``Dale Earnhardt is the best,'' Childress said after Earnhardt broke a 40-race winless streak Sunday with a dominating victory in the DieHard 500. ``If anybody gives up on him, they've lost their mind.''

His fans didn't give up. They were joyous after Earnhardt drove his signature black No. 3 Chevrolet to victory at Talladega Superspeedway.

As Earnhardt sat high above the front straightaway with his back to the big pressbox windows after the race, hundreds of his fans stood below chanting: ``Earn-hardt, Earn-hardt.''

Between answers to numerous questions, Earnhardt would half turn in his seat and, grinning widely, wiggle his fingers at the crowd, drawing a roar that made his smile even bigger.

But he happily shared the spotlight with Childress and Kevin Hamlin, who got his first Winston Cup win since becoming Earnhardt's crew chief midway through last season.

The victory -- only Earnhardt's second in the past 101 starts -- was a relief for Richard Childress Racing and for Earnhardt, who will be 48 Thursday.

Still, like his car owner, he said it was other people who were worrying, not him.

``It's not been tough on me,'' Earnhardt said. ``It's tougher on you guys, keeping the stats and asking the questions. We just race from week to week and try to win the next week.

``We don't walk around and look at each other and say, `It's been a week since we won, It's been 100 weeks since you won.' ... We know. We talk about it. We race to try to fix that the next race.''

His competitors just laugh when asked if Earnhardt has lost anything.

``I wish,'' said Rusty Wallace, who was among the top contenders Sunday until getting caught up in a wild, nine-car wreck. ``I'd still rather have just about anybody on my tail then him. And getting around him when he's leading late in a race ... forget it.''

Dale Jarrett is the latest driver to try -- and fail.

Jarrett had four laps on the 2.66-mile Talladega oval in Earnhardt's wake. With help from Mark Martin, the two Fords couldn't make a dent in the two car-length lead that Earnhardt took with him under the checkered flag.

``In front or behind, I don't care to have him either place,'' Jarrett said of ``The Intimidator.''

``He's a hard man to pass. He's good at anticipating.

``I peddled back to Mark a little to try to get a little push, and Earnhardt peddled right back with me. He's smart and he knows what to do.''

Earnhardt, who moved into a tie for ninth in the standings with teammate Mike Skinner, says his top priority is winning a record eighth Winston Cup title.

Since he last won a championship in 1994, the number of doubters has grown. The wins come harder and the top-10 finishes have been less frequent.

The convincing win Sunday obviously was a big confidence-booster for Earnhardt and his team.

``Richard Childress and all the crew needed this win,'' Earnhardt said. ``We want to work on the points ... That's why you're here, racing to win and racing for championships.''

The low-key Hamlin, who sat calmly by Earnhardt's side Sunday as darkness fell behind them, said, ``We've been close, but in this sport you can't just be close. You've got to be right on. Hopefully, we can carry some of this momentum forward.''

Earnhardt is aware that two top-five finishes in the first nine races isn't good enough.

``We've had a lousy year so far, but I think it's going to turn around for us,'' he said. ``We've got some good cars coming out now and we've got a brand new car for California (the California 500 at Fontana Sunday).

``If it doesn't run good, it's going to be the driver's fault.''