Dale Earnhardt Jr.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Martinsville Preview
Show your support.
Buzz this article up.
Oct 14, 2008
CIA Stock Photo, Inc.
MARTINSVILLE STATS: In 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has scored seven top-five finishes and eight top-10s. He has led 758 laps and completed 98.2 percent of all the laps he’s run at the short track (8,353 of 8,506).
FOLLOW THE LEADER: The 758 laps led at Martinsville mark the most for Earnhardt at any Sprint Cup track. Last March, Earnhardt led a race-high 146 laps at the paperclip-shaped oval. This season, Earnhardt has led at least one lap in 20 races for a total of 894.
VIRGINIA TECH GRADS: Darian Grubb, engineering manager for the Nos. 5 and 88 Sprint Cup teams, grew up in Floyd, Va., which is 45 miles northwest of Martinsville Speedway. Grubb earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech in 1998. Fellow Virginia Tech graduate Brian Whitesell, who has been team manager of the Nos. 5 and 88 Chevrolets since 2005, hails from Stuarts Draft, Va.
HENDRICK AT MARTINSVILLE: Hendrick Motorsports has won eight of the last 11 Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway. In those 11 races, Hendrick teams claimed the pole position six times and recorded 23 top-five finishes. Overall, Hendrick drivers have recorded 16 wins, 48 top-five finishes, 78 top-10s and led more laps at Martinsville than at any other track (5,367 laps). Hendrick Motorsports has posted a top-10 finish in all but six of 49 races there.
FOUR SCORE: During the Sprint Cup Series’ most recent trip to Martinsville Speedway in March, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers finished in the top seven. Earnhardt took sixth, with Jeff Gordon second, Jimmie Johnson fourth and Casey Mears seventh.
CHASSIS FOR MARTINSVILLE: Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and the No. 88 engineers have chosen Chassis No. 88-440 for Martinsville. This is the same car the team used to finish fourth last month at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
RACING LEAGUE: Earnhardt and several of his friends, including No. 88 team members Eury, T.J. Majors (spotter) and Jim Jenkins (mechanic), don’t save racing for the weekends. They also compete in Earnhardt’s DMP Online Racing League. The group, which is by invitation only, has three divisions. Earnhardt competes in the top Buttkicker Live Pro Series.
QUOTES
DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD IMPALA SS (ON THE CHASE.): “We’ve had stuff go wrong that’s out of our hands—Talladega with that wreck we had nowhere to go and last week at Lowe’s with the tire deal. I’m very proud of the way my team has been prepared and how hard they’ve been working. It’s a true testament to how good of an organization Hendrick Motorsports is. I’m just proud of them. Hopefully we can pick it up at Martinsville. This Chase isn’t over yet.”
