Earnhardt Jr.

HAMPTON, Ga. -- In the closing laps of Sunday's MBNA America 500, it looked like Dale Earnhardt Jr. was sizing up Tony Stewart before he would make the winning pass heading to the checkered flag.

But Stewart's Pontiac Grand Prix simply was too strong for Earnhardt's Chevrolet Monte Carlo, so the son of the seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion had to settle for second place.

"It was a little difficult to catch Tony Stewart," Earnhardt said. "They did a fine job of adjusting our car all day. You'd see his car kind of go away and then come back when they made adjustments and that's what we did, too. We've been up front at a lot of these races at Atlanta, we just haven't been there at the end. My car was real tight and his car was great. He drove a good line. I moved up a little bit and it seemed to help my car and I thought I was going to be able to catch him like that, but then he moved up in that same line. He's a smart race car driver. His car was turning a little bit better than mine. We were getting all we could.

"Today was a good day for us to be able to race for the finish and just be part of the action. We've always run real good here, we just haven't been there at the end to be part of the show. We're real happy about the adjustments we made during the pit stops today. That's what has bit us here in the past. (Crew chief) Tony Eury Sr. and Tony Jr. and the guys have got their heads together and we got a good finish. We need some points and hopefully this will move us up."

Chevrolet teams have yet to win a NASCAR Winston Cup race this season -- the only one of the four automakers involved in the sport that is winless. But Earnhardt sees hope that he may be able to guide Chevy into the winner's circle soon.

"It seems like we always need a shot in the arm, but hopefully we can get to where we can run up front all the time," Earnhardt said after leading for 38 laps. "I love driving these cars and we couldn't have a better sponsor than Budweiser, but we need to be up front more often and we need to figure out how. We need to get off the trailer fast and that's been a tough part for us."

Earnhardt had the support of his stepmother, Teresa. For the first time in her capacity as a team owner and in her second race appearance of the 2002 season, Teresa Earnhardt attended Sunday's pre-race drivers and crew chiefs meetings. She is the widow of Dale Earnhardt, the seven-time champion who was killed in the 2001 Daytona 500.

Not out front
Bill Elliott started on the pole in his 51st career start Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but he finished 35th after he was involved in a crash after 288 laps.

"I just ran into smoke and the next thing I knew I was in the inside wall," Elliott said. "You just put yourself in a bad position being back that far. I had just a little bit of a problem. We got off a little bit there car-wise, but we kept fighting around a little bit. The guys did a good job. The car was pretty decent. We were making some changes there toward the end, and I thought we were going to get better."

Still in front
Sterling Marlin continues to lead the NASCAR Winston Cup standings, 74 points ahead of rookie Ryan Newman. Marlin finished ninth Sunday, the first time in seven starts his chassis No. 115 has not been among the top five.

"The car never really drove good all day," Marlin said. "It never did have any grip. It would lose the front end and go to pushing. We're a little disappointed. This car has never finished out of the top five before today, and it was ninth today.

"I guess that's pretty good, when you're disappointed with a ninth-place finish. I remember not too long ago I would have been really happy finishing ninth. We managed to keep the points lead, but they gained some on us. Maybe the Pontiacs and Chevrolets can't cry so much now. We just didn't hit the chassis combination today, but that's another top-10, so you can't be too disappointed with that."