THE COMEBACK; After a nasty Vegas race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. triumphs.(Competition)

Byline: AL PEARCE Dale Earnhardt Jr. has not been doing this for long, but he has mastered the art of saying the right thing at the right time. After doing well in the first two races, his team stunk up Vegas. Then rallying to win the next race near Atlanta, the kid nailed it. "We went from hero to zero and back to hero,'' he said. "It was quite a roller-coaster ride.'' So it was. He won at Daytona Beach and was fifth at Rockingham, but was pitiful in Las Vegas. The Budweiser Chevrolet wouldn't handle in a 40-acre field and its driver was almost waved off for being ...