Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Earnhardt Jr. making name for himself

Friday, Aug. 14, 1998 | 11:09 a.m.

BRIAN HILDERBRANDis a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. His motor sports column appears Fridays. He can be reached on the Internet at bh@lasvegassun.com. For the latest in the world of auto racing, check out the Sun Racing web site at http://www.lasvegassun.com/sports/ racing/

When Dale Earnhardt Jr. walked through the garage area at Daytona International Speedway prior to the Daytona 500, several bystanders pointed to the 23-year-old and whispered, "There goes Dale Earnhardt's son."

At the rate the younger Earnhardt is going, it won't be long before people spot Dale Sr. at a race and say, "There goes Dale Junior's dad."

Two-thirds of the way through the Busch Series season, Dale Jr. has made a name as one of the brightest up-and-coming drivers in stock-car racing. In 22 races, he already has five wins, 15 top-10s (including a second-place finish at the Sam's Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in February), three poles and stands atop the series points standings.

He constantly is compared to both his father and another young racing phenom, Jeff Gordon, and the younger Earnhardt seems genuinely flattered by both comparisons.

"I've seen in some articles where I've been compared to (Gordon) and I accept that," Earnhardt said. "I'm very flattered just to be in the same sentence with that man."

But praise, money and sudden fame in his own right is not what motivates Earnhardt.

"I've raced for me and try to do for me but a lot of people don't know that it's all for my daddy," he said. "I win races to put smiles on his face. I don't care much about anything else as far as the bonuses that come along with winning -- the money, the exposure, the fame -- it's all just to make him happy. That's what it's all about to me.

"He's my daddy and I love him to death and I want to do it for him."

Although Earnhardt said he plans to return to the Busch Series next season in the No. 3 AC Delco Chevrolet that is owned by his mother, Teresa, Earnhardt already is being mentioned as the driver who could challenge Jeff Gordon's dominance in the Winston Cup Series.

Earnhardt said he gladly would welcome that challenge.

"I might have to eat my words but, yeah, I think I would be ready for something like that," he said. "I think Jeff Gordon is one of the best, if not the best, out there right now ... and, yeah, I'd like to get in the mix with them.

"If and when I do get in the Cup Series, I just hope to be competitive. And if I can be that man (to challenge Gordon), I'd be glad to do it."

His success in the Busch Series notwithstanding, Earnhardt admitted he is not ready to make the jump to the Winston Cup Series next season.

"If we win the championship this year, we're still going to run the Busch Series next year," Earnhardt said. "It's a great series, an excellent series, and I think it needs more credit than it's given; I think it is becoming a little more than a little brother to the Cup series.

"One more year is just more experience for me. I'm still a rookie and I'm still learning and I think another year in the Busch Series would be excellent for that."

* NASCAR: Three-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip is switching from Chevrolet to Pontiac beginning with this weekend's race at Michigan Speedway. The swap in manufacturers is part of Waltrip's and team owner's Tim Beverly's new sponsorship agreement with Tabasco. "I have never driven a Pontiac before, but I can learn," Waltrip said. "During my career, I've won races in Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Chevrolets, and it would be pretty neat to win one now in a Pontiac." ... As anticipated, Ricky Craven "resigned" as driver of the No. 50 Chevrolet and is being replaced by Wally Dallenbach Jr. ... Michigan Speedway has added a 4-foot extension to its crash fence in the wake of the deaths of three spectators during a CART race there July 25. Three fans were killed and six others injured when debris from Adrian Fernandez's car sailed over the fence and into the stands following a single-car accident.

* CART: The three local drivers in the CART FedEx Championship Series are optimistic heading into Sunday's Texaco/Havoline 200 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisc. "This is one of the best tracks we have on the schedule right now," Henderson's Richie Hearn said. "Elkhart Lake is one of the few pure road courses left." Las Vegas resident Paul Tracy, who won at Road America in 1993, also is looking forward to the race. "I usually run well at Road America; it's my favorite track," he said. "I've won there and been on the pole three times. I certainly know my way around the place. If we can start up front, we've got a good shot at winning." Jimmy Vasser of Las Vegas: "I feel very positive heading into this race. We've had the opportunity to test there and I feel like we learned some things that should help us during the race."

* IRL: Davey Hamilton of Las Vegas will be out for his first IRL victory when the series visits Pikes Peak International Raceway on Sunday. "As far as I'm concerned, I am with the top team in the league," Hamilton said of Reebok/Nienhouse Motorsports. "We are consistent and fast and everyone is hungry for a win and the championship." Hamilton enters the Radisson 200 third in the series points battle, 25 points behind front-runner Scott Sharp. Hamilton said he is looking forward to racing at Pikes Peak. "I enjoy the tracks like Pikes Peak because it's a driver's track," he said. "It takes a good driver to keep up with the changes in the track and those types of tracks are where I have had the most success." ... Also in the field for this weekend's race is Henderson resident Sam Schmidt. Schmidt is 14th in points going into the 200-lap race at the one-mile superspeedway. ... Billy Boat, who broke his pelvis and left leg in an accident during the June 28 race at New Hampshire International Speedway, will return to racing in the Conseco/ A.J. Foyt Dallara/Aurora.

* BACKMARKERS: Las Vegas resident Shane Donley finished seventh in last weekend's Barber Dodge Pro Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Alex Gurney finished fifth in the same race. Gurney was the 1997 winner of the 1997 Team Green Academy American Driver Development Program at the Derek Daly SpeedCentre Racing School at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. ... Starting positions for the Sept. 12 SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 will be held Friday, Aug. 21, at SCORE headquarters in Los Angeles. The Primm 300 is the fifth round in the six-race off-road series. ... Dave Villwock, piloting Miss Budweiser, has won five of the six races in the 10-race UHRA Thunder Tour, which visits Lake Mead Sept. 25-27.