NASCAR's season-opening Daytona 500 has served as the personal playground lately for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip, who have shown up the last four years with cars that seem to churn out just a touch more horsepower than everyone else's.
Once the green flag drops, the on-track rivals have managed to put aside any tension between them and nudge each other through the traffic and up to the front. And the result has been magic for Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI), which fields its Chevrolets out of a shop run by Earnhardt's stepmother, Teresa, who took the reins after her husband, seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt, was killed on the last lap of stock-car racing's biggest event in 2001.
Three times in the last four years, either Earnhardt Jr. or Waltrip has won the coveted 500. Earnhardt Jr., the defending champion, was so dominant during practice at Daytona International Speedway last year that many conceded the victory even before the green flag fell.
"I didn't feel we had a shot," said Jeff Gordon, who won the race in 1997 and 1999. "I felt we were all basically running for second or third."
But with the 2005 Daytona 500 just four days away, the prerace rumblings are entirely different.
Both DEI drivers had miserable showings in qualifying last weekend. Waltrip was 33rd fastest; Earnhardt Jr., 39th.
They'll have a chance to improve their starting spots in Thursday's 150-mile qualifying races, with positions 3 through 43 up for grabs. (Under rules unique to NASCAR's Daytona 500, only the first two starting spots are locked during time trials). And in Wednesday's practice sessions, their speeds picked up. Earnhardt Jr. was 12th fastest (189.278 mph); Waltrip was seventh quickest (190.917).
Still, the uncharacteristic lack of horsepower under the hood of Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 8 Chevy, in particular, has fans of NASCAR's most popular driver in a lather. The topic is burning up Internet chat rooms and radio call-in shows. And it is raising questions about whether DEI's offseason shakeup -- in which Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief, pit crew, stable of mechanics and fleet of racecars were traded with those of Waltrip's -- will prove to be the most misguided move in racing.
"When they make a big change like that, you don't automatically just say, 'That's crazy!' and count them out," Gordon said during an interview in January. "They're going to be strong no matter what. But it does make you question things."
DEI officials characterized the decision to swap crews and cars in December as a win-win situation that would inject a spark into both drivers' performances. Earnhardt Jr. had worked with just one crew chief in NASCAR's top ranks, his cousin Tony Eury Jr., and they tangled like puppies from the same litter -- alternately pawing, clawing and occasionally snarling at each other. The thinking was that splitting them up, a decision that was approved by Teresa Earnhardt, would mature both.
Earnhardt Jr. supported the move, which pairs him with Waltrip's former crew chief, Pete Rondeau.
"I was kind of in a situation where it was hard for me and Tony Jr. to grow as adults," he said. "Now, working with Pete, I've got to be my own man. I don't have my cousin to bark at."
While Earnhardt's place with the family-run team is no doubt secure, Waltrip is on a shorter leash, having finished no better than 14th in the standings since joining DEI in 2001. He failed to win a race last year and is expected to be fired if he doesn't make the top 10 this year.
In Waltrip's case, DEI has little to lose in shaking things up. In giving him the cars and equipment that Earnhardt Jr. drove to six victories in 2004, DEI officials will be able to determine, with reasonable certainty, whether Waltrip's subpar showing has been the result of driver or machine.
In the case of Earnhardt Jr., the risk is greater. He is NASCAR's hottest property, a cross-over star behind the steering wheel, attracting a broad swath of untraditional stock-car fans with a rock star's magnetism. No driver sells more merchandise. And he's no slouch behind the wheel, contending for championship the last three seasons.
Team owner Jack Roush, who has won NASCAR's title the last two years with drivers Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch, ordered a similar shake-up at his race shop in 2002, swapping Mark Martin's crew with that of Busch's. The move benefited both.
Roush declined to comment on the swap at DEI, offering simply that in his experience, three basic things are required to make a stock car go fast: a good driver, competitive technology and a good crew.
"Those are three distinct things, and they're like a series of lights on a Christmas tree," Roush said. "If you've got all three of them together, you've got a string of lights that burns bright. And if you've got one that's not functioning correctly, then you've got no lights at all. Sometimes it's not easy to tell which one is at fault."
