Jr. Hangs With Team in Daytona

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is itching to get racing. The newest member of Hendrick Motorsports made an unusal visit a week before his scheduled test date for next month’s Daytona 500, just to schmooze with new team members, reports the Virginian-Pilot. "It's painful watching other cars go around the track. For him to come down says a lot to his teammates,” said new teammate Jimmie Johnson.

The new No. 88 said he was bored sitting around at home waiting for the action to start, and wanted to see how his new teammates work together during their testing for Daytona. "Hopefully, they'll learn a lot today and I can hear some of the conversations and pick up on some of the stuff," Earnhardt said. (More NASCAR stories.)