DARLINGTON, S.C. -- It felt like the old days of the Southern 500, the conditions warm and sticky and the humidity as thick as a coastal South Carolina drawl. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was hot and bothered as he emerged from his car following opening practice Friday afternoon at Darlington Raceway, and in no mood to discuss a botched pit-road call that derailed his efforts a week earlier at Richmond.

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He basically didn't have enough financing when he came down here. I think his dad was putting him through the school of hard knocks. He came down here on a budget.

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-- BILL HENNECY, Myrtle Beach Speedway

"Ya'll saw what happened," he said, referring to a wedge adjustment that was misinterpreted by crewmen as a track bar adjustment, and played a part in a 27th-place finish. "Why do I have to comment on it? It don't help nothing to talk about it, not for me. My team's had enough s--- from everybody else, I don't need to weigh in on it. Ya'll saw what happened. Ya'll will say what ya'll want to say. We're working on it, trying to fix it. I'm pretty sure the guys will concentrate harder and try not to make that mistake next time."

It's been that kind of season for NASCAR's most popular driver, one full of mediocre race results and pit-road mistakes and a championship Chase that seems to become a little less realistic with each passing week. The pressure is on, and at times it can feel suffocating, with fans demanding performance and reporters demanding answers and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports pursuing race wins and championships except for the driver in the No. 88 car. But that's the way it is when your last name is Earnhardt, and every stumble is scrutinized, and the bar of expectation is set atmospherically high.

To that degree, little has changed since Earnhardt first began racing in this part of the world. In 1995 Dale Earnhardt sent his son to Myrtle Beach Speedway, a tough short track with plenty of stout competition located 75 miles east of Darlington through the pine forests and Carolina bays. For the better part of three years Earnhardt Jr. raced late model stocks, worked on his own cars, operated on a tight budget and traded paint with seasoned drivers who contended for regional and national titles on NASCAR's weekly series. There was no Junior Nation back then, just savvy local fans who could remember the days when the Intimidator occasionally raced a sportsman car at Myrtle Beach in the 1970s, and found his son to be likeable if a little shy. He was even voted the track's most popular driver once, an event that would repeat itself through the years. (Continued)