Fan favorite

Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's biggest star, has high expectations placed on him because of his immense popularity and because he's the son of one of the sport's all-time icons.

Photos by NASCAR

The level of his popularity is astounding. Even during the times when he hasn't performed well on the track, he remains at the top of the heap with fans.

"He had more fans in 2007 than 2006 and didn't do anything in 2007," Kyle Petty observed earlier this year. "He doesn't have to do anything to be Dale Jr., and when he starts winning, it's just gravy."

In a recent meeting with reporters, Earnhardt Jr. said he's glad his fans' expectations are high.

"You can never live up to those," he said. "I wouldn't expect to. I would hope their expectations are super high. Anything short of a championship is not reaching their expectations, I'm sure."

He appears to have made the career decision he needed to make to put himself in position to win his first Cup title. (He did win two with his previous employer, Dale Earnhardt Inc., in the old Busch Series and came close to a Cup crown in 2004, when he won six races and was in the title hunt until the final week.) By moving to Hendrick Motorsports, he became part of a team used to winning Cup titles. Hendrick drivers have won seven Cup championships since 1995, including the past two.

"I don't feel like we're underestimated. We know we've got a little work to do." Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt Jr. made the Chase with ease, starting in fourth place, the position he still holds.

His old car, the No. 8 at DEI, finished the "regular season" 15th in car-owner points with the veteran Mark Martin and rookie Aric Almirola sharing the ride. None of the other three DEI drivers, Martin Truex Jr., Regan Smith and Paul Menard, contended for a Chase berth. Three Hendrick drivers, Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and defending champion Jimmie Johnson are in the Chase.

Even considering his popularity, Earnhardt Jr. has been knocked out of the headlines most of this season by Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Johnson, who have dominated the news by winning the most races. Earnhardt Jr. says that's OK.

"It's kind of cool to be under the radar a little bit," he said. "We've had so much pressure this year. At the start of the season, it was really hard to concentrate, and it was good to get a little bit of a break in the summer. Things kind of cooled off, and everything mellowed a little bit. It feels good. I really like my position.

"I don't feel like we're underestimated. We know we've got a little work to do. We definitely don't have an argument that we're as strong as the top three guys, but we've got the tools [and] the ability to be there."

And of course, there's that ever-present pressure to deal with, even more with the stress of the Chase.

"Pressure is hard to handle; it's not easy," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I don't particularly enjoy the pressure, but I wouldn't change anything about my world in this garage and how I'm treated by my friends and drivers and really what my position is in this sport.

"I wouldn't give it up for nothing."