Dale Earnhardt Jr. not fretting over recent slump

Dale Earnhardt Jr. readily acknowledges that his No. 88 team hasn’t performed to a satisfactory level and that the 2016 season hasn’t thus far gone as expected.

But just as Earnhardt admits things could be better, he also recognizes there is plenty of time to earn a season-first victory and solidify his spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. At the halfway point of the regular season, he ranks 13th in points with five top-10 finishes through 13 races.

In each of the past two seasons Earnhardt had already recorded a win and virtually secured his place in NASCAR’s playoff by this point.

“I’m not feeling any anxiety,” Earnhardt said Friday at Pocono Raceway. “At 41 years old you kind of get over that stuff, I’m not going to worry about it. I spent the first 18 years (of his career) worrying myself to death. I think we are a good enough team to make (the Chase) whether we get a win or not.

“That is not a guarantee, I just feel confident that we will get in.”

Earnhardt enters Sunday’s Axalta 400 in the midst of a streak that’s seen him finish no better than 13th over the past five races. He’s also led laps in all of two races, just 49 total laps on the year.

Although it’s obvious something is amiss with the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team, what’s less apparent is how to improve the performance. Earnhardt says he’s unsure where the team is lacking, just that it doesn’t have the necessary speed to be competitive. Nor can he study the competition to gauge precisely why one car is running faster than his.

“The majority of the time there is no way to really put your finger on the exact area where you are getting beat,” Earnhardt said. “Nothing stands out. ... Their body doesn’t look better than my body. Their motor can’t be better than my motor.

“It’s just a combination of dozens of things doing everything right, preparing and working hard.”

Earnhardt understands there is no magic cure-all where he’ll suddenly begin challenging for wins. The goal is to make incremental gains so that come the Chase he is peaking. On Friday Earnhardt specifically cited Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski as drivers who improved throughout the season, then got even better when the playoffs started.

Stewart went winless during the 2011 regular season, only to win five of 10 Chase races en route to a third championship. Keselowski scored two Chase victories and finished worse than 11th just once during his 2012 championship run.

“They found ideas that other teams were using and doing, took it in house made it their own, took that plan and made it even better and won the championship,” Earnhardt said.

What Earnhardt wants is to find consistent speed, and if crew chief Greg Ives and company can give him that then the wins will come. He finds encouragement that he’s finished second three times this season before hitting his recent month-long slump.

“I’m not too worried about where we are right now,” Earnhardt said. “We are not running bad. It’s been a rough month, but I think we can turn it around here.”