News & Notes
AT KANSAS: In 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has recorded one pole position and four top-10 finishes. He has completed 97.1 percent of all the laps he’s attempted (2,536 laps of 2,613 total) at the 1.5-mile racetrack. The 36-year-old driver has led a total of 81 laps there.
POINTS AFTER CHARLOTTE: After finishing seventh last week at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Earnhardt remains fourth in the championship standings. He trails leader Carl Edwards by 43 points.
CHASSIS CHOICE: This weekend at Charlotte, crew chief Steve Letarte and the No. 88 crew will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-657. Earnhardt last raced this chassis at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in May to a 14th-place finish.
LAPS IN THE TOP 15: Earnhardt, driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, ranks fifth among drivers for laps run in the top 15 during the 2011 season. Earnhardt has spent 64.6 percent of all laps (2,638 of 4,081 laps) in the top 15 per NASCAR’s loop statistics.
INTERMEDIATE TRACK STATS: In 198 Cup starts on intermediate (one- to two-mile) tracks, Earnhardt has recorded six wins, six pole positions, 38 top-five finishes and 74 top-10s. He has a 16.3 average starting position and an average finishing position of 17.3 on these racetracks.
HENDRICK AT KANSAS: In the 10 Cup races that have been held at Kansas, Hendrick Motorsports has scored three wins, 12 top-five finishes and 20 top-10s in 43 starts at the 1.5-mile speedway. Jeff Gordon has two of those victories and is ranked tied for first in the win column. He leads all other drivers with seven top-five finishes and eight top-10s.
CHEVROLET AT KANSAS: Chevrolet has reached Victory Lane in six of the 10 Cup events at Kansas, and Hendrick Motorsports has accounted for half of those victories. Jimmie Johnson scored Hendrick Motorsports’ most recent win at the 1.5-mile speedway in 2008.
APPROACHING 200: With Johnson’s win on April 17 at Talladega, Hendrick Motorsports has earned 196 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 WHAT IT TAKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT KANSAS.):
“Kansas is a tough track, but I enjoy running there. It is getting slick down in (Turns) 3 and 4 and off of Turn 2. Just trying to get good forward bite out of the corner without getting the car too tight in the middle—that’s the key.”
STEVE LETARTE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON WORKING WITH DALE EARNHARDT JR. THIS SEASON.):
“Dale has brought a fresh breath, a fresh voice, a fresh approach to our race team. There was nothing wrong with Jeff Gordon. Sometimes change is necessary, and I think Dale Jr. has brought that change to this race team. We are starting to approach tracks a little more open minded, a little more flexible then what we planned on running. Honestly, his driving style is more similar to Jimmie’s (Johnson) than Jeff’s and we’ve been able to lean on the (No.) 48 team more. Their notebook is a very good one to dig through, and that has probably helped us the most this year.”
LETARTE (ON WHAT TRACKS HELP THE NO. 88 TEAM PREPARE FOR KANSAS SPEEDWAY.):
“Kansas is the first of the lower-banked, mile-and-a-half tracks. Kansas is hard to prepare for based on anywhere we’ve run so far this year. It’s a little like (Las) Vegas. It’s a little like Texas. It’s a little like California. It’s not completely like any of the three. Kansas will prepare you for Michigan and Chicago. It’s not really like any where we’ve been so far, but I think you will find that the cars that were fast at Charlotte (N.C.) and Texas will be fast there.”
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