DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The start of the Daytona 500 was 20 minutes away when Teresa Earnhardt strolled down pit road toward the No. 8 Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

She had a glow about her as bright and warm as the Florida sunshine that kept this stock car racing shrine from feeling like Lambeau Field during the NFL playoffs.

It didn't fade as she made her way to the side of Earnhardt Jr., whose soap opera relationship with his stepmother and car owner has been the center of attention as NASCAR's most popular driver attempts to negotiate a new deal.

They posed for pictures. They hugged.

There were no demands for majority ownership from Earnhardt Jr., whose contract with Dale Earnhardt Inc. expires after this season.

This was all about racing.

"We're going to win," Teresa said as she stood next to Max Siegel, her new president of global operations for the company she began with her late husband more than a decade ago. Earnhardt Jr. looked strong enough to win before a crash on Lap 195. He finished 32nd.

Nobody can say the wife of seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt has been an absentee owner this weekend.

She has been at Daytona International Speedway for most of the past four days, attending the 150-mile qualifying races on Thursday, the Busch Series race on Saturday and Sunday's Daytona 500.

She has spent time in the garage with all three of her Nextel Cup teams, stopping on Saturday to look under the hood of Martin Truex Jr.'s car. She has visited with sponsors and other team owners.

"They don't know what they're talking about," said Teresa, referring to those who claim she doesn't come to the track often enough.

Teresa comes to the track more than most realize, often breezing in and out without those outside of her inner circle realizing it. She does this, in part, because she's very private and because she doesn't want to be a distraction.

She's been no distraction this week. The woman who often seems invisible to media because she's so seldom accessible walked through the garage without raising an eyebrow, except from fans who noticed her from the walkway.

She hugged Earnhardt Jr. and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. before Thursday's race without drawing a headline.

"It was genuine," Eury Jr. said. "She's happy for us and knows we're doing what we want to do. She wants to see us do well. It's good to see her down here with us. I know it's hard to come to this place because of the bad memories."

The hug doesn't mean their relationship is a bed of roses. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has said publicly it isn't, and Teresa wouldn't be stepping aside in negotiations if she didn't think her presence was a hindrance.

"They're both very professional," said Siegel, adding negotiations are moving forward. "She supports him and wants to make sure she stands by him."

Eury Jr. compared the love-hate relationship between his driver and owner to the relationship he had with Earnhardt Jr. two years ago when Eury left to work for Michael Waltrip.

"Everybody thought we hated each other," he said. "That never was the way it really was."

Richie Gilmore, the director of motorsports at DEI, said Teresa has gotten support from a lot of owners this week. He said that has been refreshing with all the negative publicity she's gotten the past few months.

"She's taken so many hits," he said.

Most of the hits have surrounded her relationship with her stepson, who said 11 days ago he wanted majority ownership in the company his father started.

Experts in the field say Teresa might have little option but to oblige because the company's value -- close to $60 million -- would depreciate at least 50 percent if Earnhardt Jr. left.

Teresa didn't look like a woman ready to give up control on Sunday. She looked more like the strong woman who, after this race in 2001, told DEI employees to push forward after her husband died in Turn 4 while his cars finished first and second.

She looked like the businesswoman who helped build DEI into one of the top five organizations in the sport and Earnhardt into the most marketable driver on the planet.

"I've known Teresa for nine years," Gilmore said. "I worked with Dale, but you always knew she was the boss."

The contract dispute is nothing compared to what Teresa went through after her husband's death. She endured a lengthy court battle to keep his autopsy photographs from becoming public, and a personal battle to move the company forward.

"Teresa hides it so well," Gilmore said. "She's very tough. Even after all the stuff she went through with Dale Sr., she's never shown a crack. She'll be the same way with this."

Teresa doesn't shy away from speaking her mind. She came under fire in December when she seemingly questioned Earnhardt Jr.'s commitment in the Wall Street Journal.

"Right now the ball's in his court to decide on whether he wants to be a NASCAR driver or whether he wants to be a public personality," she said then.

The intent of the message has been debated ever since. But she never said she didn't want Earnhardt Jr. to be a part of the organization, and she never said she didn't want him involved in decisions.

She understands his value.

Teresa also didn't defend herself then any more than she defends the attacks on how often she comes to the track.

Asked what she thought of Kevin Harvick calling her a "deadbeat" owner last month, she said, "Who's he?"

She smiled.

OK, so maybe she won't be hugging Harvick anytime soon.




Well, Harvick is the guy that just won the Daytona 500, Teresa.... lol
Maybe this is a good sign that things might work out. She seemed to be in good spirits at Daytona, so who knows whats going on now.