Stepping up to the plate: hard work, exhaustive testing and the skills of drivers Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have helped Dale Earnhardt, Inc. seize control of restrictor-plate racing. (NASCAR).

The heat is on. Tony Eury has a solemn look on his leathery face. He is making meticulous preparations.

He is making hamburgers.

He is standing by the gas grill outside the hauler for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Chevrolet after a morning practice session. Eury has plopped a couple of patties on the grill, and as they sizzle, he reaches to pluck various ingredients from a tray, sprinkling them liberally on the burgers.

There is metaphor in meat.

Dale Earnhardt, Inc., which employs Eury as crew chief for Junior's team, has been the dominant force in Winston Cup restrictor-plate races the last two years, and it has been because of meticulous ...