By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
The sounds of engines are roaring once again at the Daytona International Speedway as the first of two weeks of test sessions got under way.
Preseason Thunder was delayed by the weather Monday morning, but couldn't keep the drivers off the track for long.
Tony Raines of LaPorte, Ind. was the fastest in the morning session as he whipped around the two and a half-mile speedway at 183.974. (see related story above)
The afternoon was rained out.
Besides the Car of Tomorrow, a new engine for the Chevrolets and a new nose for the Dodge Chargers, the hot topic was Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his contract negotiations with Dale Earnhardt Inc.
Also on the minds of the media gathered both at Daytona and via a telephone conference was Earnhardt Jr.'s reaction to comments made by stepmother and DEI owner Teresa Earnhardt.
Teresa Earnhardt was quoted in a magazine interview as saying that Earnhardt Jr. needed to decide whether he was a race car driver or a celebrity.
The media quickly jumped on this topic and sided with the NASCAR star, questioning whether or not Teresa should be questioning his dedication when she rarely shows up at the tracks on race weekends.
Earnhardt Jr. to his credit really didn't want to comment on the subject, but was in a position where he had to respond to the media's questions on Monday afternoon.
"Well, my sister (Kelley Earnhardt Elledge) said that in this sport they go hand in hand, and I sort of agree with that," Earnhardt Jr. said of being a celebrity and a race car driver. "I think that everybody is smart enough to understand the position the drivers are in. You guys that are here every weekend, you know what the sport is like because you're here every weekend. You know what it's about. I think that it's probably an advantage to have a decent personality as a race car driver, one that can garner to several sponsors that you might have on any given race team. I think is important to be well liked and be marketable. I think it's any owner's dream to have a driver that's succeeded. I don't know, she might have just been having a bad day or something when she said that. I really don't know where that was coming from.
"I tried, and tried not to comment on it," he continued. "I didn't want to comment to the press on it. I don't want to get in … because you know, even if I don't and she don't want to be in a pitching war back and forth, you guys can make one out of it if you want. I was trying not to get involved in it. I really didn't appreciate it, whether she was taken out of context or not. I just didn't really appreciate it. But a lot of people went to bat for me, especially a lot of people in the press. It was nice to read those comments and stuff as far as what everybody's opinion on it was."
Earnhardt was later questioned about whether or not he had spoken to Teresa about the comments. He said he hadn't.
The discussion then turned to whether his relationship with his stepmother would factor in his decision to return to DEI.
"Absolutely," he answered. "Any relationship – my relationship with the car owner is definitely going to factor into my decision to drive. I haven't talked to Teresa about what she said in the paper. I figured if anything needed to be said, she'd call me up and say it. But you know, my and her relationship definitely factor into my decision to drive there."
Earnhardt Jr. and DEI have an exclusive negotiation deal until June. After that, Earnhardt would be free to entertain offers from other teams.
Don't look for any breaking news on contract talks anytime soon. Teresa reportedly has handed over those negotiations to others to keep their personal relationship out of the deal.
Earnhardt Jr. has sister Kelly handling his end of the negotiations.
"Well, I don't want to really get too personal, but Teresa is my stepmother, and I have a mother at home that I have a very good relationship with," he said. "Mine and Teresa's relationship has always been very black and white, very strict and in your face. It is what it is … it ain't a bed of roses … I don't know how to explain it honestly.
"The relationship that we have today is the same relationship we had when I was six years old when I moved into that house with Dad and her. It's always been the same. It hasn't gotten worse over the last couple years or last couple months. It's always been the same, the way I felt about her then is the way I feel about her now."
Of his sister handling the contract negations, Earnhardt Jr. said "Like I said, Kelly is a big part of my contract negotiations and in no, way, shape or form will she not be a part of that and not be a big part of that. So I don't know if what Richie (Gilmore) said is exactly the case. Teresa, didn't come to the last … we did have a meeting probably several months ago and then we had one with everybody present. And then we had one a couple of months ago that Teresa decided that it best that she wasn't part of that meeting and that these other two guys do the negotiating. You know, my sister and me, we're a team when it comes to those type of things."
Despite the distractions of those comments and contract negotiations, Earnhardt Jr. said he is happy to be driving the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet for DEI and he feels like the team is ready to make a run at the Daytona 500 and a NEXTEL Cup championship.
"We're pretty excited already today," he said. "Really, just the first few hours we've been here have been real productive, and so I'm pretty excited. We've got a great track record here, and it's a great racetrack for me. I really enjoy running here, and I feel like if you've got a good car, you've got a great shot at winning."
"I think going into last year, I was worried whether me and Tony (Eury) Jr. could be successful again as we were in 2005," he continued. "I was worried whether we could match the pressure of trying to make the Chase, we didn't have any excuses. All of these things were going through my mind last year. And this year, very comfortable, feel like I proved to myself what I wanted to know last year, and I feel like we're very capable of winning the championship. I feel like I know more each year in and out about what to do to win the championship and how to better position myself to make the Chase and do those types of things. Each year you learn more about that. I have to minimize my mistakes. It's really hard as a human being to do that, but you've just got to really, really try, just to be perfect as a driver, not to make mistakes on the racetrack. Even in those – and it's tough in those situations. Sometimes you just forget about the big picture and you're going for the little one."
If the concerns of his relationship with his team owner and the negotiation of a new contract are bothering him, it wasn't evident on the first day of testing. Earnhardt Jr. had both of his test cars in the top half of the speed chart in the opening test session.
Of course, only time will tell if the constant media pressure of answering questions about those topics will hurt his performance on the track.