Dale Earnhardt Jr. never doubted whether or not his team could rally back into championship form. But he does recognize that some other organizations are ahead of his when it comes to the car of tomorrow - and that could be key this season.

Earnhardt Jr. quickly points out that a lot of teams suffered setbacks at some point in the opening series of six races. He had DNFs in the first two, but has since rallied back to 11th in the standings. The top 12 qualify for the Chase For The Nextel Cup 10-race title-determining segment of the season. Even when his Dale Earnhardt Inc. team endured setbacks, Earnhardt Jr. felt confident with their strength and ability to come back into the elite group. Still, he looks at the Hendrick Motorsports cars and sees a group that will be tough.

“They’re at the top of the charts right now, winning every week and running up front every week, and they’ll be hard to challenge going into the Chase at this point,” he said. “But if we can just continue to finish good and take good cars to the race track, we should be able to make that top 12.”

Scene Daily

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