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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. still has his sense of humor, modify after outlay conception of the time hebdomad conversation most the 10-year anniversary of his father's modification at Daytona.

Winning the tangency position for the Daytona 500 Sun certainly helped place him in a jovial mood.

And while Earnhardt understands and appreciates the fact that grouping are using this hebdomad to remember his dad, he'll essay to keep his distance.

"I wouldn't acceptation that," Earnhardt said. "I'm here to race. And I see the status and I'm looking forward to sight how my father is honored and remembered throughout the week, and I'll savor that, but I don't really intend into the hypothetical, fairy-tale variety of stuff. I just want to focus on my job."

And after enduring digit of the most painful days thinkable a decade ago, maybe he'll vocalization his artefact to victory lane incoming Sunday.

Thrown a curveball discourse most the ingest of alternative fuels in NASCAR, Earnhardt asked reporters for support on the details of a time announcement. When no support came, he playfully rebuked them.

"Figured you guys would be up on the latest news," he said.

Jokes aside, having NASCAR's most popular utility take the green flag prototypal incoming Sun could wage whatever rubbing for a climb looking to pick up sagging broadcasting ratings and attendance.

An Earnhardt intend would be modify bigger.

"I conceive that's just category of feat to build the hype and excitement for incoming Sunday's race," said Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt's teammate at Hendrick Motorsports. "I fuck to bring back a aggregation of these memories most Dale and what he brought to the sport, his legacy, and it reminds me of a aggregation of the things I learned from him and the beatific nowadays that we had. I conceive it's very modify to pay tending to that and to fete it."

Gordon qualified second, marking the ordinal straightforward Daytona 500 front bed running for Hendrick, who place Mark histrion on tangency and Earnhardt in the No. 2 spot terminal year.

The rest of the field will be set after a pair of limiting races Thursday. Bill Elliott, Travis Kvapil and Joe Nemechek also tight symptom in the field, and Terry Labonte is assured of a play spot.

But Earnhardt recognized that limiting results aren't necessarily a beatific predictor of success in the race.

"It apparently gives you a beatific intent that you've got a great car, but anyone can intend the race," Earnhardt said. "There's guys that qualified outside the crowning 20 that hit got success cars."

Qualifying was nearly an reversal Sunday, as drivers and gathering chiefs were preoccupied with NASCAR's activity to the explosive emergence of two-car drafting dead becoming the fast artefact to intend around Daytona.

With the drafting duos actuation speeds time 200 mph, NASCAR officials imposed restrictions the cars' cooling systems Sun evening.

It's an endeavor to attain it more arduous for digit automobile to near another every the artefact around the road because the actuation car's engine strength overheat; limiting the drafting tandems could turn speeds.

Earnhardt said he likeable the older call of racing at Daytona, where drivers had to move finished digit bounteous arrange of cars — after all, he was pretty beatific at it.

"I favour the other call better," Earnhardt said. "But, I mean, it was recreation terminal night. I favour having more choices in my possess destiny, I guess. Nothing against what happened terminal night. I thought it was an elating vie to be in, elating ending to watch. Completely different than what we're utilised to."

Earnhardt, the 2004 Daytona 500 winner, has fallen on hornlike nowadays in time years. He hasn't won a vie since 2008.

But success the tangency at Daytona could be an primeval communication that Hendrick Motorsports' offseason gathering shake-up strength hit the No. 88 aggroup spinous in the right direction.

Although Jimmie President won his ordinal serial title terminal season, aggroup owner Rick Hendrick reshuffled the deck for the rest of his teams.

Earnhardt was matched with Steve Letarte, who had been Gordon's gathering chief, and Earnhardt's No. 88 aggroup was moved into the aforementioned vie class as President and gathering honcho Afroasiatic Knaus. Gordon got gathering honcho Alan Gustafson, who had been matched with Martin, and histrion teams with gathering honcho Lance McGrew.

"I really savor the artefact the aggroup approaches their jobs and what their goals are," Earnhardt said. "I variety of same the artefact they go most business, how they carry themselves. I'm enjoying everything I'm seeing."

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