For Dale Jr., finale less an end as it is new beginning

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- It's going to be difficult for him to say goodbye to the members of his road crew, all of whom have been with him for five years or more, men who have become more like brothers than teammates. He'd like to take a few helmets and driving suits with him, maybe even buy a few seats that were once used in his No. 8 racecar. But more than anything else, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is ready to work.

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He's ready to slide into that Hendrick Motorsports equipment and find out how good he really is. He's ready to see if he can win a championship surrounded by cars and personnel who have done it before. He's ready to see if he can at last shed the curse of potential, and realize the promise of which so many believe he's capable. His last ride in his red Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevy, the iconic car that's become synonymous with NASCAR's most popular driver, looms Sunday. It's less an end than it is the first step toward a new beginning.

"I want to know," said Earnhardt, who will start 13th in the Nextel Cup finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, his last race before moving into Hendrick's No. 88 car. "I don't walk around with a question mark over my head that only ya'll can see. I've got questions about my ability and whether I can get it done. I'm confident in my talent, and I want to be in the best possible shape every single year of my career. That's what every driver wants. That's why I'm going there. I'm ready to see. I'm ready to get in the car. I want to see how good we are."

This time of year he's usually more than ready for the season to be over, ready to pile into a car with a few friends and a few coolers and go wherever whimsy takes them. Not this season. He'd jump into that No. 88 car Monday if he could. Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. has been with Hendrick since October, laying the groundwork for 2008. They spent two days working together at a Car of Tomorrow test at Atlanta Motor Speedway, sessions that only whetted the driver's appetite for more.

"What Tony Jr. anticipates and sees around him there on how good we'll probably run, I'm ready to find out," Earnhardt said. "I want to race. I'm ready to work. That's pretty interesting. I've never really felt like that before. I was ready for the season to be over when it was over. I'm ready to work tomorrow. Monday and Tuesday I want to test. I want to get right. I want to start off like a Roman candle. I want to get it done."

Rick Hendrick can see it. The car owner, who's been close with Earnhardt since the driver was a child, made a point of attending the Atlanta test just to see how his new hires would fit in.

"It amazed me," he said. "They looked like they'd been in that organization for years. [Engineer] Rex Stump had a sheet of tons of things they wanted to run through the car. Part of that was to give him everything we have, let him feel it, and see what he likes and dislikes. He was right on the money. We had two cars, he was getting out of one and getting into the other, and all the information was flowing back and forth. You don't see that from a brand new deal. ... It is going extremely well, and I can't wait for the next couple of tests, and I can't wait to go to Daytona with him. There are going to be some hiccups and some learning curves and all that. But with the cars, we basically already have a feel for what he likes, and we have given him some things in the direction of what he likes, and they've all lined up." (Continued)