Catching up with ... Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is in fifth place in the standings, 115 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently met with reporters, including Rick Minter of Cox News Service, at Phoenix International Raceway to discuss a wide range of topics the sport is facing.

On the 2006 Chase vs. the 2004 Chase: "In '04, I didn't feel like I had a shot. Homestead was a bad track for us.We knew going in there that we weren't going to run good. Now, I feel like I can run good at Homestead. I've got that car that we've run 14 times this year and run in the top 10 with it at 12 [races], so I feel like I can go there and put up a fight."

On any change he'd make in the points system: "I always thought if we put a lot of effort into qualifying, there should be some sort of benefit to that - maybe something really small but, nonetheless, the guy who is really putting that effort forward and getting those poles could benefit from it. ... Obviously, the other thing would be to give more points to the guy who wins the race. I think that's a decent idea."

On Nextel Cup drivers racing full time in the Busch Series: "I don't really think there is anything that can be done about it, but it's terrible for the series. ... The only real way to fix it is to tell Kevin [Harvick] and those Nextel regulars in the top 30 in points that they can only run 15 races. That way, the team owners like Childress and those guys get back to bringing in the Clint Bowyers and those guys into their cars in 15 races, or whatever the rest of the season is, and then see some young guys come into the sport with some potential. ... On the other side of the coin, it's amazing to have a guy dedicating his entire year to running both series. It's really, really hard to run those races. Kevin [Harvick] did it the entire year. That's amazing."

On the declining TV ratings for NASCAR

races: "The racing is really the same. The drivers are the same. Obviously it has to do with the newness wearing off the Nextel deal. That big splash is gone. Maybe the Cup isn't what we all think it is. Maybe it's not quite as exciting and dramatic as we believe it to be. When you're sitting home watching it from your couch throughout the span of the season, maybe it's not that exciting. Maybe it's not that big of a deal. ... I think a lot of it is the late starts. You know the tradition of us racing at lunch was pretty big, and to be going away from that has hurt the sport a little bit. I think the new fans find the races quite a bit too long. I think they'd be more interested in seeing 300- mile races than 500-mile races. There is that point in the middle of the race where it's sort of pointless.We're just kind of cutting laps to get to the end. ... Maybe we need to clean up some of the lengths on some of the races [like] the Poconos. Those things are way too long, man. Everybody knows that."

On the side effects of a long season: "When I see these guys on my team that are newlyweds or losing marriages or having newborns that they can't be around because of seven days a week jobs, I see how tough it is on them and their families when they come to Christmas parties. I've seen more people in the sport get divorced than I've seen people out of the sport get married. It has a lot to do with the season being so long and we're gone so much. And also, I believe it's too long for the fans."