NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pocono Preview: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Jun 04, 2008
CIA Stock Photo, Inc.
At Pocono: In 16 starts at Pocono Raceway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has four top-five finishes and five top-10s. He has led 97 laps and completed 95.7 percent of all laps (2,953 of 3,085 laps).
THIS SEASON: In 13 races this season, Earnhardt has tallied five top-five finishes, nine top-10s and one pole position. Ranked third in the driver standings, the 33-year-old Kannapolis, N.C., native has held that spot steadily for five straight weeks. Earnhardt moved into third after finishing 10th at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on April 27. At the time, that marked his seventh top-10 of the season.
POCONO CHASSIS: Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet engineers have selected Chassis No. 88-498 for this weekend’s race at Pocono. This is a brand new car that the team tested last month at Pocono.
POCONO POLE: Earnhardt earned a pole at Pocono on Aug. 5, 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 starting in the 12th position.
HENDRICK TOP 10: In 48 races at Pocono Raceway, Hendrick drivers have recorded at least one top-10 finish in all but four events. Overall, Hendrick Motorsports drivers have combined for 11 wins, 45 top-five finishes and 76 top-10s at the track.
Quotes
DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY IMPALA SS (ON POCONO.): “We had a good test, but I feel that the track needs to be repaved. It’s real, real rough, and you are just bouncing all over the place in the car. They paved this little strip in Turn 3 in the third groove, and we’re all running around on it and it had a lot of grip. They need to do the entire track over. The racing is going to be pretty strung out. It has characteristics of a road course and a superspeedway. It’s a tough track—you carry a ton of speed into the corner in Turn 1. It’s like you’re going 205 mph and have to brake for a 90-degree turn. It’s a tough track, but I think it will be a long race; like normal at Pocono—not many cautions and single-car lines.”
TONY EURY JR., CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY IMPALA SS: (ON POCONO.): “We had a good little test in Pocono. We have some ground to make up from Dover because we were only 139 points out of first and now we are 272. But we plan on doing that. We were real fast during the test, and Dale Jr. was really happy with the car. I think we should have a good race. We’re taking a new car.”
