Earnhardt's team lets it flow after Shootout win

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans may be painted green and blue and white this season, instead of Bud red, but as Speedweeks kicks off, his huge fan base is finally cheering again, because their hero is finally winning again.Earnhardt's thrilling Shootout win against Tony Stewart on Saturday night was his first big win since Richmond in the spring of 2006.It was Earnhardt's first win with Rick Hendrick. It was also a first for crew chief and cousin Tony Eury Jr. "It felt really good to be back like we are supposed to be," Eury said. "Dale Jr. showed it like what we were back in 2000."That was a storybook ending. I'm with a new team, and pumping these guys up.... It's just a storybook line."Dale Jr. looked just like he did in 2004, feeling the draft ... and all those guys, with the fire in their eyes ... it's overwhelming."And it was emotional on the personal side too, Eury said: "My setup guy, Joey Arnold. His kid was five years old and had a terminal disease and died Tuesday. I walked in the shop the next day and said 'Joey, what are you doing here?'"He said: 'This is my best chance to win the Daytona 500, and I want to be a part of it.'"To me, that kind of dedication meant a lot. It is unbelievable there is that much dedication, that much 'want to win.'"A lot of people don't realize how big these races are. People say this sport makes a lot of money ... but the way I look at it, you get paid to not have a life sometimes."So when things like that happen, it hits me emotionally. I am so thankful to have people that are dedicated behind me."For Hendrick the win was a relief: "It sure takes a lot of pressure off, to run good in the first race and get a win ... and just have a lot of fun."And it wasn't just Earnhardt running strong; Hendrick's other three drivers were in contention too, perhaps setting the stage for a 1-2-3-4 finish in the Daytona 500."I wish it was going to be that easy," Hendrick said. "There were good cars that weren't in that race, like Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton. And these Toyotas are awfully fast."I think this will be the most competitive 500 you have ever seen. And if you don't start near the front, you are going to have a hard time getting to the front."Earnhardt's stretch charge was tense."I have never had so many emotions going through me at the end of a race," Hendrick said. "One, because I thought about Ricky (his son, who died three years ago), because he wanted this, and they talked about doing this, and this happened."Then I thought about Robert Gee (car builder, and grandfather of Dale Jr.), because he and I came down here and raced together in a Busch car named Emma. And I have his two grandchildren sitting here ..."I mean we are like giddy. It's a different feeling ... We are having a lot of fun. We are really enjoying this. This is going to be a fun week ..."It is a tremendous amount of pressure. But we knew that. But the chemistry is unbelievable.... and that is the hard part...."And Junior has made them all feel special -- everybody in that whole shop was over there congratulating Tony Jr. and Dale Jr., because it is about 80 or 90 guys working hard to make this thing work."Earnhardt has been emphasizing his work ethic during the preseason buildup surrounding his move from DEI to Hendrick Motorsports, and now he's getting a chance to display his driving talents,Earnhardt seems a different man this year, less flippant, more serious. And he's been working hard with his new teammates, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears. In fact, Johnson and Gordon helped Earnhardt win the Shootout."We had a lot of help at the end from Jimmie; he really was half the credit for the win," Earnhardt said. "The other half was the car being capable of being up there in the first place."I had a great handling package. It was really fast. I had great runs up off the corner, and I had a great motor."But we just got lucky at the end, being in the right lane and getting the right help from the right guy. Whoever wins the race, that's the situation ... and we were that person. I was just really lucky."Well, Tony Stewart wasn't necessarily buying that. Stewart, who is good friends on the track with Earnhardt, gave him the ultimate praise afterward: "He's one of the best restrictor-plate drivers there's ever been. He learned a lot from his dad, and I'm not sure he's not better than his dad, in all honesty, now." (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)