Chicagoland 400: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Preview
Jul 09, 2008
CIA Stock Photo, Inc.
DAYTONA IN THE REARVIEW: Dale Earnhardt Jr. had an average running position of 3.043 and scored the highest driver rating (126.4) for his performance in Saturday night’s 400-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Earnhardt, who finished the race eighth, was the only driver to run all 162 laps in the top 15. He also led the most laps, pacing 51 during the event.
IN THE WINDY CITY: In seven Sprint Cup Series starts at Chicagoland Speedway, Earnhardt has recorded one win, two top-five finishes and three top-10s. He scored his highest qualifying position on July 15, 2007 when he started fifth. Earnhardt, driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, has led 121 laps at the 1.5-mile tri-oval and completed almost 97 percent of all laps run (1,811 of 1,872).
MID-SEASON REPORT: After scoring his 12th top-10 finish of the season last weekend at Daytona, Earnhardt moved into second place in the driver standings. In 18 Sprint Cup Series starts this season, Earnhardt has recorded seven top-five finishes, which is the second-highest among all drivers, and one pole position. He has led at least a lap in all but five events this season, leading 621 total, and has completed almost 99 percent of all laps run (5,364 of 5,425).
BRINGING BACK A WINNER: Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard engineers have chosen Chassis No. 88-488 for this weekend’s 400-miler at Chicagoland. It is the same chassis Earnhardt drove to win the Lifelock 400 at Michigan International Speedway last month.
CHEVY HEAVY: Six of the seven 400-mile races held at Chicagoland Speedway have been won by a Chevrolet driver. Earnhardt claimed one of the wins in 2005 and Jeff Gordon, now his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, went to Victory Lane in 2006.
HENDRICK IN CHICAGO: In seven events at Chicagoland Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has recorded one win, 11 top-five finishes and 14 top-10s. Hendrick has placed at least one driver in the top five and at least two in the top 10 in all but one event at the 1.5-mile tri-oval.
QUOTES
DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD IMPALA SS (ON RUNNING AT CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY.): “Saturday night races are awesome. We get home and have Sunday to go out on the lake or hang out an extra day. Night races are exciting for the fans. We have run well in Chicago so it’s going to be a good weekend.”
EARNHARDT (ON CONSISTENCY.): “We’ve had that consistency and have been able to show up every weekend and have something for ‘em. We’re competitive, and that comes from the preparation and pride my guys have at Hendrick Motorsports. Tony (Eury) Jr. and the boys are getting the job done. I think this is a really good opportunity for me to race for a championship this season. As far as consistency, this has been my best season so far. We show up every single week with a competitive car, we lead laps, and I think we have a shot to win a few more races this year.”
TONY EURY JR., CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD IMPALA SS:
(ON CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY.): “Chicago is a lot like a Texas (Motor Speedway) with a Lowe’s (Motor Speedway) twist. The banking is about like Michigan (International Speedway). It’s going to be really important to have your car flexible to run the top or the bottom because the groove can change around multiple times. It’s all about trying to keep it turning all day. In the last couple of years it’s become a fuel mileage race so you have to pay attention to that kind of detail doing your pit strategy.”
EURY (ON DALE EARNHARDT JR.’S WIN LAST MONTH AT MICHIGIAN.): “The win was pretty nice. It took a two-tire strategy to make that happen and Dale Jr. did a good job of holding them off. We ran top five all day. It was the right call at the right time, and it paid off.”
EURY (ON THE NIGHT RACE AT CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY.): ”We’ve never done that before so that first happy hour practice at night is going to be really important. The whole night race is going to be pretty wild, so we’ve got to pay attention. Those two hours at night in happy hour are going to be really critical to getting your car tuned in. All our notes are going to tell us how loose or how tight the car gets during the day, and we’re really not sure about how much grip is going to be available so we’ve got to know how much we can stand to free the car up. And at what time is the race starting versus what time is the sun going down. We have to take all that into consideration.”
