By Mark Long
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) _ Dale Earnhardt Jr. stared at the scoreboard, saw his No. 8 car listed in fifth place and knew there was an error.
There was no way he had a top-five finish.
Not with an ill-handling car. Not with an inconsistent engine. Not with increasingly cool weather that made it nearly impossible to pass.
The standings were eventually changed, and Junior felt fortunate to finish eighth in the Daytona 500 on Sunday _ five years after his father's death on the final lap of the same race.
Earnhardt led seven different times for a race-high 32 laps despite all the problems _ a strong testament to his mastery on the 2 1/2-mile superspeedway.
``It's been a long week,'' said Earnhardt, whose car didn't feel right in the exhibition race, the qualifying race or in six practice sessions. ``We're just happy to come out of here (without wrecking). A lot of guys weren't so fortunate. We're happy with a top 10.''
Jimmie Johnson won his first Daytona 500, followed by Casey Mears, Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler and defending Nextel Cup Series champ Tony Stewart.
Earnhardt wasn't far behind, not too surprising considering his recent run at NASCAR's most famous track.
He now has 23 top-10 finishes in 26 races at Daytona International Speedway since his father's death Feb. 18, 2001.
Earnhardt reiterated last week that it was still difficult being the son of The Intimidator. Everywhere he goes he gets mobbed. Everything he says makes headlines. Everything he does gets scrutinized, analyzed and sometimes criticized.
He didn't want any memorials to his father this week, saying those things needed to be saved at least until the 10-year mark, maybe longer.
Instead, he wanted the focus to be on turning around his disappointing 2005 season.
Earnhardt finished 19th in the series standings last year, winning only one race. He switched crew chiefs, returning to his cousin Tony Eury Jr. in hopes of getting into the Chase for the championship.
``This was a good start for our team,'' Earnhardt said.
Especially given the circumstances. He said the car didn't want to turn in the corners and that the engine faded in and out.
``The motor's like an old man _ it'll get up, run for a while and then fall back asleep,'' he said.
He also said the cool weather _ temperatures dipped into the mid-50s, with 10 mph winds making it feel much less mild _ made it tough to pass on the outside, a move he has used with success numerous times at Daytona.
Earnhardt climbed out of his race car after 203 laps, walked around it a couple times and surveyed the damage.
It was minimal.
He hopes to get through the rest of the season the same way, but closer to the front. He predicted six or seven victories and being third in the points when the Chase begins in mid-September.
``We weren't the strongest one out there, but this is just one race,'' he said.
