Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes the pass on Kasey Kahne during the Sylvania 300. Credit: Autostock

Dale Jr. atop standings after third-place run

LOUDON, N.H. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. left New Hampshire International Speedway this weekend in a much better mood than his last trip here.

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In July, Earnhardt was driving his No. 8 Chevrolet for the first time after getting burned in a sports car race. He drove only a few laps before handing the car over to Martin Truex Jr.

And if you know racecar drivers, you know they hate getting out of their car.

But this time around, Earnhardt was fully healed and fired up. Though he only led once for two laps, Earnhardt had one of the best cars on the track and ended up third in the Sylvania 300.

That gave him plenty of reason to joke and smile, but one thing bothered him.

Dale Earnhardt Inc. teammate Michael Waltrip had raced him a little too hard at one point. Waltrip had taken two tires on a pit stop, with Junior getting four. Earnhardt should have had a faster car at that point, and with Waltrip not in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, Junior expected a little more help.

"I was waving at him," Earnhardt said. "I was really upset about it. He got two tires, and we came off pit road side-by-side. He fetched the car all the way up to the yellow line as if I wasn't even there."

When the race went green, it appeared to Earnhardt that Waltrip would give him the position on the track.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is tied with Kurt Busch atop the Chase standings. Credit: Autostock

"We'd get in the center of the corner and he'd still be there and I'd about to wreck into the side of him," Earnhardt said. "That happened three or four laps."

Earnhardt came out of the pits behind Matt Kenseth, but after battling Waltrip, he lost a straightaway to Kenseth.

"I'm sure Michael didn't mean anything by it," Earnhardt said. "I'm sure he was just trying to race and do what you do. His car was really loose it seemed, and he was just trying to go. But I needed a little help there, and I expected to get a little help, and I didn't get any."

Still, Junior managed to joke about it.

"I was trying to figure out where he's getting his team orders from because whoever he was getting them from needs a new check," Earnhardt said. "Somebody needs to give them a check and see who their working for, to see where they're getting their kickback from."

Asked if he gave Waltrip the one-finger salute, Earnhardt said, "He's older than me. I've got to respect my elders."

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That good mood spilled over in his post-race press conference, joking with the moderator and with good buddy Kenseth.

On watching protégé Truex, Earnhardt said, "Matt came over to me and said Martin was really overdriving the car and he had no business being out there."

Kenseth's face turned bright red, but he managed to smile.

"I never said that," Kenseth said.

No, he didn't. But Earnhardt said plenty Sunday. When told that Kenseth needed to depart quickly because he had a flight to catch, Junior interrupted.

"He's got his own plane," Earnhardt said. "That's bull----. I'm the one who needs to catch a flight."

Later, after Junior rambled through an answer, Kenseth answered the question succinctly.

"That's way freakin' better than what I said," Earnhardt said.

Of course, Earnhardt had plenty of good things to say, as usual. Asked if the racing was any more intense Sunday now that the Chase for the Nextel Cup has started, he said it had. Sort of.

"In your brain it was more intense but the actual actions you were doing weren't more intense, if that makes any sense," Earnhardt said.

No, not really.

"I didn't see guys going into the corner with life-or-death intentions on making a pass," Earnhardt said. Everybody seemed to be smart."

Earnhardt has reason to be in a good mood. The fire at Infineon Raceway set him back, as did a mid-summer swoon.

But winning at Bristol in late August put Junior and the team back in the right direction.

"It started to grow right at the Bristol win," Earnhardt said. "When my legs weren't feeling too good, I really didn't want to be in the racecar. That kind of worried me a little bit. I had this amazing determination and drive at the start of the year. I was just focused and we were getting the results and the finishes and we were leading the points."

But some poor runs, like a 21st at Michigan, a 22nd at Chicago and a 25th at Pocono, took some of the life out of him.

"Those places really drain the determination and drive right out of you," Earnhardt said. "But we got through the summer and then went back to Bristol and won that race. We had such a good weekend winning the Busch race and then the Cup race, it was instantly a huge jump in confidence.

"We went to California and I expected us to run poorly there. But right in the middle of the race we found something to help the car. That helps. I haven't forgotten about that. Our run at Richmond last week was inspirational to the team and to everyone that we're trying hard."

Earnhardt crashed at California and finished 34th, but his place in the Chase for the Nextel Cup was already secured.

Now, after a second at Richmond and a third at New Hampshire, Earnhardt is tied with NHIS winner Kurt Busch atop the Nextel Cup standings.

"I've gotten that drive back -- that fire that I had at the start of the year that I'm definitely going to have to have to win the championship," Earnhardt said. "It's there when it's fun and when I get along with the people I'm working with. When they're a pain in the ass and making my life miserable, I get pissed off.

"So that's how things work. When things are good that's how it happens. And when things go bad, that's a result of it. But I think we're in a streak where we're going to finish this season out pretty spectacularly and hopefully with the championship. I really feel like we can win it."