IT'S TIME; EARNHARDT JR.'S FEELS PRESSURE IN HIS WINSTON CUP DEBUT.

Byline: Simon Gonzalez Fort Worth Star-Telegram 

The ``Countdown to E-Day'' is in its final stages. Blastoff is set for Sunday, when Dale Earnhardt Jr., impending heir to the NASCAR throne, makes his Winston Cup debut in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Rarely, if ever, has a debut race been so ballyhooed.

Budweiser, his sponsor, began the ``countdown'' before the season. He has been the main topic for the media covering the race in the Charlotte suburb.

``Do you guys have any questions you want me to ask Dale Jr.?'' Bobby Labonte said jokingly in his news conference after winning the pole.

The reason for the hype is obvious.

Junior is the 24-year-old progeny of a certified legend - seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, and the grandson of NASCAR pioneer Ralph Earnhardt.

He's making his debut in a points race - he raced in an exhibition in Japan at the end of last season - down the road from his hometown of Kannapolis, N.C., in front of a couple of a hundred thousand rabid spectators who love the family name.

He has the bloodlines and the talent - he won the Busch Grand National title in 1998 in his first full season on the circuit - to challenge Jeff Gordon's four-year domination of the sport. That, no doubt, would thrill the hardcore fans who resent the outsider for knocking ``Little E's'' old man off the throne.

But with the hype comes burdens, the kind felt while standing at the free-throw line with the NBA championship at stake, lining up a putt to win the Masters and walking to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh game of the World Series.

``We've got a lot of pressure on us, and we're just trying to deliver,'' Earnhardt Jr. said.

He delivered during qualifying Wednesday. The new team didn't have the safety net of a provisional spot if it didn't make it into the field on his time, but Earnhardt Jr. made it a moot point when he claimed the eighth spot with a hot lap of 184.407 mph.

``I have never been that nervous in my life,'' he said. ``It's a big, big relief. You just don't understand. It's a big, big relief.''

His dad understands. He went through the same thing 25 years ago when he also made his debut in the spring race at Charlotte.

Dale Earnhardt remembers, and is trying to give Junior the benefit of his experience.

``He's a young one, but I think he's handling it pretty good,'' Earnhardt said of his son. ``He's handling things as they come. I sit down and talk with him and see where his head is every once in a while.

``I'm having fun with it, enjoying seeing him do what he's doing.''

The irony is that while Earnhardt Jr. is expected to be a chip off the old engine block, he has more in common with Gordon than his old man.

Gordon was groomed to be a champion. He was BGN rookie of the year in 1991, and won three Busch races and 11 poles in 1992. He moved up to a full-time Cup ride in 1993 with the well-heeled Hendrick Motorsports team.

Earnhardt Jr. was also born with a silver spark plug in his mouth. He has the backing of Dale Earnhardt Inc. His Busch car is owned by his dad and is sponsored by ACDelco. His Cup car has a major sponsor in Budweiser.

``I was 29 when I came into Cup,'' Dale Earnhardt said. ``I had already beat up and down the road in the sportsman division. I spent my money until I was broke. I didn't have nothing. It's a little different for him. Things are there for him, his team, his sponsors, things like that. He always says he had to work for it. He worked for it in the driving department and paying-attention department, but he hasn't had to work for it and get it himself like we did. Things change. That's what you want for your kids. You want to be able to give them things they want and need.''

So Dale Sr. has given his son the best equipment and personnel that money can buy. But Junior has to provide an important ingredient: the driving talent.

Little E showed he has that by winning the Busch title, and dropped a hint that he can carry it up to the Cup car by qualifying as well as he did.

That, more than the gene pool, is why the hype might be justified.

``We don't necessarily deserve total respect,'' Earnhardt Jr. said, ``but we're here and we feel like we've got a right to do well and we should be taken somewhat seriously.''

Coca-Cola 600

Sunday, 3:15 p.m.

TV: TBS

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1--Color) Dale Earnhardt Jr., left, doesn't need directions from crew member Randy Cox to find the starting line for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600.

Chuck Burton/Associated Press

(2) Dale Earnhardt Jr. shows off his new Chevrolet he'll run in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 in Mooresville, N.C.

Michael Pugh/Associated Press