One late-race dash does not a season make, but ...

FONTANA, Calif. – In the garage at Auto Club Speedway Saturday morning, several groups of visitors were being led on tours through the busy area, getting a behind-the-scenes look at the work involved in putting cars on the track.

Every group stopped at the same spot. Tucked into the last slot on one side of the garage was Dale Earnhardt’s specially painted orange and white Chevrolet and the visitors wanted to look.

Two spots away sat the car of Daytona 500 champion and Auto Club 500 pole-winner Jamie McMurray, but it was Earnhardt’s car, one side raised by a jack, that brought out the cameras and the stares.

It happens all the time, but after Earnhardt’s dramatic second-place finish in the Daytona 500 last Sunday, there’s a sense that NASCAR’s most popular driver may have found his missing mojo.

One race doesn’t define a season, but considering Earnhardt had just two top-five finishes last year, it was a reaffirmation that he and his team are moving forward again.

“This is definitely a sport about momentum and it doesn’t take a lot to get the ball rolling in the right direction and a good week like we had down there, it means a lot,” Earnhardt’s crew chief, Lance McGrew, said. “We’ve worked really hard in the offseason to get the ball rolling in the right direction and it’s nice to see that come to fruition.”

Earnhardt’s rush from 10th to 2nd on the final lap had the feeling of a high-speed revival. While McMurray was bouncing around the country, basking in the glow of his victory, Earnhardt and his team had their own sense of satisfaction.

There wasn’t a party, but there were reasons to smile.

“It was more like this is the beginning of a journey and we have to learn our lessons along the way and we have to put this together for 26 races. That was just one,” McGrew said.

At times through the years, Earnhardt has seemed uncomfortable with his celebrity. He has won 18 Cup races but only one since the 2006 season.

His first year with Hendrick Motorsports was a flameout, but he and McGrew have connected in their few months together. The end of the Daytona 500 was a shining moment.

Earnhardt has watched replays the last lap when he ripped through traffic and wound up on McMurray’s bumper. He almost deflected credit for his driving when asked about it Friday, talking about how fortunate he was.

Given all he and his team have been through over the past year, Earnhardt is reluctant to get too excited about 2010 so soon. Sunday’s Auto Club 500 is a different test.

“We had been battered and beaten up so much last year by ourselves particularly, I didn’t want to get too excited after that finish because it was Daytona and it was a track (where) I can typically run good,” Earnhardt said.

“A lot of people of questionable talent have run good there. I didn’t want to get too excited about it because I know I wouldn’t be able to really convince anybody that we were back or we are a strong team or had fixed anything until we come to these kind of tracks and run good.

“It was a lot of fun. I got more text messages and phone calls about those last few laps than I did when I won the damn race.”

Earnhardt didn’t qualify well for Sunday’s race – he’ll start 27th – but McGrew said the car is very fast in race trim. What struck the crew chief is the difference in Earnhardt’s approach this year.

“He’s right there and he’s engaged,” McGrew said. “He’s putting in more input, really digging in and saying we can fix this (and) we need to work on this. That engagement from him really necessary.”

For all the work on the car, there is a human element to racing success as well. Confidence is critical and it’s no secret that has been missing at times with Earnhardt.

“If you’re beat when you walk in the gate, you’re beat,” McGrew said. “Having that confidence in the team and us having the confidence in the driver is everything.”

When Earnhardt runs well, everyone notices.

“It’s absolutely important and anybody that feels like that’s a joke is only kidding themselves,” Jeff Gordon said.

“When he’s doing well and the spotlight’s on him, it brings more attention to the sport and it benefits all of us, no doubt.”