Earnhardt Jr. on Blaney: ‘We’ll sort it out’

BUY TICKETS: See the races at Texas COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. admits he's "having fun with it," but suggests that he and Ryan Blaney will chat about recent on-track incidents involving the two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers. While he said he doesn’t think it's crucial, Earnhardt said Tuesday that "I think it would be good for us to have a couple of conversations."   Earnhardt met with members of the media during an appearance at the South Carolina Governor's Mansion in support of this year's Bojangles' Southern 500, scheduled for Sept. 3 at Darlington Raceway.   Blaney, the 23-year-old driver of the No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing, took issue with Earnhardt's driving last month during the Camping World 500 at Phoenix Raceway, calling the series' 14-time most popular driver a derogatory term over his team's radio and incurring the wrath of Earnhardt Nation. RELATED: Blaney clears air about Dale Jr. comment   This past weekend at Martinsville Speedway, contact between the two eventually led to a spin by Earnhardt.   "He did call and leave a message -- 'Just bad timing, it wasn’t intentional' and all that stuff," Earnhardt said, "and I don't think it was. But you remember those things just to make sure down the road if it happens again you're kind of like 'what the heck?'   "But we'll sort it out. I usually don't have a problem figuring out a way to work things out. We either do it off the track or on the track." RELATED: Junior declines Blaney's call   It's noteworthy that Blaney, in just his second full season in the Monster Energy Series, lives in a house located next to Earnhardt's home.   "We can't seem to stay away from each other," Earnhardt said. "I raced him a little too hard I guess, in his opinion, at Phoenix and he called me a dirty name. We've had a little fun about that. And then this weekend (at Martinsville), I kind of ran him into the fence on the front straightaway and then coming off the turn I got loose and he spun me out.   "It was frustrating. I was glad I didn't hit anything. We rebounded really quickly so I wasn't too upset with it. I'm having a lot fun with it; kind of messing with him a little bit about it.   "We've talked some. We haven't talked since the Martinsville race but we will eventually and we'll get an opportunity to smooth it out."   • Although he is winless on the season and 25th in points, Earnhardt said it's not for a lack of confidence or a carry-over from last year when he missed the final 18 races while recovering from a concussion.   He has only one finish inside the top 15 through the season's first six races and only three of 16th or better. RELATED: Dale Jr.'s 2017 stats | Career stats for Earnhardt   "I feel like I feel and understand the car, what I need to feel from the car as far as how it's handling and how to communicate with (crew chief) Greg (Ives)," he said. "All those things are where they need to be. I don't think I've lost a step; I'm doing my own self-analysis there and being really honest with myself.   "I'm healthy and I think I can go out there and do as good of a job as I did before the injury last year. As a company, we want to find a little more speed in our cars; me and Greg are still polishing our communication and how we conduct ourselves throughout the race weekend.   "I saw a huge gain in not only the speed of the car this weekend but how me and Greg did business. And I was really proud of that. I was proud of how much of a leader he was; he did a lot of things that I liked, that I know he's capable of and I've seen before."   That confidence is contagious and it's important to the welfare of the team.   "We can't let these struggles bring all the team down, we have to stay positive," he said. "Because when we show up, we could show up this weekend with the opportunity to win and if we don't have our head on straight, we're not going to be able to get that done."   The series heads to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for Sunday's running of the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).   "Everybody's still got their chin up," Earnhardt said, "and expecting our car to start seeing results real soon."