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.

“

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.

”

-- 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.

"Everybody liked him. He got along with everyone," said Bill Hennecy, general manager of the Myrtle Beach track. "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 basically on a budget. He ate at places like the Raceway Grill. They'll tell you Dale Jr. used to stop down there on his way to the beach, and they'd feed him hamburger steak. Then he would stop at a place called the 501 Pit Stop, where Ernie Hammonds would give him a tank of gas, because he was only making a couple of hundred dollars a week at the dealership changing oil for his dad. He was on a pretty tight budget, and I think Senior did that to say, 'OK, you're going to learn what the value of a dollar means, and what it costs to work on these race cars.'"

“

There was a lot of pressure and a lot of worry, just like there is today. You don't understand what opportunity you have at that age. I did poorly in trying to enjoy it. Every week if we didn't run in the top three, it was a failure, just like it is up here.

”

-- DALE EARNHARDT JR.

Earnhardt Jr.'s Myrtle Beach days are far from forgotten; the driver often credits his three years on the half-mile oval for his traditional strength on Cup Series venues like Phoenix, Bristol, and -- an inadvertent track bar adjustment notwithstanding -- Richmond. There were plenty of carefree days, afternoons kicking back in the shade and eating fried chicken. But then as now, there were questions about why he didn't win more, or whether he could live up to his last name. Earnhardt won just one 50-lap feature during his time in Myrtle Beach, and claimed another at the short track over in Florence. What he's dealing with today is nothing new.

"When you're doing that kind of stuff, you don't realize how good you've got it and how lucky you are," Earnhardt said Friday, remembering his late model days. "There was a lot of pressure and a lot of worry, just like there is today. You don't understand what opportunity you have at that age. I did poorly in trying to enjoy it. Every week if we didn't run in the top three, it was a failure, just like it is up here."

These days, though, it's harder to find an escape. As a 19-year-old in Myrtle Beach, he could cruise Ocean Boulevard or spin records as a guest disc jockey at a local radio station, and nobody gave him any grief. "I don't think everybody expected as much out of him as he maybe expected out of himself," remembered Hennecy, who also worked for a time as public address announcer at Darlington and its sister track, North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham.

"He wasn't leaned on heavily down here. It was like when the Rolling Stones came to town, nobody leaned on the Rolling Stones. Nobody was all over them to get their autograph. It's like race fans somehow can't discern the difference between being in awe and being somebody's friend. That's difficult for them. But overall, he was always friendly, he was always congenial to the people who came, and at the time he was humble."

Earnhardt gave up that relative degree of anonymity long ago. These days he's under siege, his every move or misstep critiqued to the nth degree, his crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., facing the wrath of a fan base that's growing increasingly impatient with mistakes. Many want a crew chief swap, of the kind car owner Richard Childress recently made with the teams of Kevin Harvick and Casey Mears. Alan Gustafson, Mark Martin's crew chief, effectively torpedoed such a notion Friday.

"Fortunately for us, we're with a real high profile organization, we have really great drivers, but with that comes a lot of pressure to perform," Gustafson said. "I heard the same things last year with the 24 [team of Jeff Gordon], and I heard how bad [crew chief] Steve [Letarte] was. Steve is a really good friend of mine, so I'm really glad right now he's the smartest guy in the series. That changes pretty quick, and I feel the same way about Tony. I haven't known Tony as long as I've known Steve; I've known Steve forever. But the same thing is going to happen with Tony. One day we'll all look up, and he's going to be the smartest guy in the garage, and I'll be really happy for him when that day comes."

A sweltering Friday at Darlington brought more head-scratching for the No. 88 team -- 28th in opening practice, 21st in final practice, 26th in qualifying for the Southern 500. Teammate Jimmie Johnson sees no lack of effort.

"They're working their tails off to get stuff right," said the three-time defending series champion. "Last weekend [at Richmond], they were extremely optimistic about their car in debriefs we had leading into the race, even race day morning. I think they're learning, they're running their course. I don't know what I'd change. There are a lot of great things that come from Tony Jr. and ideas that he has. Junior is as committed and as focused as I've ever seen him, and giving great feedback. So hopefully whatever is needed will spark, and off they'll go."

The next step is a Saturday night event under the lights on a difficult South Carolina race track, where Earnhardt Jr. will once again try to silence the critics and show the promise so many believe lives within him. In some ways, it must seem a lot like all those days back in Myrtle Beach.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.