Junior gets off to great start in first test in No. 88 (cont'd)

They also have yet to put the car in a drafting scenario, which is so important at Daytona. That won't occur until Tuesday afternoon.

But Eury said Earnhardt's eagerness to get behind the wheel of his new ride has been contagious within the team. That eagerness was magnified last week when Earnhardt surprised everyone and attended the first day of testing for his teammates -- just to watch Johnson, Gordon and Mears and learn as much as he could.

Surprise visit

Dale Earnhardt Jr. showed his level of dedication to his new Hendrick team when he showed up for opening day of testing at Daytona, even though he wasn't scheduled to drive.

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"I was actually at the shop and he called home and said, 'You'll never guess where I am,'" Eury said.

Right away, though, Eury had a pretty good idea.

"I knew it was pretty noisy," Eury said. "To be honest, it kind of surprised me that he was down here. But that's good. His teammates probably appreciated him being down here, and I think that showed the organization how serious he is."

On the other hand, Earnhardt is changing cars, sponsors, and team uniforms -- but not who he is.

"He's not really no different," Eury said. "I mean, I think he was pretty pumped up when he got here. But it's normal Junior. He goes out there and tells you what [the car] does, and listens to a little bit of Ipod while he's sittin' out there [and the crew is working on the car]."

At least four?

It was when Earnhardt's new car was unveiled in Dallas last September that the gauntlet was laid down on expectations for the No. 88 this season. Former points champion and current television analyst Darrell Waltrip predicted then that Earnhardt would win the Daytona 500 and "at least six races" in 2008.

That day, Earnhardt did not flinch when told of the bold prediction. Neither did team owner Rick Hendrick.

On Monday, Eury was asked if he thought those lofty expectations were indeed realistic.

"I think so. I'd be very disappointed if we don't win at least four, to be honest," he said. "I just look at the races that we had problems with last year, where we were running in the top three and were in contention. That's the biggest thing in this sport -- you've got to put yourself in contention, and then anything can happen at the end of these races.

"That's all we've got to do. We've got to make the right calls, and be in the right position at the end of races -- and then we can win those races. We didn't win any last year, but it wasn't for a lack of effort. There were several races where we were running in the top three, top four at the end of the race and something would happen. A motor would blow up, or we would get in an accident, or something else would happen.

"I don't think it's totally out of line. I think it's up to us what we do."

Both Juniors know that the racing world will be watching ever so closely. Eury said they are used to the scrutiny.

"It's no more pressure than I've ever had on me," said Eury, Earnhardt's crew chief on the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet at DEI prior to making the switch to Hendrick last year. "I think there's pressure that comes along when you're dealing with Dale Earnhardt Jr. But expectations are good and they're huge. I just have to go out and do our job and make sure we're competitive and win races.

He makes it sound easy. But he knows it won't be.

Meanwhile, at least Monday was a good start.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer