Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008 | 1:27 p.m.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said his departure from Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company founded by his late father and for whom Junior drove his entire NASCAR career until joining Hendrick Motorsports this season, said he has been forced to grow up now that he is not “the son of the boss anymore.”
“Me and (crew chief Tony Eury Jr.) both experienced sort of a little bit of a growth or maturity about just going from one door to the other overnight,” he said of going to work for Rick Hendrick. “I grew up over the years, but when I first started, you could get away with saying things and get being quoted certain ways and be able to get away with it working for my daddy. I wouldn't be able -- my job now is to stay out of Rick's office as much as I can.”
Apparently the change in teams is agreeing with Earnhardt: He sits atop the speed charts after five of six days of preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway and has been either the fastest or second fastest in three of the first four sessions this week.
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