For Dale Earnhardt Jr., pressure has been there from the beginning.

When Little E broke into the Winston Cup circuit full-time in 2000 he was treated like a rock star. Week after week his introduction was met with thunderous ovations. Fans clamored for his autograph while the media throng around him rivaled that of his father.

The attention was overwhelming and, at times, Junior was confused by the fan's fascination with him. He had won the Busch championship the previous two seasons, but in his mind he hadn't done anything yet -- at least nothing worth this type of respect.

With seven Winston Cup victories since, Earnhardt has certainly justified the admiration. Still the media pressure remains and the expectations continue to escalate.

At the midpoint of the 2002 season, while hovering between 15th and 17th in the standings, various media outlets labeled Earnhardt a "disappointment." As Junior entered last week's Las Vegas race 38th in the points, those critics were primed and ready to write him off again.

However, Earnhardt's team showed poise and responded by posting an impressive second-place finish.

"I knew it would just be a matter of time," Earnhardt said. "We're a good race team. I'm a good race car driver and you know the results are coming in. Everything always works itself out."

Earnhardt jumped 20 positions to 18th in the standings, moving him within 50 points of the top-10 and reaffirming his confidence.

"I feel like we can run great at 99 percent of the racetracks. There's just a few that have always been tough for me," he said. "So I feel pretty confident. We don't have as tall of a hill as we had before this race and that really knocked a big dent in getting some points back. So it's just a matter of time, we'll be back in the top-five, top-10 in points."

Earnhardt hasn't been in the top-10 in the standings since April of last year when he left Fontana in ninth. Incidentally, he claims that race ruined his season.

	Dale Earnhardt Jr. bounced back from a rough start with a runner-up effort last week.

Unbeknownst to anyone but him and his close confidants, Earnhardt suffered a concussion during that event.

Feeling the effects for weeks, even months afterwards, he continued to race. Why? He says he felt like he was still a better driver than most. The results proved otherwise. He finished 30th or worse in the next four races.

While it may be a tough admission for him to make, the pressure had to be a factor. After all he is an Earnhardt and many fans, some journalists and maybe even he himself expected he'd live up to his father's toughness. Once again the expectations were set at, if not an unrealistic level certainly an unfair one.

That's a burden he will carry throughout his career. Inevitably, he'll be compared to his father until the day he hangs up his helmet.

Those comparisons will continue this week in Atlanta. Dale Earnhardt won there nine times, more than any other driver.

"I really want to get a win at Atlanta," Junior said. "Hopefully, one day we'll win a race there. Daddy used to win there all the time and they'd give the Ski Nautiques (boats and water crafts) for winning. I hope they still do. That'd be cool."

Make no mistake about it, there's more motivation for Junior than simply adding to his collection of toys.

Atlanta is a track where he has been snake bitten. In 2001, he was in contention to win both races there. In the spring event, he was battling for the lead during the closing laps when a tire blew. In the fall, he started on the pole and led 171 laps before a piece of metal debris was lodged in his eye. Finally, in this event last season Junior broke threw with a second-place finish.

"I like Atlanta. We always qualify well and race well there," he said. "It's a fun, fun racetrack because you can run three-wide and move around. Your car can work on the bottom, but it can run just as good up top, so you've really got an opportunity to do some racing there."

Atlanta is also NASCAR's fastest track and because of that, is a place where a driver can prove himself. But despite the constant demand to live up to other people's hopes, Junior already knows what this team is capable of.

"We're a great team," he said. "We're a good enough team to win the championship. You just gotta get the breaks. Good luck, good fortune but we're definitely good enough."