Forget about No. 8, Junior's Chase fate is in jeopardy

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Changing numbers is the least of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s worries.

The news that Earnhardt Jr. won't carry his famous No. 8 with him to Hendrick Motorsports next year has thousands of members of "Junior Nation" in an uproar.

Junior's foray at Watkins Glen ended in another disastrous finish. (AP)

But unless Earnhardt Jr. kicks things in gear over the next four races, there will be a real reason to panic.

For the second time in three years, Earnhardt Jr. could miss the Chase. Last week's engine failure at Watkins Glen, the second in the last three races for the DEI No. 8, saddled Earnhardt Jr. with a 42nd place finish and sunk him further down in the point standings.

Earnhardt Jr. comes into this weekend's Michigan 400 in 14th place, two spots out of the final Chase transfer spot, 100 points behind Kurt Busch who holds the coveted 12th position.

But despite the recent string of bad luck and the drop in the standings, Earnhardt Jr. remains convinced things aren't as bleak as some believe.

"I'm sure some people are gonna write us off for the Chase after our problems at Watkins Glen," Earnhardt Jr. said. "But I think it's foolish to do so because we're a great team and we're gonna do everything we can to scratch and claw and fight for wins and every position on every lap. We have four races coming up at four tracks where we've been very, very good lately."

Those tracks include Michigan, Bristol, Richmond and California -- all places, as Earnhardt Jr. points out, where he's had success, including wins at Richmond and Bristol.

But overcoming the bad karma that engulfed Earnhardt Jr. the last several weeks is going to be as much a factor to make the playoffs as running well.

"The last few months, I can't believe how bad our luck has been because we've run up front every week," he said. "It feels like we're like your favorite CD but with a scratch in it. It feels good and sounds great until we hit the scratch and then the song stops before it's done. If we ever get that disc to play through to the end, we'll be pretty damn happy."

Tony Stewart fans have been pretty happy of late and why wouldn't they? The two-time champion has put together another one of his trademark summer runs and reeled off three victories in the last four races.

His four-race hot streak, which included a sixth place finish at Pocono in addition to three trips to victory lane, has vaulted Stewart from seventh to fourth in the championship standings, and lopped 94 points off Jeff Gordon's lead.

And with the Chase looming, Stewart's season is coming together at the right time.