Stewart's a hard rookie act to follow

Earnardt Jr will be a full-time runner in the Winston Cup next year, along with sidekick Matt Kenseth - having twice won the NASCAR Busch Series.

He believes Stewart's Raybestos Rookie of the Year performance will be yardstick for all new drivers in 2000.

'That was the best rookie year ever,' said Earnhardt Jr.

'How the heck do Matt and me follow something like that?'

Stewart recorded three victories and a fourth-place finish in the standings -- the best by a first-timer in the 29 years of the series' modern era.

According to Stewart, the best Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidates in 2000 will need to bond with their crew chiefs the way he did with boss - Greg Zipadelli.

'I don't know why we had such great chemistry,' Stewart said.

'It's either there or it's not. It was there right away with Greg Zipadelli. It was there from our first test session.

'At the beginning of the season, I was a little nervous and tentative about what I was doing in the car,' said Stewart, the 1997 Indy Racing League champion.

'All it took was getting in lots of laps and a lot of miles.

'My confidence level from the beginning of the year to now is just quadrupled many times over, I'm so confident in these cars now.'