NASCAR Chicago 2014: Dale Earnhardt Jr. optimistic about championship

CHICAGO -- As part of NASCAR’s marketing effort to promote the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Dale Earnhardt Jr. visited Los Angeles to make various television appearances, including Jimmy Kimmel Live and Fox Sports 1.

A self-described homebody, Earnhardt, however, would have preferred to be back in North Carolina, but so it goes when you qualify for NASCAR’s playoffs. From New York City to Mexico City, Toronto to Miami, all 16 Chase drivers were dispersed across North America.

“I went there kicking and screaming, but it ended being real fun,” Earnhardt said Thursday at Chase Media Day in Chicago. “Kimmel was great; I had so much fun doing that. That whole atmosphere is really laid back and they’re having a good time. ... As soon as you walk in, you say, ‘This is going to be great.’ All the worries go away.”

That Earnhardt is in demand isn’t a surprise. It’s just that unlike a few years ago when he wasn’t winning, the focus was instead on his famous last name or his status as NASCAR’s most popular driver.

Now, with three victories in 2014, including the Daytona 500, and having ended the regular season second in points, Earnhardt can talk about his on-track success.

“I’ve had the best time driving race cars this year,” Earnhardt said. “Which surprised me, because I hadn’t been having a good time several years ago and I didn’t know if that was ever going to change.”

The last time Earnhardt experienced such a season was 2004, back when his quasi-rock star status frequently saw his off-track antics featured in Rolling Stone. Now, nearing the age of 40 and one of NASCAR’s elder statesmen, Earnhardt has far greater appreciation for the opportunities presented.

“I don’t want to grow up, but you don’t have much of a choice with your age and you hit these milestones,” Earnhardt said. “I feel physically and mentally 10 years younger than that -- I guess that’s a good thing.

“When I was younger, I was so naïve. I just didn’t realize how fortunate I was, how lucky I was to be in the position I was in. I thought I did, but I think I take it more seriously now and really appreciate the situation I’m in.”

One such opportunity is a championship.

With crew chief Steve Letarte in his final months before moving to the broadcast booth, and in the midst of a season where he’s won three times and showed high-level consistency, Earnhardt enters this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup with a realistic chance to win his first-ever title.

In what appears to be a wide-open championship, Earnhardt is frequently cited among those with a solid chance to lift the Sprint Cup trophy.

“I think this is our best shot in the last six, seven years,” Earnhardt said. “You always see that when the Chase happens, there’s a team that just sort of comes out of nowhere or really ramps up the performance. We don’t have to ramp it up too far; we’ve been doing pretty good.”

The Chase begins Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, where a year ago Earnhardt’s aspirations came undone due to a blown engine and a resulting 35th-place finish. Although he came back to post top-10s in eight of nine races, all Earnhardt could do was climb to fifth in the championship standings.

But unlike last year, where his Chase eligibility wasn’t secured until late in the regular season, Earnhardt virtually assured himself a playoff berth in February by winning the Daytona 500.

Accordingly, Letarte has been afforded extra time to strategize on how to best approach the Chase. The No. 88 team has earmarked its best cars for the final 10 races, where four drivers are eliminated every three weeks.

“We don’t run the best package week in, week out (during the regular season),” Earnhardt said. “We don’t put all the chips in one pile, but in the Chase we do. I remember last year we were running pretty good during the regular season.

”But once the Chase started off, I advanced five spots week in, week out and we ran really good.

“I’m hoping Steve and the guys are again doing those things back at the shop that will make the difference. ... Hopefully, we haven’t shown our best yet and haven’t delivered the goods just yet.”