Earnhardt has work to do to make Chase

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. spent his final off weekend at Will Ferrell's movie premiere, judged a Miss Hooters pageant in Las Vegas, then returned home to host a get-together for his online racing league.

Now it's back to work, with little time to play over the next six weeks.

A lock to make the Chase for the Nextel Cup three races ago, NASCAR's most popular driver is now in danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight season. Consecutive last-place finishes have dropped Earnhardt from third to 11th in the standings, where the competition is extremely tight to make the race for the Nextel Cup title.

Earnhardt needs six mistake-free races to get in, and is battling series champions Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch for the final playoff positions.

It won't be easy, but Earnhardt isn't stressing out about the task at hand.

"There are a lot worse things you could be going through than trying to make the Chase," he said Monday. "It's an honor to be part of this sport and part of this series. I'm grateful to have the chance, so I don't feel a lot of pressure.

"I know my fans and a lot of people want to see me succeed, and we try really hard, but I see people who really make themselves miserable and it's a shame."

His resigned attitude is a tremendous change for Earnhardt, who just one month ago was extremely confident about his championship hopes. His Dale Earnhardt Inc. team had fully bounced back from a miserable 2005 season -- when he finished a career-worst 19th in the standings -- and had proved itself to be a legitimate contender for his first Nextel Cup title.

Then he blew the engine on his No. 8 Chevrolet at New Hampshire, and was wrecked a week later at Pocono Raceway. It led to consecutive 43rd-place finishes for the first time in his career and cost him seven spots in the standings.

"We've had two terrible results, but you can't dwell on it," he said. "What can you do? You have to put it behind you and look forward. We can't afford any more mistakes or finishes like that, but I have a team that's capable of coming back."

But it won't be easy for Earnhardt, who has his work cut out for him beginning with this Sunday's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His best finish at the Brickyard was a 10th in 2001, and he's never mastered the track in his six previous races. He was 43rd there last year after an early crash.

From there it's on to the road course at Watkins Glen, where Earnhardt's average finish is a mediocre 17.5. That's followed by a trip to Michigan Speedway, where he's also struggled.

But Earnhardt is buoyed by a successful test at Indy in early July, and a career-best third-place finish at Michigan in June. Both are proof to him how far his DEI team has come since last season, and give him confidence that the road ahead is not all uphill.

"We had the quickest car on our test day at Indy, so we feel pretty confident we're going in there with a setup that can run up front," he said. "We've been pretty strong at some tracks this year where we haven't shown much in the past. I have a feeling we're going to do the same at Indy."