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Dale Jr.'s toughest test is still to come

by Jeff Hammond

FOX race analyst Jeff Hammond led Darrell Waltrip to two of DW's three Winston Cup championships as his crew chief. They also teamed to win the 1989 Daytona 500.

Updated: July 27, 2004, 2:07 PM EST

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On Monday, I had an opportunity to talk to several members of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team, and they said he was doing quite well — all things considered — after this past weekend. They planned to take him to the doctor on Wednesday to check him out one more time.

Dale Jr. is going to be faced with some gut-wrenching decisions about his ability to deal with pain because he has injured some very tender skin on the inside of his thighs. Any way you cut it, it's going to be a slow healing process. With the type of business he's in, it's going to be a challenge for him to sit in his race car for four hours at a time and not be annoyed by the pain.

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The next two weeks — at Pocono and Watkins Glen — will tell the tale for Dale Jr. Last weekend was too early to really tell how bad the pain will be and how long it will take to heal. This week, he should know for sure how he's healing and whether or not he needs to get out of the car during the race for another week. If he gets out at Pocono, John Andretti will finish the race and do what needs to be done.

As the Chase for the Championship approaches in seven races, I don't think it gets any easier for Dale Jr. Anyone who has been burned realizes that new skin is very tender, and when you're sitting in a race car for long periods of time with temperatures reaching well over 100 degrees, it's going to be that much harder for that skin to heal like it should.

He's going to be challenged, and we're going to find out what he's really made of.

FOX race analyst Jeff Hammond led Darrell Waltrip to two of DW's three Winston Cup championships as his crew chief. They also teamed to win the 1989 Daytona 500.
For Jeff Hammond's "Real Men Work in the Pits" magnets, Hollywood Hotel hats and more, check out www.dwstore.com.

For photos and appearances, visit Jeff's web site www.jeffhammond.com.

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