Earnhardt likes feel of new car

Driver hoping for a smooth transition

ATLANTA -- Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's most popular driver, said he doesn't anticipate any problems from a driving standpoint in making the switch from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to Hendrick Motorsports. The worry for him, as odd as it sounds, is whether he'll fit in on a new team.

"It's like going to a new school, making new friends," he said. "It's hard to make friends. It's hard to build relationships. ...

"I had such a great rapport and great relationship with all the guys on my team I'm currently with, and to have to go through the challenge of that and building that respect and trust with a whole new group's going to be tough."

So far, he said, it's working out OK.

"They seem like they're willing to have a great attitude, willing to work really well, so it should be just a matter of time," he said. "Just getting to know everybody, remembering everybody, everybody's name, getting to understand and learn their personalities, the ins and outs of every member on the team, that's going to be the only challenge."

Earnhardt, battered and sore from a crash in the closing laps of Sunday's Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, was back at the speedway Monday participating in a two-day test of the Car of Tomorrow. Wearing a white driving suit adorned with Adidas logos, he took the wheel of Hendrick's No. 5 Chevrolet in the opening day of testing and was seventh fastest in the opening session.

Earnhardt has driven the No. 8 Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt Inc. throughout his Cup career and will drive it in the final three races this year. He said his new car, which will carry No. 88 next year, is similar to his old one, with a few notable differences.

''The car drives about the same, but the steering is smoother," he said. "The theory and the method that Hendrick takes in putting their geometry together and putting this front suspension -- how the front suspension's assembled -- makes the car steer smoother."

Making the transition smoother is the reuniting of Earnhardt -- for the AMS test -- with his cousin and longtime crew chief Tony Eury Jr., who already left DEI to join Hendrick.

Eury, who has been working for Hendrick for the past three weeks, said it's clear to him why his new team is so successful.

"Hendrick has a lot more support, a lot more people," he said. "The more people you have, the less likely your guys are going to get burned out and the stronger your team is going to be."

But Eury said he'll likely leave some of his laid-back ways behind.

"I wear my shirttail in, and I got a haircut," he said, adding that he wasn't told to. "It's the atmosphere you're in. It's a class-act organization ... and they look nice. When you walk in, there's dry cleaning hanging in your office and that's what you wear. I'm cool with it."

But he said he doesn't expect Dale Jr. to be as quick to change wardrobes.

"He told me to pull my shirttail out because he didn't want me to expect he was going to do it," he said. "But I wouldn't want Dale Jr. to do anything different than he's doing because he's his own guy and that's why the fans like him."