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BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. said fans need to back off on their criticism and name-calling of his stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt.

Earnhardt Jr.'s proclamation came a week after he suggested that Teresa didn't allow him to take the No. 8 with him to Hendrick Motorsports out of spite. Earnhardt's comments softened Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

"I think it's about time we give Teresa a break," Earnhardt said. "She makes the decision on that number because she owns it. And as much as I am disappointed and frustrated over the fact that I don't get to keep driving the No. 8, the stuff that I read on the Internet and the stuff that I am hearing is going on ... I don't think anybody deserves that.

"She's doing what she feels she needs to do. I just think that everybody needs to lay off a little bit."

Teresa Earnhardt owns Dale Earnhardt Inc., the race team founded by her late husband. Earnhardt Jr. will leave the team after this season.

The two have engaged in a public battle since December. As the quarreling continued, talks to extend Earnhardt's contract ended, and the driver signed a deal to move to Hendrick next year.

"We obviously didn't have a line of communication," said Earnhardt Jr. "We obviously don't understand each other. We obviously don't know much about each other. She underestimates my determination and my willingness to give it all that I've got. Obviously, I probably know that little about her determination, but it doesn't matter. I'm going to do something different. I want the best for DEI, simply put."

POLE RUN: Kasey Kahne won his second pole of the season Friday. He earned the top in spot in tonight's Sharpie 500 with a lap of 119.805 mph. Juan Pablo Montoya will start second after a lap of 119.447.

Kurt Busch, who holds the 12th spot in the 12-driver Chase for the Championship, will start 19th. Earnhardt, 13th in points, will start 17th. Ryan Newman, 14th in points, will start seventh.

NEW FACE: Former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve will test a Truck Series ride Monday and Tuesday for Bill Davis Racing at Chicagoland Speedway with the intent of competing in Truck races this season and the Cup circuit next year.

Villeneuve has not competed on ovals since 1995, when he won the Indianapolis 500 and CART title. He claimed the 1997 Formula One crown when he won seven of 17 races.

PLAIN CAR: Jeff Burton's car doesn't have the AT&T logos on it after NASCAR won a court decision that allows the series to bar the company's logos.

Burton is driving an orange car with only the associated sponsor decals on it. The feud goes back to when AT&T merged with Cingular, Burton's former sponsor, and put its logos on the car. NASCAR contends that the AT&T name can't appear on the car because rival telecom company Nextel sponsors the series. Cingular could use its logos under a grandfather clause.

"Hopefully, at the end of the day, we can all figure out how we can all live in the same world," car owner Richard Childress said.

HONORARY PIT CREW MEMBER: Don Huskey of Greensboro will serve as an honorary pit crew member this weekend with Casey Mears and the No. 25 National Guard team. Huskey, 62, recently retired after working 25 years at Terry Labonte Chevrolet in Greensboro. He also has been a member of the North Carolina National Guard since 1981 and recently served active duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dlong@news-record.com