the Year Award.

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Earnhardt drew 11 first-place votes and was no lower than fourth on any of the 18 ballots submitted by a national panel of motorsports writers and broadcasters and one ballot from a fan vote compiled on Speedtv.com.

"Winning the Daytona 500 was something I'll never forget, and we've followed it up with a good season so far," said Earnhardt, who will start third in Sunday's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

"My team has stepped up and we're really getting stronger each week," he added. "But I can't look past the words 'first quarter.' The race is just starting and we're a team that is pointing toward a championship -- the big trophy at the end of the fourth quarter."

Earnhardt's father, a seven-time Cup champion, was the Driver of the Year in 1987 and 1994. This is the first time Junior has won a quarter vote.

His 135 points easily outdistanced the four first-place votes and 97 points given runner-up Steve Kinser, a longtime star in the World of Outlaws sprint car series. Kinser has four victories this year, including the 500th of his career.

NHRA Top Fuel drag racer Tony Schumacher, with three wins in the first four events of the year, finished third in the voting with one first-place vote and 51 points.

A total of 15 drivers received votes, including IRL points leader Dan Wheldon, NASCAR's defending Cup champion Matt Kenseth and rookie Kasey Kahne and NHRA Pro Stock driver Gary Anderson.

The panel picks a winner in each of the four quarters of the year, then selects the overall winner in a separate vote.