News & Notes
DAYTONA RECAP: Dale Earnhardt Jr. entered the 2011 Daytona 500 as the pole sitter after earning his first restrictor-plate pole position during Feb. 13 qualifying. He started the event from the rear of the field after his primary Chevrolet was damaged during an earlier practice session. When the green flag dropped on Feb. 20, Earnhardt broke into the top 10 within the first 10 laps. He spent 187 laps running inside the top 15, the most of any driver, and he led nine laps to score the second-highest average running position of 9.188. Earnhardt was collected in a multi-car incident just six laps shy of the checkered flag, and he finished 24th.
AT PHOENIX: In 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Phoenix International Raceway, Earnhardt has scored two wins, four top-five finishes and seven top-10s. He also has led 460 laps at the short track. He earned his two wins there back-to-back, going to Victory Lane in November 2003 and November 2004 when Phoenix hosted one Cup event a season.
PHOENIX STATS: Among active drivers, Earnhardt’s two wins rank him tied for second in that category at Phoenix behind teammate Jimmie Johnson, who owns four. Earnhardt ranks fourth in the laps led category.
POINTS REPORT: Earnhardt, driver of the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet, currently ranks 22nd in the Sprint Cup driver standings after finishing 24th last weekend at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. He trails leader Carl Edwards by 21 points.
CHASSIS CHOICE: This weekend, crew chief Steve Letarte and the No. 88 crew will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-542. Jeff Gordon most recently raced this car to an 11th–place finish at Phoenix last November. The team tested this chassis last month at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway.
INTERMEDIATE TRACK STATS: In 192 Cup starts on intermediate (one- to two-mile) tracks, Earnhardt has recorded six wins, six pole positions, 38 top-five finishes and 70 top-10s. On one-mile tracks, such as Phoenix, he ranks eighth among active, full-time drivers in the laps led category (826 laps) and tied for fifth in wins (three total).
MOST RECENTLY AT PHOENIX: Sound pit strategy fueled Earnhardt to a 14th-place finish in his last outing at Phoenix in November 2010. Many teams opted to stay on track, but Earnhardt made his way down pit road for fuel during the final caution period on Lap 235. With 77 laps remaining, a long, green-flag run ensued, and Earnhardt was able to outlast many of his competitors, who had to stop for fuel.
HENDRICK AT PHOENIX: In 29 events (103 starts) at Phoenix International Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports has earned eight wins, which leads all other teams. The organization, which has led 1,805 laps, also has 29 top-five finishes and 52 top-10s.
HENDRICK TRIO: Earnhardt’s teammates Mark Martin, Johnson and Gordon own the top-three spots when it comes to all-time top-five finishes and top-10s at the one-mile desert oval. Martin, the only driver who has raced in all 28 events at PIR, ranks first in both categories with 12 top-five finishes and 19 top-10s. Johnson ranks second with 10 top-five finishes and third with 13 top-10s. Gordon owns nine top-five finishes, which ranks third in that category, and 17 top-10s, which ranks him second at the racetrack.
Quotes
DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER, NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET (ON HIS ATTITUDE AFTER DAYTONA.): “I figured we would run good in Daytona. I was very happy with how fast we got up through there at the start of the race. It’s a shame we didn’t get the finish we should have. I was happy with everything this team did, and I appreciate everything everyone did to make us run as fast as we did. The guys in the shop have worked really hard to get us to this point. We’ll head to Phoenix with a good, confident feeling because we got a good start. We’ll want to maintain that and improve upon it.”
EARNHARDT (ON WORKING WITH CREW CHIEF STEVE LETARTE AND THE NO. 88 TEAM.): “I have a lot of respect for Steve as a crew chief. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him better these past couple of months. I’ve seen him make some awesome calls and do a lot of great things with Jeff (Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet). I really enjoy the way the team approaches their jobs and what their goals are. I like the way they go about business, how they conduct themselves. . Those guys are used to winning. I like that pressure and sense of entitlement to winning.”
EARNHARDT (ON RACING AT PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY.): “Handling is really important at Phoenix. It takes something special to make a car work really good there. Turns 3 and 4 have been a challenge for me lately. Both ends can be challenging but (Turns) 3 and 4 create a longer corner, and they are just so different from each other.”
STEVE LETARTE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET (ON PREPARING FOR THE UNIQUE CONFIGURATION OF PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY.): “We’ve spent some time testing at New Smyrna, but I don’t think there is anywhere that can really prepare you for Phoenix, for the configuration. The configuration is what makes that place so unique and what makes the racing so exciting. I think you need to go to a short track somewhere and work on your brakes and work on some basic stuff. Practice is going to be very important in Phoenix. You can compare one end to one racetrack and one end to another racetrack, but there’s not another racetrack that is quite like Phoenix.”
LETARTE (ON THE TRACK REPAVING PROJECT.): “I’m a little disappointed even though it probably has to be done. I’m a race fan, and it’s just an amazing racetrack. The two different ends make the racing good, and the old, worn-out pavement makes it look like the tracks we grew up running on. I know repaves are necessary, but I think they are a necessary evil. I’m a real big fan of old, bumpy, worn-out surfaces.”
LETARTE (ON SWITCHING CARS FOR LAS VEGAS.): “The season in general is really hard to start. Daytona is a long week-and-a-half. You have more trucks go up and down I-95 getting your stuff for speedweeks. Two days after you get home from Daytona, you’ve got to be ready for Phoenix, and then two days after that you’ve got to send your Vegas cars. It’s just not economical or practical to send your Phoenix trucks back the shop and then go back out to Vegas. It’s a tremendous amount of work and has to be well coordinated. Any time you swap your cars out away from the shop, there is a level of pressure and intensity that normally isn’t there so we have to make sure we’re well coordinated.”
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