AT ATLANTA: In 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has recorded one win, eight top-five finishes and 10 top-10s. He has an average finish of 11.7 and has led 632 laps there.
HOT SPOT: In 2006, when Earnhardt most recently was contending in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, he led 95 laps at Atlanta and finished third. Earnhardt has led 237 laps at the racetrack during the final 10 races of the last four seasons.
LAST TIME OUT: Earlier this season, Earnhardt earned the outside pole position for the March race at Atlanta. He led 52 laps around the 1.54-mile quad-oval and finished third.
HENDRICK AT ATLANTA: Hendrick Motorsports has scored 10 wins, 44 top-five finishes, 67 top-10s and three pole positions at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson scored the organization’s most recent Atlanta win on Oct. 28, 2007.
CHASSIS FOR ATLANTA: Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and the No. 88 engineers have chosen Chassis No. 88-499 for Atlanta. The car saw action at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May, Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, Michigan International Speedway in August and Kansas Speedway in September.
TOP-SIX: All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers finished in the top six on Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Johnson led the way, picking up the organization’s 174th Sprint Cup win (1984-2008). Earnhardt finished second, followed closely by Jeff Gordon (fourth) and Casey Mears (sixth).
WITH FOUR TO GO: Going into Sunday’s race at Atlanta, Earnhardt has recorded one win, 10 top-five finishes and 15 top-10s this season. He has led at least one lap during 20 of the races in 2008 for a total of 894 laps, which includes 188 during the first six races of the Chase.
SOLID STARTER: Earnhardt’s average Atlanta Motor Speedway starting position improves by almost six spots—from 14.2 to 8.4—when he’s qualifying at the 1.54-mile track during the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup (2004-2007). During the 2004 and 2006 seasons, Earnhardt secured a pair of sixth-place starting spots at Atlanta when he was competing in the Chase.
ON TARGET: It’s hunting season, and Eury couldn’t be happier. One of the crew chief’s favorite things to do is break away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and spend time in the woods hunting deer. One of his favorite spots is in Selma, Ala., where he hunts on a cotton and peanut farm.
CLOSE TO HOME: Racing in Atlanta has special meaning for No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet crew member Chris Golder. The 27-year-old shock specialist was born in Alpharetta, Ga., a town roughly 35 minutes north of Atlanta. After graduating from Alpharetta High School in 1999, he raced in a pro-truck series at Lanier National Speedway in nearby Braselton, Ga. Golder went on to earn a degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech and has worked at Hendrick Motorsports since June 2004.
QUOTES
DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY IMPALA SS (ON ATLANTA.): “I like running at Atlanta a lot. It’s a good racetrack and real, real fast. We have run really well there in the past and coming off a good run like Martinsville last week, I think we have a good shot at it. We finished third there in the spring. A win would be great, but I really just want to keep running as good as we did last week.”
TONY EURY JR., CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY IMPALA SS:
EURY (ON HIS GOALS FOR ATLANTA.): “We ran so well there the first race. We sat on the outside pole and ran very well at the start of that race, so we’re ready to get back there. I think that’s one of Dale Jr.‘s favorite tracks. We want to get there, try to get on the pole and fix what we didn’t finish (in March). We had a super car there at the start of the race. I’m really looking forward to getting back there and trying again.”
EURY (ON HIS POST-SEASON HUNTING PLANS.): “I really look forward to the end of November because I can get to doing some hunting. I think we’ve got a trip planned to go hunting in Kansas with me and Dale Jr. and my uncles. I’m looking forward to that. By the time the season ends, you ain’t got but about six weeks so you try to get in all you can. Then I’m going to take my wife to Hawaii. Then Christmas. It’s like the season never ends. You’re constantly going somewhere every weekend.”
EURY (ON WHY HE ENJOYS HUNTING.): “It’s quiet. Just being out there and seeing what all goes on in the woods. I think it’s a wonderful place where we live. A lot of times I don’t go out there just to be shooting. A lot of times I like to go out there and just see nature doing its deal. If I can go out there and watch 30 deer for four hours, that’s a great deal to me. I could care less about shooting. It’s about being a part of it, being out in the woods watching squirrels jump around, armadillos walk around, foxes. The more I see, the more I enjoy my time, and that’s what I get out of it. This is so fast-paced, and you have to be constantly thinking about what you’re doing, coming up with new ideas. That’s a time when the pace really slows down, and you can honestly come up with a lot of ideas sitting out there in the woods. You’re by yourself. You’re just thinking. It’s just really calm and soothing.”
EURY (ON HIS FAVORITE HUNTING SPOT.): “I really have a good time going down to Selma, Ala. There’s a cotton and peanut farm. We’ve got about 83 stands we can hunt in. It’s a good time. We usually go down there and stay for five or six days. And then we always drive back on Christmas Eve so we can be with the family. Year-in, year-out it’s a lot of fun to go down into there. “
EURY (ON WHAT HIS WIFE THINKS ABOUT HIS HUNTING HOBBY.): “She’s a Noah. She wants two of every animal (as pets). We have a different opinion. I’ve tried to tell her I will take her, and she tells me that she will go, but I can’t take a gun. She says I can’t take a bow. I said, ‘What if Bullwinkle walks out?’ She said, ‘There’s no moose in North Carolina.’ She’s not a big fan of hunting, so she gets on us a lot.”
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