Earnhardt hopes for throwback speed to match the look at Darlington

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is keeping his excitement in check as it pertains to throwback weekend, admitting he's concerned with how the No. 88 team has been running.

Yes, Earnhardt is looking forward to competing at Darlington Raceway after missing last year's race. And yes, Earnhardt is excited to drive a car

mimicking the paint scheme from his Xfinity Series championship years of 1998 and '99

"The only thing that I'm thinking about is, I'm just really concerned with how we've been running. Obviously disappointed with how Bristol worked out for us and how we finished [23rd] and I feel growing intensity or pressure mounting to start making some things happen, like get some results on the track," Earnhardt said on The Dale Jr. Download podcast when asked about his excitement around the paint scheme, fire suit, and other activities.

"We started the season out, and we always said, well, if we didn't have a good finish we did have speed, and we were fast at a lot of racetracks up until the summer, and then we lost our speed. Now we're not only having difficult finishes and frustrating runs, but we don't have the speed to be excited about going into the next weekend. So, I'm pretty concerned at this point. It's hard for me to really think outside of performance.

"I'm excited about the car; it's a great-looking car. I'm proud to have that opportunity to run this car, but for me, I feel pressure to myself and to my fans that if we don't run well, it won't matter."

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For nearly five minutes, Earnhardt lamented on the topic while noting his legion of fans continue to be supportive. He reads the messages on Twitter about not letting poor finishes get him down. But Earnhardt said as a competitor with how much work goes into race weekend, there's the desire to do well every time out on the track.

In 24 starts this season, Earnhardt has seven DNFs, just four top-10 finishes and 24 laps led. For as bad as the statistics look, Earnhardt's in-race performance hasn't been much better. The No. 88 has struggled to both hit the right balance and show enough speed to run with the top contenders.

Earnhardt recognizes Darlington as one of the year's toughest battles. After all, the track is dubbed "Too Tough to Tame" and "The Lady in Black" for how tough it is on man and machine. Last year Earnhardt's team struggled with Jeff Gordon behind the wheel, and in reviewing notes, Earnhardt said Gordon ran about 15th to 20th all night and the car didn't take off well on restarts.

"[Darlington] is probably one of the biggest challenges when it comes to getting around the track and how hard it is and how difficult it is mentally and physically. It's a tough race. Very, very long race," said Earnhardt.

"It's an accomplishment to get to the end of that race and run well and finish in the top 10. If you finish in the top five, I think it's an incredible accomplishment for any driver because there's a lot of driver involved in that. So, I'm a little nervous for how difficult [this] weekend is going to be for us if we don't have speed.

"It's hard enough as it is when the car's good and you're running well. I haven't been to Darlington in a while where we've not just struggled, fought all night and ran mediocre."

In 21 starts at Darlington, Earnhardt's career-best finish is a second place and he enters the weekend with three top-nine finishes in his last three starts. On another positive note, Darlington was where Earnhardt tested in December for clearance following his concussion, and although weather conditions then will be different than this weekend, he felt the car was comfortable.

"I'm just ready to get to the track," Earnhardt said. "Get in the car, see where our speed is, how the car feels and drives."