CONCORD, N.C. -- In between morning and afternoon test sessions Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. spent considerable time trading information and wisecracks with crew chief Lance McGrew in the garage area.

Earnhardt even playfully grabbed the sides of McGrew's head to make one point, then laughed heartily. The most famous driver in NASCAR hardly seemed like he was having trouble getting along with anyone.

And that's just the problem with sharing with the world heated radio communications during a race, Earnhardt later pointed out. While on one hand it's great entertainment -- unique solely to the sport of NASCAR -- on the other it can lead to some general misunderstandings by those listening in.

So it was, Earnhardt said, when he went off Sunday on NASCAR, spewing expletives about getting penalized for speeding coming onto pit road at Bristol Motor Speedway. And when McGrew subsequently implored Earnhardt not "to lay down on him," Earnhardt responded with a stream of invective about why McGrew should never, ever accuse him of laying down -- and about how the crew chief certainly should never make said accusation over the radio during a race.

Relaxing in his No. 88 Chevrolet hauler between test runs Tuesday, Earnhardt explained what was going through his mind at the time.

"When I get upset I have to talk to somebody. I've got to tell somebody; somebody needs to hear it," Earnhardt said. "I don't feel good. I can't get over it, past it until I think I've had somebody hear my side of it.

That somebody during a race is going to be Earnhardt's crew chief.

"When you're inside that race car and something bad happens ... when you feel slighted and you're in the car and you're strapped in and it's a little claustrophobic, there's no audience," Earnhardt said. "You've got millions of people watching on TV, but there's really no one to hear your side of it. There is a very small avenue on that radio to get your point across, because nobody can see your facial expressions, nobody can see your body language, nothing.

"It's sort of like talking online. It's hard to read tone. Even though you can hear me, it's hard to understand tone or who it is directed at or whatever. Every time pretty much I get misconstrued."

Both Earnhardt and McGrew insisted Tuesday that their relationship not only is fine, but that it's getting better all the time. That seemingly is beginning to show on the track, with Earnhardt up to eighth in the point standings after coming back from Sunday's speeding penalty to finish seventh at Bristol.

"I kind of hate the way the media wrote it up like we were airing dirty laundry over the radio," McGrew said. "A lot of the crew chiefs and drivers here talk to each other that way, period. But he's the only one that gets criticized. It's bull[expletive]."

McGrew added that a successful crew chief quickly learns the art of give-and-take with his driver over the radio. He said telling Earnhardt not to lay down wasn't meant as an insult, nor was it meant to imply that Earnhardt has previously.

"It was, 'Dang, look, you've got to be positive. You've got to realize your car is freaking fast. We can still get a good finish out of it,' " McGrew explained.

At the time of his spending penalty, Earnhardt was running in the top five -- and he fell to 26th, at the tail end of the lead lap as a result. But 180 laps still remained in the 500-lap event, which was McGrew's point. There was still time to make up what was lost, or at least most of it.

Neither had their feelings hurt by their spirited exchange Sunday -- neither at the time nor afterward, Earnhardt said.

"Me and Lance really have gotten to know each other more and more really quick, faster than probably it should have happened or what happens with other people," Earnhardt said. "We don't really ever have these awkward moments where he doesn't know if I'm kidding or serious. He always knows. He knows when I'm full of [expletive]; he knows when I'm joking around; he knows when I'm really pissed or when something serious is bothering me.

"He knows, so that really helps him not get his feelings hurt. It helps him kind of understand what I'm trying to accomplish." (Continued)