DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It's not about winning a championship anymore for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Sprint Cup's most popular driver was all but eliminated from title contention heading into the Coke Zero 400 last night at Daytona International Speedway.

Earnhardt was 19th in points, with six drivers and 285 points separating him from the 12th and final spot in the Chase for the Championship.

The final 19 races give the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Serving America/AMP Energy Chevrolet a chance to try to correct some of the problems that have dogged him this season.

It's a long list.

"Making the Chase is the goal, but at the end of the year when you're done racing Homestead and you've finished the last lap and get out of the car, what kind of feeling do you want to have?" Earnhardt said. "The one I want to have is that we fixed it. That we've got something we can feel good about and work on and get our stuff ready for next year and feel like we can get the job done. Right now, that's not how we feel as a team."

It's been a tumultuous year for Earnhardt. Like every other driver in the Hendrick Motorsports stable, his year started with title hopes.

They didn't last long. A 27th-place showing in the Daytona 500 was a precursor of what was to come. A second-place showing at Talladega in April got Earnhardt to 15th in points.

But that has been the high-water mark for him, as he followed that with showings of 27th, 27th and 40th place. His cousin and crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., paid for the struggles with his job, but the switch to new crew chief Lance McGrew hasn't helped much.

In the five races since McGrew took over, Earnhardt hasn't posted a top-10 finish. He has just three this season and knows that top-10 runs now won't get him into the Chase.

Earnhardt said he's feeling more comfortable in the car and is starting to communicate well with McGrew. And despite the problems, he says the attitude of the team is great.

"We're still mathematically in it," Earnhardt said. "We're not just trying to catch one guy. We're 200-and-something points behind. It's unrealistic to expect all of them guys to have enough trouble. For us to top-10 them to death isn't going to get it done. We've got to run better."

There have been flashes. He ran as high as third last week at New Hampshire before finishing 13th. The team just needs to find its groove.

"It's important for him and that team to come together and get in sync and it could take a little while," teammate Jeff Gordon said last week.