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Hendrick Motor Speedway
NEWS & NOTES
DALE AT DAYTONA: In 19 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has recorded two wins, six top-five finishes, 11 top-10s and has led 383 laps.
IN THE 400: Earnhardt has scored one win, three top-five finishes and six top-10s during nine appearances in the 400-mile July event at Daytona. Earnhardt, who will drive a No. 88 National Guard “Serving America"/AMP Energy Chevrolet, led 116 laps during his emotional July 7, 2001, victory. He has led a total of 245 laps during the summer classic.
WORK OF ART : To honor the National Guard and celebrate Independence Day, the No. 88 Chevrolet will run a special hand-painted camouflage ACU (Army Combat Uniform) scheme this weekend. The Hendrick Motorsports body shop needed two days and 14 coats of DuPont paint to finish the job. Earnhardt will unveil the paint scheme to National Guard soldiers and fans at Daytona’s Bandshell on Wednesday.
A DAYTONA DOZEN: Earnhardt has 12 wins at Daytona International Speedway. He won the 2004 Daytona 500, the 2001 Pepsi 400, two Budweiser Shootouts (2003 and 2008) and five NASCAR Nationwide Series events. Earnhardt also won his Gatorade Duel qualifying races in 2003, 2004 and 2008.
DRIVER RATING: According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Earnhardt ranks fifth in the driver rating category at Daytona with a score of 91.9. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The driver rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator.
DAYTONA CHASSIS: Crew chief Lance McGrew and the No. 88 engineers will unload Chassis No. 88-475 at Daytona. Earnhardt last raced this chassis to a second-place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April.
HENDRICK AT DAYTONA: Hendrick Motorsports, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, has tallied 10 wins, 39 top-five finishes, 72 top-10s and led 1,315 laps in 50 Cup events (158 starts) at Daytona International Speedway.
DAYTONA DOUBLE: In addition to his duties behind the wheel of the No. 88 National Guard “Serving America"/National Guard Chevy, Earnhardt will pilot JR Motorsports’ No. 5 Chevy in the Nationwide Series race on Friday. In 16 Nationwide starts at Daytona, he has five wins, eight top-five finishes and 10 top-10s. This marks Earnhardt’s sixth Nationwide Series start this season.
QUOTES
DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER, NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD “SERVING AMERICA"/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET (ON THE SPECIAL PAINT SCHEME FOR DAYTONA.): ”Working with the military means a lot because they are a big part of our sport overall, and to carry them on my car every weekend makes you pretty proud.”
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