The pressure’s off Dale Earnhardt Jr.—until next Sunday, that is.
In Sunday’s qualifying session at Daytona International Speedway, Earnhardt edged Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon for the top starting spot in next Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500.
Turning a lap in 48.364 seconds (186.089 mph), Earnhardt claimed the 10th Coors Light pole award of his career and his first at a restrictor-plate superspeedway. He’ll try to win NASCAR’s most prestigious race for the second time in the 400th start of his Cup career. NASCAR.com
His Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) teammate Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet will start on the outside of the front row. It is his third front row start in the Great American Race. The four-time NSCS champion started on the pole in 1999 and on the outside pole in 2006.
The qualifying efforts by Earnhardt, Jr. and Gordon lock-in their starting positions for next Sunday’s Daytona 500. They will each start of the pole of one of Thursday’s Gatorade Duel at Daytona Qualifying races.
This is the third time Hendrick Motorports has swept the top two slots for the 500. The rest of the field will be determined during the Gatorade Duels on Thursday.
“I just want to focus on my job, with what I need to do every single corner and every single lap. That’s all I’m going to concern myself with,” he said.
Earnhardt Jr. has not won a Sprint Cup race since June 2008 at Michigan.
Steve Letarte moved over to Earnhardt Jr.‘s No.88 team after serving as Gordon’s crew chief for the No.24 since the latter part of the 2005 season. McGrew paired with Martin at the No.5, while Alan Gustafson ended his crew chief tenure with Martin and now serves in the role for Gordon’s team.
“[Earnhardt Jr.] has a lot of confidence in my ability to crew chief,” Letarte said. “While I’m short on success compared to other crew chiefs in the garage, I have been able to win a few races with Jeff. I feel confident in my ability on top of the pit box, and I have all the confidence in the world in his driving ability.” MiamiHerald.com
Qualifying was almost an afterthought Sunday, as drivers and crew chiefs were preoccupied with NASCAR’s reaction to the sudden emergence of two-car drafting suddenly becoming the fast way to get around Daytona.
With the drafting duos pushing speeds past 200 mph, NASCAR officials imposed restrictions the cars’ cooling systems Sunday evening.
It’s an attempt to make it more difficult for one car to push another all the way around the track because the pushing car’s engine might overheat; limiting the drafting tandems could reduce speeds.
Earnhardt said he liked the old style of racing at Daytona, where drivers had to zigzag through one big pack of cars — after all, he was pretty good at it.
“I prefer the other style better,” Earnhardt said. “But, I mean, it was fun last night. I prefer having more choices in my own destiny, I guess. Nothing against what happened last night. I thought it was an exciting race to be in, exciting ending to watch. Completely different than what we’re used to.” The Associated Press
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