NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Dover Preview: Dale Jr.
May 27, 2008
CIA Stock Photo, Inc.
WRAPPING UP THE 600: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard teammates rallied back twice during the 600-mile event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last week to finish fifth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. In 12 events this season, Earnhardt has posted four top-five finishes and nine top-10s.
LAPS LED: Earnhardt has led a lap in all but two Sprint Cup races in 2008. He has led a total of 527 laps and has completed 98.8 percent of the laps this season (4,016 of 4,064 laps).
300TH STRAIGHT: Earnhardt will be making his 300th straight start in the Cup Series this weekend at Dover. He made his Cup debut when he finished sixth on May 30, 1999 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Earnhardt, who was racing for his second straight Nationwide title, competed in five Cup races during the 1999 season. He drove in the last race of the 1999 season and hasn’t missed a points-paying event since. Earnhardt has competed in 303 total Sprint Cup events.
CONQUER THE MONSTER: In 16 starts, Earnhardt has recorded one win, four top-five finishes and seven top-10s. He has completed 99 percent of the laps (6,339 of 6,404) at the track and has led 366. He led the most laps—193—when he won there on Sept. 23, 2001.
NOTABLE WIN: Earnhardt’s 2001 win at Dover marked his second trip to Victory Lane during his sophomore Cup season and the first win for NASCAR following Sept. 11. Earnhardt displayed the American flag during his victory lap to pay tribute to the victims. Since that day, the National Guard has deployed 257,000 soldiers overseas. The Guard is the largest it’s ever been with 359,000 soldiers—that is more than 10 times the population of Dover, Del. (32,808 people).
MONSTER CHASSIS: Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and the No. 88 engineers have chosen Chassis No. 88-421 for Sunday’s race at Dover. Earnhardt has driven Chassis 421 to a pair of top-10 finishes this season—fifth at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and sixth at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
HENDRICK AT DOVER: In 48 races at Dover, Hendrick Motorsports has posted 10 wins, 35 top-five finishes and 61 top-10s. The organization has posted six pole positions, three of which happened in the last four years. Jimmie Johnson earned Hendrick’s most recent win on Sept. 25, 2005.
STREAK INTACT: Hendrick Motorsports’ streak of top-10 finishes improved to 77 Sprint Cup races after Sunday’s event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway when Jeff Gordon took fourth and Earnhardt nabbed fifth. The last time a Hendrick driver wasn’t in the top 10 was April 9, 2006. Finishing 11th, Johnson was Hendrick’s top performer that day at Texas Motor Speedway.
DOVER DELIGHT: Earnhardt won twice at the Monster Mile during his 1998 and 1999 championship seasons in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. In four Nationwide starts, he has two wins, two top-five finishes and three top-10s. He has led 202 laps and completed 775 of 800.
DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD IMPALA SS (ON HIS BRIEF MEMORIAL DAY REST.): “I didn’t do much for Memorial Day. I just hung out. I enjoyed the day off, though. The 600 wore us all out.”
EARNHARDT (ON HIS FIFTH-PLACE FINISH AT LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY.):”I don’t know if I have ever been that happy finishing fifth. I was still a little unhappy because we were strong and had an awesome car, but we did finish fifth with a wrecked race car. I have to hand it to Tony (Eury) Jr. and the guys on my team. They got that car fixed up for me to race another 100 laps, and we gambled on the fuel and finished fifth. Those cars are so, so aero-sensitive and hard to drive. It’s hard to win these days. You earn ‘em when you do, though.”
TONY EURY JR., CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD IMPALA SS (ON DOVER.): ”Dover should be a good track for us this weekend. We are busy with the Pocono test, but the Dover car is all set back at the shop, and it’s done good for us at Martinsville and Bristol.”
