Retro racing suits Junior

DAYTONA BEACH — Dale Earnhardt Jr. left Daytona frustrated and furious in July. One of his favorite tracks had become a bore.

He disliked every aspect of the new tandem racing: the blind pushing, the feeling of not being in control and the need for constant communication.

"It was a foolish freakin' race," he said after a 19th-place finish.

Earnhardt's outlook has changed considerably since. Between NASCAR-mandated changes, testing and the 54 laps in Saturday's Budweiser Shootout, his concerns have been alleviated entering today's qualifying races and Sunday's Daytona 500.

"I do feel like I have a better shot at winning in this current style of racing," Earnhardt said Wednesday. "I do feel more confident than I did coming down here and tandem drafting."

Earnhardt and others believe tandem racing in the final laps will determine the outcome today and Sunday. But not having to push, pull, sweat and swap for 200 laps around the high-banked track means everything to him.

After all, Earnhardt has 13 wins at NASCAR's most storied oval. It's also where his father, seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt, won 34 races and died on the final lap in 2001.

And now that the racing has returned, at least in part, to the pack style Junior enjoys and seems to thrive in, it only makes sense he would be a favorite.

Nonetheless, he knows he needs good fortune.

"There is no sure strategy that is going to keep you out of a wreck or having you lead the race off Turn 4," said Earnhardt, whose winless streak is at 129 races. "You just have to … hope you continue to make every decision right; kind of like a line of dominos.

"You just hope every one that falls hits the next one. Eventually, you come off the last corner and you are in position to try to make that last decision that is going to win the race. Hopefully, it will work out for us."

It worked in 2004, a victory Earnhardt still savors.

He remembers the raucous celebration, the unremitting adulation from fans and media and the flattering comparisons to his father.

"You just feel like you have realized your full potential," he said. "Obviously, you set a lot of goals for yourself, and that is just one of the goals. But just for a moment, just for that one day, whether it is 30 minutes or an hour after you cross that finish line, you feel like it can't get any better than this.

"Some of the greatest drivers come through this sport and don't win it. It just doesn't seem right, but only certain ones get that opportunity."