by Darrell Waltrip

Ordinal out of range Darrell Waltrip: Amy, I don't know what happened because I'm not on the inside. I talk to Michael a little bit and Dale Jr. occasionally, and according to them, nothing has happened.

But when you go back to Daytona in February, Tony Eury Sr. was upset with Michael after the 125-mile qualifying race that — oh, by the way — Dale Jr. won. It seemed like the chemistry they had and the commitment they made to each other all kind of went out the window for some odd reason. And I think people's feelings were hurt.

Then in April at Talladega, Michael pushed Dale Jr. all the way to the front on the outside. They worked together like they had in the past, and as soon as Junior got to the front, he dropped to the inside and left Michael hanging. Junior ended up getting beat by Gordon — according to some sources — and Michael ended up in 12th.

If you want a good example of two Dale Earnhardt Inc. cars working together this year, look at Martin Truex Jr. and Junior working together in the Busch race, a day before the Cup event in April, at Talladega. When the DEI cars work together, they're really hard to beat. I think that's the secret to their success at restrictor plate tracks.

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My brother is a great driver. He's had some great runs recently, and it backs up what I'm saying about his ability to drive. I think when he, crew chief "Slugger" Labbe and that team have got it together, they get great results. They had a great runs at Charlotte and Sonoma. He was going to have another good finish at Pocono, and an unfortunate thing happened there when Rusty Wallace's brakes failed. It's an outside chance, but Michael could possibly get himself in position to run for the championship. And I hope he does.

But it never does any team any good when members on the team — whether they are on the same team or with a team car — start saying derogatory things about a teammate or put a teammate in a bad spot so Michael has done a great job. NAPA is a great sponsor. Michael is one of the best p.r. guys out there, and he backs it up with some great driving. I don't see how you could ask for a better teammate, and I know because he's my brother. If he tells you he's going to do something, like push you to the front, I would take that to the bank.

Just don't leave him hanging.