Timing is everything

Timing is everything
Junior helps his cause with recent surge.

Published Saturday, June 2, 2007

DOVER, Del. (AP) - Dale Earnhardt Jr’s free-agent price tag just might be rising as fast as his qualifying speeds.

AP photos

Above, Dale Earnhardt, perhaps the most highly sought free agent in NASCAR history, is increasing his market value with strong showings recently. He will start the Nextel Cup Autism Speaks 400 from the second position tomorrow in Dover, Del. Below, Columbia native Carl Edwards, left, talks to a crew member during yesterday’s qualifying for the Autism Speaks 400. Edwards will start the race from the fifth spot.

With his crew chief suspended and contract negotiations for next season still ongoing, nothing has been a distraction on the track for the surging Earnhardt.

Earnhardt almost had a pole to celebrate until he was bumped off late yesterday by Ryan Newman for the top spot for the race at Dover International Speedway. Newman followed last week’s front-row start with his second straight pole and 40th overall with a lap at 152.925 mph.

Earnhardt was second at 152.387 and Bobby Labonte third in 152.304 for tomorrow’s race on the mile concrete track. Kasey Kahne and Columbia native Carl Edwards round out the top five. Points leader Jeff Gordon is sixth.

"Second was close, and we can have a sense of pride in that accomplishment," Earnhardt said.

Although he was denied his first pole in 164 races, racing these days comes a whole lot easier for Junior than talking about where he might end up after this season. Decision day is looming for the wildly popular NASCAR driver, who says three or four teams are still in serious contention to land the free agent once he ends his run at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

"I can tell you that things are positive," Earnhardt said. "I’ve just been overwhelmed with the personalities I met."

Earnhardt’s 13th in the season standings, only 13 points behind Jamie McMurray for the 12th and final spot in the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship. Earnhardt finished eighth in each of the last two races and added what was a season-high fourth-place start last week in the Coca-Cola 600.

And he was just edged out of the pole yesterday, even without crew chief Tony Eury Jr. Eury is sitting out the second race of a six-race suspension after NASCAR discovered illegal brackets on the rear wing of the No. 8 Chevrolet at Darlington Raceway.

Earnhardt was docked 100 points, and Eury was fined $100,000.

With runs like these, Junior won’t have to worry too much about Eury rushing back.

This process of scouting out new teams has been exciting for Earnhardt, still without a pole since a Sept. 29, 2002, race at Kansas. He never had a chance to see up close how some of NASCAR’s heavyweight teams operate.

"I didn’t see any golden eggs laying around," Earnhardt said.

But he did like some of the areas where the other teams are branching out and growing, thanks to some of the financial resources not necessarily available at DEI. Still, Earnhardt believes he can win again this year - he’s won at Dover before - and that his departure had little to do with his confidence in his team.

"The reasons I left were truly personal and not competition-related," said Earnhardt, referring to his relationship with stepmother Teresa Earnhardt.

Earnhardt’s sister, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, had set an end of June deadline to get a new deal done, though she said yesterday she’d like to get it wrapped up sooner.

Earnhardt is taking a patient approach, and it seems he’ll only drive a Chevrolet, which "spells it out pretty good for a lot of people," as to where he’ll end up.

"Just for a couple of extra bucks I wouldn’t want to go drive for another manufacturer," he said.

Michael Waltrip qualified for a race for the first time since the Daytona 500, starting 23rd in his No. 55 Toyota.