Junior's final race at DEI ends like so many this year

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- If it wasn't clear already, it's crystal clear after Sunday's Ford 400 in front of a sell-out crowd at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is ready to move on.

In fact, that is a massive understatement. After completing his nine-year run with Dale Earnhardt Inc. with a 36th-place finish Sunday, Earnhardt sounded like a man who can't wait to change into his new work clothes at Hendrick Motorsports, where he will begin racing next season. (read more)

"It's been hard, man. This whole year has been hard -- and I don't ever want to do it again," Earnhardt said. "I just want to get happy. I want to get to where I'm in a good place, and I want to get to a place where I can run well and win races like I know I can. I want to get around good people and quit having to deal with jerks, and just set myself apart from all the things that get on my nerves and get right."

Earnhardt had hoped to end his run at DEI, where he clashed with his stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt, in memorable fashion. If he did so, his final race in the red No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet was much like his entire final season in the car. It will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

On Lap 50, he tangled with Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick as he attempted to head into the pits. And after getting tagged in the left rear by Busch and turned sideways, Earnhardt ended up going back out on the racetrack -- resulting in a penalty for a commitment line violation.

His troubles actually started even earlier than that. He qualified 13th-fastest Friday, but had to move to the rear of the field when the car required a transmission change after Saturday's practice.

Until his run-in with Busch, he was sailing up through the field, climbing as high as 11th at one point after starting in 41st. (Sam Hornish Jr. and Johnny Benson also had to move to the rear of the field prior to the start).

But none of it lasted. On the Lap 57 restart following the caution brought out by his pit-road mishap, Earnhardt got rear-ended by Jeff Burton's No. 31 Chevrolet, adding to his misery.

It was almost piling on when Earnhardt subsequently was penalized twice more -- first for pitting before pit road was open and also for excessive speed entering the pits. Each time he was penalized, Earnhardt was forced to go to the end of the longest line.

By then it hardly mattered. His car was so damaged that he was three laps off the pace, and he eventually fell six laps behind the leaders.

"I had a great car. I got up to 11th. Did y'all see that? I mean, we were running good -- and I got run over by a veteran on a restart. I don't know what in the hell that was," Earnhardt said. "I'm so disappointed. We all try to take care of each other on the racetrack, and Jeff Burton is one of the guys that I would expect the most of that out of -- give-and-take. I don't know. He said the sun was in his eyes, and it was blinding down the front straightaway.

"But my luck, I didn't think it could get worse -- until then. And then Jeff was the guy. It's upsetting, but there are bigger things. Kyle was being a jerk early on, running into me, trying to rile me up. I don't know why he spun me out on pit road. I guess he was blinded by the sun, too, or else he just can't see at all.

"But integrity is what's important, and that's what I'm going to hang onto. I can't wait to get to work [at Hendrick], and get this over with, get past this. I want to win races."

Attempting to keep his integrity intact is what apparently kept Earnhardt going over the final two hours or more of Sunday's race that lasted just a couple of minutes over three hours. He said it was important to him that he at least finish after all that had happened to him earlier -- in the race and during the season as a whole.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Career Stats (all in No. 8)

Year	No.	W	T-5	T-10	Points
1999	5	0	0	1	N/A
2000	34	2	3	5	16
2001	36	3	9	15	8
2002	36	2	11	16	11
2003	36	2	13	21	3
2004	36	6	16	21	5
2005	36	1	7	13	19
2006	36	1	10	17	5
2007	36	0	7	12	16

• 2007: Season Results

"I, uh, we didn't want to quit. So we kept going," Earnhardt said.

As the race that was won by Matt Kenseth in his No. 17 Ford wound down and his future Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson clinched his second Nextel Cup championship in a row, Earnhardt came on the radio and apologized to crew chief Tony Gibson.

"Sorry, old man," Earnhardt said. "Sorry it ended like this. I wish you the best of luck in everything."

"You, too, man," Gibson replied.

"God, I hope so," Earnhardt muttered.

After pulling into the garage area following the race, Earnhardt climbed out of the red No. 8 for the final time and took one final slow walk around it, surveying the damage. The rear end was basically torn completely off, both sides in the rear heavily bandaged with thick black duct tape.

It was not the way he wanted to bring it back for the last time before switching into the No. 88 he will drive for Hendrick Motorsports. But it was the final piece of evidence of a season when nothing seemed to go right -- as he failed to win a single race for the first time since becoming a full-time driver in the No. 8 for DEI in 2000.

"I try not to let my confidence get abused or hurt. But so many things have happened this year," said Earnhardt, who won 17 races overall in the previous seven seasons but faded to 16th in points this season and failed to qualify for the Chase for the Nextel Cup. "You may not think it's your fault or you're doing anything to put yourself in that situation, but someone on the other side of the fence may see a better way of putting it and a better solution on how I could quit finishing like I've been finishing."

Still, Earnhardt denied that he couldn't wait for this season to end. He didn't want it to end like it did, and he's certainly glad to be moving on, but he said he never felt impatient for the end to come about.

"I like driving cars, so I don't want the season ending sooner. I like doing that. And in the offseason, I don't feel like I have a job," Earnhardt said. "So I'll be anxious to get behind the wheel of a car and stay there -- especially in Rick's stuff. I'm a pretty lucky guy to be going there. I'm pretty fortunate to be having that opportunity.

"I can't thank the Lord enough. I can't thank Rick and all those guys enough for believing in me, knowing that I can win championships and will bring some more championships to that team. I just can't thank them enough. Making the change that they made, I think they made the right choice -- and I'm going to try to make 'em proud."

His new boss, owner Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports, reiterated last night that he expects Earnhardt to do well right off the bat.

"I don't foresee any problems at all. I think the pressure is on me because of his fan base expecting him to do well," Hendrick said. "I don't think we'll have a bunch of hiccups. I think it's going to be fairly smooth."

Earnhardt sure hopes so.

"I don't ever want to be in this situation again. I guess what's gotten old is everybody was telling me, 'You had a lot to deal with and a lot of bad things happen, but you handled it well,'" Earnhardt said. "I'm tired of bad things happening and handling it well. I mean, everybody has got their limits. But now this is past me."