NASCAR Report: Earnhardt eager to roll -- and do better

CONCORD, N.C.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he's ready for the NASCAR Sprint Cup season to begin after going through his worst campaign.

Earnhardt's struggles began at Daytona and continued as he finished 25th in the points. He carries a 65-race winless streak into this season.

While Earnhardt struggled, his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates finished in the top three in points, with Jimmie Johnson winning a fourth consecutive championship. The success of the other three teams brought more questions about Earnhardt's woes.

"I hate talking about last year," he said. "It was miserable. I have to own up to all that stuff.

"I'm looking forward to getting to the race track. I miss the track, I miss the car, I miss the environment, all the people. We did make some changes, and I feel pretty good about them....

"We have to rebound."

Personnel changes have included Earnhardt getting Mark Martin's race engineer. Also, the teams of Earnhardt and Martin will work more closely together. Previously, there was interaction but not at the level team officials say it is now.

Said car owner Rick Hendrick: "There's no way to silence the critics. Just get the job done. I'm not going to do a whole lot of explaining. This is show time."

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First test for spoiler

Drivers got their first experience driving with a spoiler instead of the wing on the rear of the current car. NASCAR had teams run part of a Goodyear tire test with the spoiler this week.

Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch and Brian Vickers took part in the test, which ended Wednesday. The spoiler "didn't seem to be a big balance change, which was good," Stewart said.

Said Vickers: "I thought it added a little bit of front downforce, which is a good thing. We haven't been in a lot of traffic yet, so the big question is how it's going to handle in traffic. Theoretically, from what I've been told, the difference between the two is that the spoiler is better in traffic."

NASCAR has not determined the spoiler's dimensions. The one used Tuesday was 64.5 inches wide and 4 inches tall, with no contour in design. Also, the rear quarter panels were extended 4 inches toward the ground.

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Online viewing

The Gatorade Duel qualifying races next month at Daytona and the All-Star race in May will be shown online for the first time.

Both races, broadcast by Speed Channel, can be seen on NASCAR.com. More Cup races could follow, according to Scott Doyne, senior director for business operations at NASCAR.com. Doyne said there are "active talks" with other networks to air their races online.

Fans can expect something similar to NASCAR.com's Race Buddy, which shows the six TNT races online. That allows fans to see four camera angles of the race.

Fans viewing the qualifying races and all-star race online, though, will not hear the Speed broadcasters. The only sound online will be in-car audio and that of the cars.

There will be no fee to view the race online. It is meant to complement Speed's broadcasts of those events.

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Pit stops

The Camping World Truck series will run Aug. 14 at Darlington Raceway, returning for the first time since 2004.... Tim McGraw will perform in the Daytona 500 pre-race show.... Aaron's has added races to its sponsorship of David Reutimann in the Cup series. It will sponsor Reutimann in 24 races this year.