Earnhardt Jr. succeeding in family business

Mike Harris

Thursday, Nov. 11, 1999 | 9:28 a.m.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - The blood line is impeccable.

From NASCAR pioneer Ralph Earnhardt to seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale to two-time Busch series champion Dale Jr., the determination and talent are unmatched.

Now the youngest of that racing trio, just 25, is getting ready to face the biggest challenge of his life, a move up to NASCAR's top series in 2000.

"I wanted to go into that series as the champion of the Busch series for a lot of reasons," Earnhardt Jr. said after wrapping up his second straight title with a second-place finish last Saturday in Avondale, Ariz.

"There are probably 40 other guys out there that wanted to be champions. But back to back ... I ran four or five years of late model cars and won three races out of about 115. Maybe I'm a better driver than I give myself credit for."

Even if Little E did doubt his ability, nobody else did after he won seven races and the Busch championship in 1998.

Now, he has made it two in a row in Chevrolets fielded by Dale Earnhardt Inc., his father's team. He also has won six races this year heading into the season finale Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"I feel like the team was ready for it," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Those guys were going to win championships because they're just a great team. I'm just a lucky guy to come along at the right time.

"Dad said, 'Okay, I'll put you in it.' After about three years of tugging on his shirt, he finally turned around and gave me a good answer."

Jeff Gordon, the last driver to come out of the Busch series with the kind of excitement surrounding Earnhardt, is now a three-time Winston Cup champion.

Gordon has no doubts about Earnhardt's ability.

"Maybe he only won three races before, but I kept asking his father when he was going to give Dale some decent equipment to use," Gordon said. "You wouldn't believe some of the cars he had to drive."

He especially remembers one he saw in Watkins Glen, N.Y., in 1997.

"He asked me to come over and look at the car," Gordon said with a grin. "I was amazed. It was this old beat-up car and it had one of those long shifters on it. I didn't think he could even make the race, and he did a great job. I think he got a top 10."

Talent or not, Junior has no illusions about next season after running four Cup races this year with a best finish of 10th in September in Richmond, Va.

"We have a good team and we have a lot of common sense," Earnhardt said. "But we don't necessarily have a lot of notes and a lot of depth and knowledge on setups and what the car is going to do on long runs at each track.

"It's going to take me a tremendous amount of time to get used to the cars. I've driven four races now, and I can tell where I stand and how long and how much I need to be comfortable and be able to be competitive."

The elder Earnhardt, who hates that people have taken to calling him "Senior," doesn't like to overdo the praise for the younger of his two boys.

But he's impressed by those two championships at such a tender age.

"He shows patience when he needs to," the father said. "He's worked hard, and when I got him in the race car, he did great. I'm very proud of him.

"I hope he keeps his head screwed on. He's about four or five years younger than I was when I won my first championship, so if we can get him tuned in here and get him going pretty quick, maybe we can win some races and some championships with him."

Junior realizes comparisons to his father are inevitable.

"I don't feel like I'm going to match what he's done," Little E said with a shy smile. "I might not even get close to what he's done. But I'm going to have fun doing it."