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Teamwork served on a plate at DEI

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Within seconds of taking the checkered flag Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. cautioned his celebrating crew that the only thing he wanted to hear this week was what a great teammate Michael Waltrip was.

Again.

Earnhardt and Waltrip, of Dale Earnhardt Inc., clearly were the strongest cars in the Aaron's 499, running 1-2 for much of the race and finishing that way.

"We made a deal, whoever was in the lead the other one would take care of him," said Waltrip, driver of the No. 15 Chevrolet. "I had a lot of fun running second and seeing how long I could sit there and protect it."

Others had strong cars: Rookie Jimmie Johnson, whose No. 48 Chevrolet started on the pole; rookie Ryan Newman, whose No. 12 Ford led for one lap; and Kurt Busch, whose No. 97 Ford spent the final 133 laps in the top 10.

But with the rules package in place for restrictor-plate races at Talladega and Daytona, the concept of drafting partners is back in play. And no teammates worked together as well as Earnhardt and Waltrip, who have swept the top two in three of six plate races since Waltrip won the 2001 Daytona 500.

"To have Michael behind me is everything at these plate races," said Earnhardt, whose No. 8 Chevrolet led 133 of 188 laps. "Definitely having us together is better than having to fight it on our own."

But what would his father say?

Dale Earnhardt Sr., killed in a last-lap crash at the 2001 Daytona 500 as Waltrip and his son sped toward the finish, didn't win seven Winston Cup championships and 76 races by playing nice with others.

He, too, had a teammate at Richard Childress Racing for the final four years of his career. Cooperation never was the buzzword between he and Mike Skinner, though other multicar teams in the garage ganged up on Earnhardt to beat him.

Junior is different.

"Maybe when I'm 35 years old I'll get to the point where I don't care who's around me," Earnhardt said. "But I'm 27 now and I like winning races. Finishing up front is what matters to me. I'm just having a blast.

"Dad went through a lot of things in the '80s and he had that all-or-nothing, me-against-the-world attitude for such a long time. I haven't had to deal with that. Until I get run over too many times, I won't change."

ROUSH UPDATE: Winston Cup team owner Jack Roush, 60, remained in serious condition Monday at a Birmingham hospital, but was eager to know how his drivers fared Sunday.

Roush nearly was killed Friday when a small plane he was piloting hit power lines and flipped upside down into a lake in south Alabama.

Visited Monday by longtime driver Mark Martin, Roush requested a pen and paper to ask questions.

He remains on a ventilator, but doctors removed a chest tube from the area of a collapsed lung and CT scans of his head and abdomen looked good, a statement from Roush Racing said. He is scheduled for surgery today to clean and redress wounds left open from Saturday's surgery on his left leg, which was broken in several places.

NEMECHEK RETURNS: Haas Carter Motorsports, which has had at least one car in every race since losing primary sponsorship for its two-car team early this season, will enter the No. 26 Ford at California. Joe Nemechek, who started the season with Haas Carter, will drive for one-race sponsor Checker Auto Parts.

IRL DRIVERS IMPROVE: Jaques Lazier and Tomas Scheckter were upgraded to good condition, one day after being hospitalized for injuries from a crash in the IRL's Firestone Indy 225.

Lazier and Scheckter collided on Lap 123 Sunday and hit the outside retaining wall. Lazier broke his back and had a concussion. Scheckter bruised a lung and had a concussion.

Dr. Henry Bock, IRL director of medical services, said both would be released this week.

-- Information from Times wires was used in this report.

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