Dale Earnhardt Jr. starts the Chase in sixth place. Credit: Autostock

Junior, team ready to let it all hang out in Chase

Year of growing pays off with second Chase berth for No. 8 bunch

RICHMOND, Va. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. has exhibited a tremendous amount of growth in 2006, and it paid off Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway when he qualified for his second Chase for the Nextel Cup.

On a night when his Chase hopes could have wilted worse than lettuce left overnight on a counter, Earnhardt, crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and their No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Incorporated Chevrolet crew buckled down and did what they had to do to regain the playoffs.

Credit: Autostock

Chase for the Nextel Cup Unofficial Standings Pos. Driver Behind 1. Matt Kenseth Leader 2. Jimmie Johnson -5 3. Kevin Harvick -10 4. Kyle Busch -15 5. Denny Hamlin -20 6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -25 7. Mark Martin -30 8. Jeff Burton -35 9. Jeff Gordon -40 10. Kasey Kahne -45 • Complete standings, click here Points leaderMatt Kenseth decribes how it feels to be the points leader Five points outJohnson assesses his title chances as he enters the Chase Chase qualifierDale Jr. talks about how he is pleased with his team RelievedMark Martin earns a Chase spot, chance for first title In the showKasey Kahne takes the final spot in the Chase Missing the cutTony Stewart on missing the Chase after his day at Richmond Race Rewind - RichmondWatch a condensed version of the Chevy Rock & Roll 400! Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"It feels good," Earnhardt said as he relaxed with a cold Bud amid the post-Chevy Rock & Roll 400 hubbub. "My guys gave me such an effort. I wanted to make the Chase because they deserved it.

"We race hard every year, but we have had a lot of misfortunes in the past. This year, we have had a great season and a great effort [and] I'm just really happy for my guys right now because they deserve to have a championship to run for, these [last] 10 races."

And no one can mistake that the team is ready. Eury Jr. oversaw loading the tram's transporter and it was after midnight before he got to head towards pit road.

"I'm pretty excited to get going in it," Eury Jr. said. "All these tracks I think we're pretty good at. We've been points racing for 26 races -- now it's time to see how many races we can win -- so we ain't gonna hold nothing back in these last 10.

"It's like we told [Earnhardt Jr.], earlier -- we've got 10 racecars and 10 races so we're going to let it all hang out and whatever happens, happens. We're really having a good time, so I'm going to go hang out with my boy and drink some beer."

The celebration was deeply deserved.

Earnhardt's sixth-place finish in the 26-race run-up to the Chase for the Nextel Cup was marked primarily by his team's comeback from back-to-back last place finishes at New Hampshire and Pocono in midsummer that sent them reeling from a competitive third in the standings to a tail-spun 11th.

Four top-six finishes in the next five races got Earnhardt and company back into sixth in the standings, but it was a tenuous position, at best.

They came into Richmond only 47 points away from falling out of the top 10 -- and when a brake problem reared up midway through the race, they were on the verge of seeing stars.

"We had a brake problem there at the rear of the car," Earnhardt Jr. said through a weary grin. "We lost all of the rear brakes, then the front brakes with about 50 laps to go."

Early in the race, Earnhardt raced into the top five just after Lap 300 of 400 and seemed to have a chance to score his fourth Richmond victory -- making a season sweep -- when his Monte Carlo developed a brake fluid leak on the right rear of the car with approximately 85 laps remaining.

Earnhardt made three pit stops during the yellow-flag period beginning on Lap 321, but the team was unable to fix the problem entirely. With top lap leader Kyle Busch and race winner Kevin Harvick running so strong, Earnhardt eventually lost a lap and ultimately finished 17th.

In the process, Earnhardt proved to be nothing if he's not inventive. Among other tricks, he adjusted his onboard brake bias all the way to the front.

"We just lifted at the flag stand trying to stay out there and finish the best we could trying to make it in the Chase," Earnhardt said. "It was a long night. We blew a seal or something on the brakes. I was just watching that flagstand and hoping the laps would go by fast. I was really grateful for the car I had tonight.

"We were in the top-five and we were looking good before that happened. The guys did a real good job of keeping me informed that we were OK in the big [points] picture -- but it was damn frustrating in the car.

At the same time, Earnhardt said he was greatful for his team.

"I really appreciated that because the guys helped me through it. They have all the points and stats there in the pits but it's tough on me behind the wheel.

"Once I got into the car tonight, I got worried about the points and felt nervous that something was gonna break on my car. But, we hung in there and this is what our team is all about."

Along with nine other competitors, he enjoyed the aftermath, and of course, his sponsor Budweiser's best bolstered him and his crew.

"I am just having a beer here with my boys [because] they had a lot of hustle this year," Earnhardt said. "I am real proud of their effort. Tonight is a credit to all these guys' efforts. I just drive the car and they gave me great cars all season. I couldn't ask for a better group of guys. Tony Jr. has done a great job all year of keeping me calm in the car [and] that makes his job a whole lot easier. He is doing a great job leading this team.

"No matter what happens, we are going for it. But I am really appreciative of what they have done for me this year."

How pumped is Earnhardt? It was hard to get him off the track of pumping up his team.

"We should have won it in 2004, but we gave it away. I made some mistakes and they made some mistakes and we let it slip away. But, we're much better than we were then."

They proved that since the end of July.

"We can come back from mistakes much better than we did then," Earnhardt said, punctuated by a sixth at Indy and a second at California -- neither his best track. "Every person on this team is a critical part and we couldn't have made the Chase without all of them."

Earnhardt heads into the opening of the Chase, at New Hampshire International Speedway, 25 points behind leader Matt Kenseth. He has the worst average finishing position, over 18th, of the 10 Chase drivers, but after his experience in the last seven weeks, he's definitely undaunted.

"We have some really good tracks in the Chase," said Earnhardt, who has Cup victories at six of the 10 remaining tracks. "I don't see any reason we can't go out and win this thing.

"Homestead will be tough as the last race [because] we've struggled there for a few years, but we'll be good in the Chase."