by Lee Spencer

It was never easy. Still, Earnhardt emerged as the most popular driver in NASCAR, building his own fan base and inheriting a great number of fans that were enthusiasts of his father.

Lately, pundits and fans alike have attempted to draw similarities to between Dale Jr.'s father and his recent nemesis, Kyle Busch. But Earnhardt Jr. will be the first to remind you that no one can ever replace the void left by The Intimidator.

"On the racetrack, there may be some comparisons there," Earnhardt said. "He's very fast. He's running well. He's quick and he's aggressive. This is Dale Earnhardt from '89 and earlier. My daddy quit doing that stuff after a while. That's the way my dad raced. Kyle has that same style. He's very aggressive.

"Personality-wise, they're polar opposites. Give me a break. You knew my dad better than that."

Earnhardt acknowledges that a rivalry is brewing — and reached a crescendo last Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. The current and former Hendrick drivers battled side-by-side in the closing laps of the race until Busch slid up into the No. 88 Chevrolet on Lap 397 and sent Earnhardt spinning into Turn 3. Given that Busch was bumped out of the Hendrick organization to make room for Earnhardt simply exacerbates the situation.

"It was a bad deal for me, but it's exciting for the sport," Earnhardt said. "Whether I want to deny it or not, there's people out there that enjoyed it. Kyle has got some fans, I'm sure. There a lot of people that might not be his fans but just don't like me. It wasn't good for us. That was disappointing. I wanted a better finish than 15th.

"We sort of pinned ourselves in that situation with the changes that were made for me and him this year. In a lot of ways, there's a competitive us vs. them, them vs. us between spirit between him and I and the teams.

"Mentally, you handle your business and you don't let it become a distraction. If Kyle outruns me, beats me or wrecks me and wins the race, I have to go out next week and concentrate on what I'm doing because if start trying to outrun him and beat him in every practice just to prove a point, I'm going to start wadding up race cars."

There are some that would contend that paybacks are hell. Busch's scuff with Earnhardt at Kansas Speedway last fall during the Chase for the Sprint Cup not only knocked the Shrub from contention in the race, it eliminated any shot the No. 5 car had at the championship.

"He ran me over for no reason whatsoever," Busch said after the 2007 Kansas incident. "Just an unfortunate circumstance and I am sure these guys (the No. 5 crew) aren't very appreciative of the guy who is going to be racing for them next year just dumped their car that has a great shot for the championship, where he doesn't. It is unfortunate for them and myself and everyone on this team."

Busch didn't mince words during preseason testing when he admitted he had something to prove. But maturity will certainly be on the veteran's side.

Earnhardt is thinking big picture. After 10 races, Earnhardt is currently third in points. He's been on the outside looking in during the championship-deciding Chase in 2005 and 2007, when he finished 19th and 16th, respectively — a lonely place for a race car driver. With the help of his crew chief/cousin Tony Eury Jr., who insisted the team "just be cool," Earnhardt began putting the Richmond incident behind him even before he left the track.

"I had to go to work at the Charlotte test," said Earnhardt, who was fastest in both morning sessions at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Monday and Tuesday. "We had a real good car there. I'm really happy with it. To get back in the car and get to racing, get to working, that's the best way to get over that. If you sit at home you start thinking what you should have done, what you could have done, how things could have played out differently.

"I want to win and we were trying to win, there's no doubt about it. I ain't given up a win to get points. Before Turn 3, (I was going for) the win. After Turn 3, the points."

Although Earnhardt has never won at Darlington Speedway, he has flirted with triumph at "The Lady in Black" in the past. In 13 career starts on the 1.366-miler, he has two top-fives and six top 10s. In his last five starts, his average finish is 8.4. On top of those results, Earnhardt is extremely pleased with the repaving at NASCAR's oldest speedway before this weekend's race.

"It's smooth, really smooth, just like Talladega after they redid it," Earnhardt said. "It's very fast and I think it will be really fun next year and the year after that when it gets weathered. ... It will just continue to get better and more fun. It's pretty good right now, but I think once the track loses grip and you can make gains in the corner. It's a little difficult to really challenge people I think for position because it's just so fast.

"They did a great job. It's really smooth. Hopefully, it can hold up and we don't get any bumps that they have to patch up like the old surface did."

Earnhardt was third fast in first practice with a lap of 174.522 mph, but it was Busch topping the chart with speed of 175.522 mph in the opening practice. The results changed later Thursday as Earnhardt edged Busch in the second session, 178.640 mph to 177.249 mph.

Still, Earnhardt won't concern himself with practice. The only outcome that matters is when the checkers fly on the Dodge Challenger 500 on Saturday night.

"It's good to have rivalries," Earnhardt said. "If he's going to be the guy to beat every week — and I think he is right now — then everyone is going to be watching his lap times and watching how fast he runs.

"When you're doing good, there's a bit of a bull's-eye on you. I think he knows that."