Stories have appeared throughout the week about Junior’s struggles. But this one, from Lars Anderson on SI.com, goes over the top.

“No driver has ever qualified for the Chase while being mired in such a deep a hole after two races,” Anderson writes, “which makes Sunday’s event a critical one for the No. 8 team.”

Statisticians would chortle at such a comparison. NASCAR has completed three Chases, meaning there are no more than 30 different scenarios to compare to Earnhardt in 2007. It sounds like a sufficient amount, but statistically, it’s a drop in the bucket. It sounds like an impressive argument, but it would hold far more validity after six or seven years.

Anderson then goes on to chart Earnhardt’s recent lack of success at Vegas; then he includes the track re-design, saying it looks more like Texas, a place where Earnhardt has had considerably more success. So why even include his past history at the track, when you know – when we all know – that given the increased banking renders all past results nearly irrelevant. (Unless you can somehow pinpoint the Strip’s affect on race performance.)

Things absolutely do look bleak for Earnhardt right now. But the reality is we’re two races into a schedule of 36 races.

Certainly, the Chase has ramped up the pressure for each race. So, to make the Chase, Earnhardt technically has 24 races to get back on track. Realistically, he’ll need to be in or near the top 12 with a few weeks to go, so let’s say that gives him 22 races.

There’s an awful lot that can happen in 22 races. The front of the pack – the Johnsons, Gordons, Kenseths – will probably all still be there, setting the pace. But from there on back, each driver will have ups and downs. Earnhardt’s talent and his company’s success should immediately put him into at least the top 25; so it’s hard to figure that, in a few weeks, he’ll be a lot higher in the standings. At least he should be, given all that he has going for him.

Can anyone really make the claim that the combination of Earnhardt and DEI are the 40th best in Nextel Cup? Of course not.

It’s just that Earnhardt, the biggest name in the sport, started the season poorly – and that often makes for good copy early in the year in any sport. My honest feeling is that in two months, we’ll look back and wonder what the fuss was about.