Wheeler has developed a theory on stardom and its place in NASCAR. During his five decades of involvement in stock car racing and from observing sports in general, he maintains that NASCAR got to where it is today by consistently having two superstars. The same formula applies to other sports, according to Wheeler. Since Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s fatal crash a year-and-a-half ago, Jeff Gordon stands as the sport's only true superstar, Wheeler maintains, and for Earnhardt Jr. to claim a spot alongside Gordon, he'll have to win more often.
"In this type of racing, to really be a superstar you've got to be a prolific winner," Wheeler says. "You can act like a superstar, you can look like a superstar, and just that charisma, those elements right there, will vault you up where everybody can see you. But you can't stay there unless you win races. So the pressure is on him to continue to dazzle people with his image, his youth image, but he's got to deliver on the racetrack to keep that flame burning as strong as it is.
"If he wins two or three races a year and we have the type of parity we have now, he might just be able to keep that going and might emerge as that second superstar."
For now, Earnhardt says his spot at the top of the sport, the spot that holds superstardom, will have to wait.
"I think," says Earnhardt, "that I will establish that a little more once we win some more races and maybe get closer to winning a championship. Right now we're just kind of growing."
Yet if we look out on the NASCAR horizon, we'll spot Earnhardt Jr. He'll be easy to pick out and not just because of his hat turned the wrong way. He'll be the one with the road trips to make, family to embrace, friendships to nurture, races to win. The key to being a superstar, after all, might be the ability to live with it.
Hit Maker
We've seen the television commercial where Junior has problems with the CD player in his race car. But what artists would he choose if he did listen to CDs while driving 180 mph? Here's what he told us, listed in the order he gave them:
1. Bob Seger Greatest Hits
2. Foo Fighters
3. Matthew Good Band
4. Dr. Dre
5. Faith Hill