DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The official start of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s new era began on Monday when Junior took his first laps in a Hendrick Motorsports car during preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway.
And contrary to what many long-time fans and even opponents of NASCAR's most popular driver may have thought, the world did not come crashing to a halt.
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| Junior is rarin' to go in 2008. (Getty Images) |
All the hoopla and hysteria will no doubt return when the cars come back to Daytona for real next month for Speedweeks, but for now things are calm, quiet and down to business.
And that's just fine for Earnhardt Jr.
"I really couldn't wait to get going, we have so many challenges ahead of us it was just nice to get back into a race car and get to work," said Earnhardt Jr. on Monday night at a fantasy racing fan appreciation event he hosted. "It seemed like a long time between when we made this decision to when we could just get going."
While speeds during NASCAR test sessions mean about as much as political exit polls these days, Earnhardt Jr. had to be pleased with his performance on Monday.
His lap of 184.846 mph was the second fastest in the day's opening session, maybe at least a small sign that he could be headed for better things than his disappointing final days with his former team DEI.
"Yeah, I mean, you can't put too much into what we do out there running by ourselves," Earnhardt Jr. said of the single car runs that made up the first day of this week's three-day test. "It's all about drafting here and we'll see what we have when we can run with some others on the track. But in the meantime we're just trying to learn as much as we can about this new car and the team."
Earnhardt's decision to join his new team at Hendrick Motorsports has hogged the headlines for nearly half a year. But although it's early in the process, the transition seems to be going well and others in the garage area believe it was the right thing to do for Earnhardt Jr.
"I think he made a decision that was personally right for him, and that's the most important thing," defending Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick said. "You guys all know, when you go to work in the morning, and if you're not happy, then it's not a fun day and you're not having fun at your job."
Despite being fierce competitors, Harvick is pleased that after several years of turmoil at DEI, Earnhardt Jr. has found happiness.
"Like I said before, the chemistry part is the hardest thing," said Harvick of Earnhardt fitting in at Hendrick and working with new teammates Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears. "You can buy all those things, but I think once they get that part figured out, I think they'll be on their way. For him personally, I think I'm just happy that he's happy. I think that with as much pressure is on him, he doesn't need all the rest of it."
