For Dale Earnhardt Jr., the fun of the 2014 season came to an end at Richmond International Raceway.
With the new Chase for the Sprint Cup system, Earnhardt found himself locked into the postseason after his season-opening win in the Daytona 500.
He has won two more races (both Poconos) and leads the series in top-fives while sitting second in the standings. All of that was done with little pressure.
But after the regular-season finale Federated Auto Parts 400 Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway, the pressure-cooker of the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins.
“It has definitely been fun this year because of being locked in,” Earnhardt said. “We won that Daytona 500 and that whole experience was a great time.
“But having that comfort of knowing we were locked in made the rest of the season so enjoyable. It took a lot of pressure off, and really allowed us to just go race and have fun.”
“It is about to get serious,” Earnhardt said. “It is about to get real again where you are going to have to buckle down and make every lap, every corner count whether it is practice, or whatever.
“Not that you haven’t been doing that (but) we haven’t been riding around with a backpack full of pressure and the tension like you typically do in the old (Chase) format. That pressure and tension is about to climb back on the back of this team, and all the other teams when that Chase starts.”
It’s easier to handle the pressure if Earnhardt has fast cars. So far this season, that hasn’t been a problem.
“Some guys carry it very well, and some guys may struggle,” Earnhardt said. “Yes, we’ve sort of been on a bit of a holiday since the Daytona 500, and I’ve enjoyed that.
“It’s been a fun year. The cars have been great. The cars have been fast. The team has been a great experience.”
Will the next 10 weeks be as great?
“We have a lot of good things to look forward to obviously,” Earnhardt said. “Hopefully everything goes good. We keep hearing from all of our fans how this is the year, this is the year (and) we are going to do it this year, we’re going to win that championship
“That is what we want, and we’d love to be able to be the champion at the end of the year. We are about to find out.”
