News & Notes
POINTS AFTER NEW HAMPSHIRE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. holds the ninth position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship standings. He trails leader Carl Edwards by 75 points and is seven points ahead of 11th-place Tony Stewart with seven races remaining until the 12-car field is set for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. This is the best position Earnhardt has held at this point in the season since 2008, when he was ranked second going into the Brickyard 400.
MOST RECENTLY AT THE BRICKYARD: Earnhardt was closing in on the top 10 as the laps were winding down last year at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But his forward progress was halted on Lap 146, when he was collected by the No. 42 car which slid after slamming on its brakes to hit pit road. Earnhardt finished 27th.
AT INDY: In 11 Sprint Cup starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Earnhardt has recorded two top-10 finishes and led 54 laps. In five of those races, Earnhardt lined up sixth or better for the historic event. He scored his best finish—sixth-place—at the 2.5-mile oval in 2006.
LEADING LAPS: According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Earnhardt is tied for sixth among all drivers in the laps led category during the past six Indianapolis races. The 36-year-old driver has led 41 of the 960 laps run during that timeframe.
SPEEDWAY SUCCESS: Earnhardt has scored eight of his 18 career Sprint Cup wins on tracks that are two miles or longer. He has earned five at Talladega Superspeedway, two at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and his most recent victory at Michigan International Speedway in 2008. He also has tallied four pole positions, 29 top-five finishes, 46 top-10s and 1,456 laps led at tracks that are two miles or longer.
GOOD COMPANY: Earnhardt’s eight wins at ovals that are two miles or greater tie him for fourth overall among active, full-time drivers. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon ranks first with 26 wins, while teammate Jimmie Johnson is second with 13 victories. Tony Stewart is third with 10 wins.
INDIANAPOLIS CHASSIS: Crew chief Steve Letarte and the No. 88 team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-617. Earnhardt last raced this chassis to a seventh-place finish in the 600-mile event at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in May.
SO FAR THIS YEAR: In 19 Cup events this season, Earnhardt already has matched most of the statistics he recorded during his entire 2010 campaign. This year, Earnhardt has three top-five finishes, eight top-10s and one pole position, which he recorded in February at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
HENDRICK AT INDY: Gordon and Johnson have combined to win seven of the 17 Cup events that have been held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In addition to those seven victories, Hendrick Motorsports has 17 top-five finishes and 26 top-10s in 17 races (61 starts) at the 2.5-mile speedway. Gordon is the track’s leader in wins (four), top-five finishes (nine), top-10s (13) and laps led (440 total) at Indy.
CHEVY STREAK: Chevrolet has won 12 of the 17 Sprint Cup events held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including the last eight straight. In addition, a Chevy has started from the Brickyard 400 pole position eight times.
APPROACHING 200: With Gordon’s win at Pocono Raceway on June 12, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 197 Cup victories. The organization ranks first in NASCAR’s modern era for wins and second all-time behind Petty Enterprises, which has 268 victories.
Quotes
DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER, NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON GETTING AROUND INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY.):
“At Indy, it is real tight getting into Turn 1. If you can roll down into that corner, there is a lot of speed to be gained there because as you go around the track each corner seems to be easier and freer to get through. Turn 4 is the loosest corner. So just turning down in Turn 1 and getting the car turned and being able to carry speed into (Turn) 2 I think creates a good lap. From there, you build on the momentum and speed from what you did in Turn 1. It all has a repercussion on each following corner.”
STEVE LETARTE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON HIS FAVORITE INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY MEMORY.):
“I have a lot of great Indy memories. I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of a bunch of winning teams. I wasn’t there for the inaugural one with Jeff (Gordon). That was before I joined Hendrick Motorsports. We’ve been fortunate to win a few times, and they are all special in their own way. Going out there and kissing the bricks after a race win at Indy—it’s just a special place. I know it’s another race of the 38-race schedule, and I know the points are the same but there is just something about that place. When you win there or run well there, it can make your entire season.”
LETARTE (ON THE NO. 88 TEAM’S FOCUS THIS WEEKEND.):
“Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) runs well there, but the big thing we need to do is qualify better. The track is very, very hard to pass at. Hopefully the tire will hold on. Pit strategy will be important. Indy is kind of like Daytona (Fla.) and Talladega (Ala.). If you aren’t fast when you come off the truck, it’s very frustrating. It’s hard to find speed there. So we are trying to find some speed and make sure we are fast. We need to qualify well and start towards the front of the pack.”
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