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Arms and voices rose in unison. The noise rumbled like a distant thunderstorm, growing louder with each car Dale Earnhardt Jr. passed two weeks ago at Atlanta.

Fans who have endured Earnhardt's struggles and Kyle Busch's taunts had waited months to shed the angst about Earnhardt's season. This looked to be their day.

Earnhardt climbed as high as third then slid back. Still, a third consecutive top-10 finish seemed likely. Then reality. An ill-handling car cost him several spots in the final laps and he finished 17th.

Such is the saga for Earnhardt, headed toward his worst Sprint Cup season. NASCAR's title Chase begins this weekend, but the sport's most popular driver is not a part of it for the third time in six years. Earnhardt heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway with one victory in his last 124 Cup starts, a record that might cost other drivers their job.

While his Hendrick Motorsports teammates race for a championship, Earnhardt is racing for something more important. To be relevant again.

What he does the rest of this year could impact next season. If he can't improve his performance, then the sponsorship dollars his team commands and his popularity could drop.

"Next year is a telltale year for Dale Earnhardt Jr.," says Fox analyst and former crew chief Larry McReynolds. "He's got to win some races and he's got to become a contender.

"It will be his third year (at Hendrick Motorsports). It's time to produce. I don't care how popular you are."

To do so, Earnhardt needs a better understanding of the car, improved communication with interim crew chief Lance McGrew and better finishes.

One of Earnhardt's biggest faults, according to veteran observers, is his inability to dissect the car's handling. Earnhardt's emotions hinder him in this area.

It was at New Hampshire a year ago — a race Earnhardt led 79 laps and then, as often happens, his car got worse later in the race — that he said on the radio: "I need to find a motor sport that runs half the race and I'll be champion."

Car owner Rick Hendrick had to calm Earnhardt down that day for the second race in a row. Afterward, Hendrick, rarely critical of any his 500-plus employees, said that Earnhardt needed to control his emotions in the car.

"I'm my own worst enemy," Earnhardt says. "I guess in the middle part of a race when I see us not going to the right direction, and I know how difficult and how much of a challenge it is to keep track position, I just get so frustrated."

Being calmer only solves part of Earnhardt's problems.

"He struggles giving good, solid, concise information about his car," said McReynolds, who was Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s crew chief when he won the 1998 Daytona 500. "I'll be honest with you, his dad did, too.

"There's times when I close my eyes and I listen to Dale Jr. on the radio and I go 'Oh my gosh, it's just like listening to his dad.' "

That's part of McGrew's job. He took over after Hendrick moved Tony Eury Jr. off as Earnhardt's crew chief as the performance declined this spring.

A Hendrick official says McGrew will remain Earnhardt's crew chief the rest of the season, suggesting that unless something drastic happens, McGrew will be Earnhardt's crew chief next season.

"There's a good rapport with him and Lance and there's been the performance in the car," says Doug Duchardt, vice president for development at Hendirck Motorsports.

They seemed to be until Richmond last week. A track Earnhardt has scored three Cup wins, he was not competitive. He spent part of the night racing deep in the pack with Matt Kenseth, whose declining performance cost him a spot in the Chase. Earnhardt remains 21st in the point standings behind Casey Mears (20th) and rookie Joey Logano (19th).

Until Earnhardt and his team can score consistent performances, questions will persist about if this team can compete for victories.

"The best thing he can do &ellipses; is to go out and win races and get everything under control in that respect and silence all of that side of things," teammate Jimmie Johnson says. "I think it would be great for his sanity and the team."

Earnhardt is aware of the critical comments.

"Most of the criticism was definitely deserved," he says. "(But) criticism can be used as a way to motivate yourself and try to find some way to make it be a tool to help you."

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