Junior finds peace of mind with new team and owner

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Nerves? What nerves?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Tuesday he remembers what it feels like when, as a driver of a racecar about to approach speeds of 200 mph, you're more than a little nervous to get behind the wheel.

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And what he has felt the last two days while testing at Daytona International Speedway in his new No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports has felt nothing like it.

"The worst I ever felt was trying to qualify for my first race in Charlotte," Earnhardt said. "I was so scared and wanted to get out of the car, but it was too late. I already told them I'd drive it.

"We were sitting right there [on pit road]. We were like two minutes away from going out to qualify -- and I was so nervous, it was painful. It was actually painful to be that nervous. Somehow, we ended up qualifying in the top 10."

Somehow, despite all the attention, he posted the top single-lap time during the morning session of Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona on Tuesday, making it around the 2.5-mile track at scintillating speed of 185.820 mph (48.434 seconds). He sounded afterward like he wasn't surprised.

"Nowadays, I've been doing this for a while, and I sort of understand what's around the next corner," Earnhardt said. "Right now I'm pretty much set on what I know I need to do. Although this is a high-profile race team and I'm a high-profile driver, I can handle it. With how I've grown up in the sport, I think I'm as prepared as anybody could be for this certain situation."

The situation of which he speaks has been well documented. After spending his entire career -- which began at the Cup level with that first start at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte in May of 1999 -- driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc., Earnhardt is making the jump this season to the Hendrick organization.

He said the decision to leave DEI -- made last May but not executed until the end of last season -- forced him and long-time crew chief Tony Eury Jr. to grow up in a way that might not have occurred had they spent their entire careers with the company founded by his late father.

"There is peace of mind," said Earnhardt, 33. "I think one of the changes has been not being the son of the boss anymore, going somewhere else. Me and Tony Jr. both experienced sort of a little bit of a growth or maturity just going from one door to the other overnight.

"I grew up over the years. But when I first started, you could get away with saying things and being quoted certain ways. I was able to get away with it, working for my daddy. I wouldn't be able to now. My job now is to stay out of [team owner] Rick [Hendrick's] office as much as I can." (Continued)