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AT POCONO: In 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has recorded five top-five finishes and six top-10s. He has led 98 laps and completed 96.2 percent of all laps he’s attempted (3,353 laps of 3,485) at the Pennsylvania racetrack.
POCONO PROWESS: In his first Pocono start with Hendrick Motorsports, Earnhardt started seventh and drove his No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet to a fourth-place finish in June 2008. He led one lap and finished 12th in the August 2008 race.
POCONO POLE POSITION: Earnhardt earned a pole position at Pocono in August 2007 and led eight laps before finishing second. The runner-up effort matched his best performance at the Long Pond, Pa., track. Earnhardt also finished second on July 29, 2001, after leading 31 laps.
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ON TOP OF THE PIT BOX: Crew chief Lance McGrew has filled various leadership roles since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 1999. McGrew led the 2000 NASCAR Nationwide Series effort for Jeff Gordon and Ricky Hendrick before earning the Nationwide title with Brian Vickers in 2003. He guided Vickers to a Cup win at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in October 2006. McGrew also was the crew chief when Mark Martin won the 2008 Nationwide event at Las Vegas and scored Earnhardt’s first win as a team owner with JR Motorsports. Most recently, McGrew won at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway with Tony Stewart behind the wheel of Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 80 Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series.
CHASSIS CHOICE: McGrew and the No. 88 team will unload Chassis 88-521 in Pocono. This chassis last was used on Oct. 11, 2008 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
AFTER DOVER: Earnhardt and the No. 88 team scored a 12th-place finish last weekend at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, which marked their best performance since taking second in the April 26 Cup event at Talladega. Earnhardt enters the 14th race of the Cup season ranked 18th in the driver standings. He trails teammate Mark Martin, who is in 12th place, by 215 points.
PENNSYLVANIA NATIVES: Four members of the No. 88 Chevrolet consider the Keystone State home. Spotter T.J. Majors, 29, hails from Wampum, Pa., where he grew up racing dirt tracks in western Pennsylvania and in 2003 was named the Goody’s Dash Series Rookie of the Year. Gas man Chris Fasulka, a native of Wilkes-Barre, is a 1990 graduate of James M. Coughlin High School and has been at Hendrick Motorsports since 2002. Rear-tire carrier Matt Myers (Ford City) and transporter driver Dave Radney (Canton) also are from Pennsylvania.
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HENDRICK AT POCONO: Hendrick Motorsports, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, has tallied 11 wins, 47 top-five finishes, 80 top-10s and 11 pole positions in 50 events (157 starts) at Pocono.
MILESTONE WIN: Jimmie Johnson’s performance Sunday at Dover marked the 180th Sprint Cup victory for Hendrick Motorsports. Among car owners, Rick Hendrick ranks first in wins in the modern era and second all-time.
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