TALLADEGA, Ala. — The line at the merchandise trailer was absurd. The man in front of Tammy Swinford said he heard it could take two hours to get through.

That didn’t faze the Sand Mountain resident. She came to the Talladega Superpseedway for a reason Saturday, and it had very little to do with the on-track action.

Swinford, like the hundreds of people in the five separate lines, is part of the “Junior Nation” — the horde of Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans. She figured Saturday would be the better day to finally get the 88 “Amped Up” T-shirt she’s been wanting. And though she’s a bit frustrated at the wait, it’s not enough to make her give up.

“I only have one shirt with his new colors, and I got that at the flea market,” said Swinford, admitting she has “tons of the old Dale Jr. stuff” — shirts, hats, key chains, socks, you name it. “It might take years to build up the collection of his stuff I had with his old team, but what can I say, I’m a big fan.”

Swinford, like her Junior Nation brothers and sisters, has gone through a rough 12 months. It was nearly a year ago when NASCAR’s most popular driver announced he was splitting with Dale Earnhardt Inc. Since then his fans have had to endure the suspense of where he was going (“I was really hoping he would go with Richard Childress and drive the 3,” Swinford said) and the horror of learning he was joining hated rival Jeff Gordon’s Hendrick Motorsports team.

“I really thought it was a joke,” said Daniel Jakes, a North Georgia native who now lives in Birmingham. “No way he would do that to us because, man, it was Gordon. I mean, were we now supposed to be his fans, too? Not going to happen. Hey, I’ll yell for Junior until my voice goes, but you will never see me even clap for that (expletive).”

Like Swinford, Jakes has begun to build an 88 collection. He prefers die-cast cars to clothing, and the new Earnhardt cars can get quite pricey.

“I got one on eBay for $200,” Jakes said. “Really, it was a bargain because I saw one in a store for $250. I hope I can get it signed.”

Jakes said he has it good compared to a lot of his friends, who have had to replace more personal Junior items.

“My buddy has a big 8 tattoo on his upper back, all done in red with a Budweiser logo underneath it,” Jakes said laughing. “He couldn’t just add another 8. There wasn’t any room. So he’s thinking about getting it lasered off, but he might just keep it.”

Joey Foster of Bridgeport, Ala., also is replacing his Junior merchandise, but he found something to do with the old stuff.

“That was the biggest pain, having to exchange all the 8 stuff with 88 things,” Foster said. “I just decided to get rid of the old stuff, so I gave it all to Goodwill.”

Earnhardt’s fans aren’t the only ones affected by his move. In addition to getting a new teammate, Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have seen another benefit from having Earnhardt aboard.

“I think that with Junior joining the team, there are more people looking at Hendrick Motorsports and Jeff Gordon and myself in a respectful way, and I’m appreciative of that,” Johnson said. “And I don’t get flipped off as much, which is nice, or get beer cans thrown at me.”

Added Gordon: “To me, it’s always been Junior’s up here in popularity and the rest of us follow, and that part hasn’t changed. Junior’s always been the guy and his fans are amazing. Maybe they won’t throw things at me anymore if I win this weekend. At least, so far, they’ve been nicer to me, but maybe that’s because we haven’t won yet.”

Which leads to the other side of being the sport’s most popular driver: pressure to keep those legions of fans happy. Even his peers wonder how Earnhardt manages the expectations that follow him.

“I think the expectation level that swirls around that team is unrealistic,” Jeff Burton said. “Junior is exceptionally talented; he can win races; he can win them consistently; he can win championships. But you know, it doesn’t always go right for anybody. They hadn’t won a race this year, but they’ve done everything else.

“You just don’t wave a magic wand and all of a sudden win the first seven or eight races. That’s what happens with Junior if he doesn’t win every race. It’s a disappointment, and that’s unrealistic.”

Earnhardt doesn’t necessarily see it that way.

“My fans are passionate. They’re great,” said Earnhardt, who hasn’t won a Cup race in nearly two years. “Everybody’s got pressure. We all want to win every race. I do want to keep my fans happy, but I think as long as they know we’re going for it all the time, they’ll be all right.”

Indeed. The Junior Nation, change and all, is alive and well.

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