Slow start, 40th in points doesn't concern Junior (cont'd)

For Earnhardt, in the final year of his current deal with DEI, the situation is complicated by contract negotiations that seem to have stagnated. Asked Friday if any progress had been made on that front, he offered a simple response: "Nah. Not yet." The entire episode shapes up as a possible distraction -- even if it isn't.

"There's no question that off-track distractions can bleed into performance. There's no question. When everybody on the team is not 100 percent committed to the task at hand, and there's something gnawing in the background, it is and can be a distraction," said Jeff Burton, who drives for the Richard Childress Racing team that once fielded cars for Earnhardt's late father.

"Now, some people can do that better than others. Some people can have all kinds of things going on, and a lot of other people can't. As seen by me, nothing has happened at DEI in the first two races that have anything to do with Dale Jr. saying, 'Things have got to change, or I'm leaving.' He broke an engine and he got into a wreck that wasn't his fault. What could he have done differently in those two races? The way I look at it, I don't see where that had anything to do with the first two races."

But that doesn't mean Burton wouldn't be concerned about staying in the top 35 if he were in Earnhardt's position.

"I'm second [in points] and worried about top 35," he said. "I mean, it's a reality of our sport. If you look at what's going on in our sport right now and you don't have an appreciation of how hard it is to get into races if you're not in the top 35, you're oblivious to the facts. Anyone that is involved in our sport right now is looking at that and saying, 'I've got to be in the top 35.' If you are outside of it, it's nagging you. If you're in it, it's nagging you. If you're 25th, it's nagging you. If you're second, it's nagging you. It's the most difficult it's ever been to make these races."

For Earnhardt, the first few weeks of this season bear an inauspicious resemblance to the start of his 2005 campaign, where poor finishes in four of his first five starts doomed him to a 19th-place result in final points. But that came on the heels of an ill-fated crew chief swap with former teammate Michael Waltrip. Now, Earnhardt is with the same group that helped him make the Chase last year. And Friday, he stressed patience.

"If I was 40th in points and the Chase was two races away, I'd be really upset. Pretty upset. Very upset," he said. "But it's early in the season. We've got time to remedy it. I think getting worried and getting panicky won't improve the situation. It only spreads through your team like a virus. Panic is very contagious, more contagious than anything else. You've got to have a positive outlook and try to impose on the team that they work hard to try and come out of it."