NYC likes red

New look for Junior

When you're used to seeing Dale Earnhardt Jr. either in a fire suit or T-shirt and jeans, it takes some getting used to seeing the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet all dressed up in his Sunday best.

But there was Earnhardt, looking all handsome and debonair in his pricey black suit, having changed out of his fire suit at the conclusion of the Times Square lap.

"I like coming to the banquet," said Earnhardt, who missed coming to New York last year after failing, like Gordon, to make the Chase.

As all 10 Chase finalists roared down Broadway and continued their roughly 1½-mile "lap," there was no question who the fan favorite was � not new champ Jimmie Johnson, but Earnhardt. Roughly a third of fans we saw decked out in NASCAR apparel wore red and white to honor their hero.

After missing last year's banquet, Earnhardt cherishes this season's performance even more. Sure, he finished fifth in the final standings, but he also qualified to be honored at Friday night's banquet.

"We have a lot of pride in being able to get up on that stage and be a part of the awards banquet and awards show," Earnhardt said. "Out of all the drivers, it's really a prideful thing to be able to get up there and be one of the guys in the top 10."

Earnhardt is sporting a new look of sorts. He just started growing a goatee that hasn't taken full root just yet.

"We didn't renew our Gillette Young Guns deal and I haven't been able to grow any facial hair in any consistency with the contract," he said. "When I was a Busch Series driver in '01 and '02, I grew a goatee from time to time. I kind of like to do that, and now I get to."

Earnhardt admitted that he's a bit nervous about Friday's banquet. Unlike most drivers, he wrote his own appreciation speech that he'll deliver to the more than 1,000 attendees as well as a national audience on TNT.

"[The banquet is] such a high-pressure deal," Earnhardt said. "You're trying to represent your own team and company. I chose to write my own speech and found out that I'm only one of a few. I thought everybody wrote their own speeches.

"So I'm a little nervous now that I'm going to represent everybody well with my speech and that everybody's acknowledged. It'll be fun to get up there; it'll be nice when it's over. Nobody really likes to get up on stage to talk to that many people, but we'll get through it."

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Yep, the end of the season is coming to a close and anything NASCAR won't be discussed until next year. Reading that article and everyone was there for Junior made me happy. See, everyone hates Jimmie haha.

In other news...

I'm getting over the flu. After shopping Friday, decideded to take a nap and woke up with a massive sore throat. Started to feel better Sunday and was out and about on Monday. Now, Mom has the sniffles.

Last night, one of the neighbor's car was stolen around 8-9pm. It was a '95 Camery. Funny part is that Dad and I were in the porch talking and stuff and didn't see anything at all. They had two Taurus' and a Cutlass and they didn't want it. Oh well. Now were looking out at our windows to see if any other cars are hijacked.