by Steve Byrnes

Updated: June 2, 2005, 1:14 PM EST

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While it may be difficult to see through the crash between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip, if there's a positive to take away from last Sunday night, all teams and organizations go through adversity, but the Coca-Cola 600 was a fresh start for the 8 team. And Dale Jr. got the fresh start that he needed.

On the radio — and we played some of it on the air during the Coca-Cola 600 — we heard a decisive Earnhardt, and he sounded more confident than I've heard him. He was having a pretty decent run, working his way into the top 10. If you're a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan, the clips that you heard over his radio on television the other night have to be encouraging.

Former No. 8 crew chief Pete Rondeau talked about dissension in the ranks at Dale Earnhardt Inc. where the teams aren't working together, and you never really know how good or how bad a particular team is because as close as we get as pit reporters, we're not in their clubhouse. But DEI is not the kind of organization that bad-mouths anybody else who works inside their walls.

Watching the way Dale Jr. carried himself last week and covering his pit during the race, he's more determined than ever to make this team work. DEI president Richie Gilmore has said that Steve Hmiel will be the crew chief for the rest of the year if need be, and that team will continue to work hard.

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Oh, by the way: Truex's top 10

I listened to Martin Truex Jr. and his team throughout the night, and I was really impressed with his composure. At one point, he said, "The car has gone to the tight side again." There was never any panic in his voice. I never heard him lose his composure. For a young guy in his first 600-mile race, it was pretty impressive, and the 1 team battled back from adversity, spinning out early in the race.

Speaking of adversity, Truex told us on Trackside that they tried some things with their racecars and got a little bit behind at the beginning of the year. So it's impressive that they were able to finish seventh in the Cup race which was certainly overshadowed by the tough situation between Michael and Dale Jr. and then a great finish between Jimmie Johnson and Bobby Labonte. But Truex and the 1 team were very impressive.

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NASCAR on FOX and SPEED Channel host and reporter Steve Byrnes has covered racing for more than 20 years, and he gives kids a close look at a real stock car and its driver with Ryan's Racecar, a 30-minute video/DVD. For more information, go to RyansRacecar.com