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NO. 88 AMP ENERGY / NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET
DALE EARNHARDT JR. - POST RACE RECAP
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DATE: May 26, 2008
RACE: Charlotte 600
TRACK: Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.
START:6th
FINISH: 5th
POINTS POSITION: Earnhardt remains third in the driver standings for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He is 139 points behind leader Kyle Busch.
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Photo courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports
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RECAPPING THE RACE:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team did the National Guard proud with the Salute the Troops logo on the hood for Memorial Day. Earnhardt and the team qualified sixth and had one of the strongest cars throughout the entire race weekend. Bracing for 600 miles, Earnhardt and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. built some adjustability in the car to compensate for the track gaining grip as the sun set on Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Sunday.
On Lap 12, Earnhardt radioed to Eury that the No. 88 Chevy was a little loose. He moved up to third place by Lap 28, but the car was too free into the corners and too loose off them. Earnhardt fell to fifth but moved back into fourth for the first green flag pit stop on Lap 52. The team pulled out a 13.2 second stop, making an air pressure adjustment to the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet and advancing Earnhardt one position on the track. Earnhardt was in third place for the Lap 60 restart. Being cautious of long green flag runs, Eury brought Earnhardt to pit road under a quick yellow flag on Lap 62 for fuel only.
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Photo courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports
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By Lap 105, Earnhardt radioed that the car was neutral, and he moved into second. On Lap 117, the team pitted again under green but had a mishap during the stop when a lugnut became lodged in the front-tire changer's air gun. Despite the lengthy stop, Earnhardt's No. 88 Chevy only dropped to eighth place.
The handling on the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevy began to fade, and the car had no right rear grip. On the next pit stop the team redeemed itself with a 12.25 second stop, and once again Earnhardt was poised in third position. The handling was good, and he capitalized on his car and took the lead on Lap 192. Earnhardt paced the way during the next 100 laps but blew a right rear tire while leading on Lap 298. The No. 96 car hit Earnhardt from behind, and Earnhardt's Chevy hit the wall. The team pitted during the next several laps, scrambling to fix the suspension. Earnhardt dropped to 21st on the scoring tower.
Photo courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports
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The team pitted on Lap 336 for tires and fuel, and as the race came to an end, Eury asked Earnhardt to conserve fuel. He did and salvaged a fifth place finish for his fifth top-five of the season.
QUOTING DALE EARNHARDT JR.:
EARNHARDT (ON HIS FINISH.): "We got lucky at the end. Got gas and made it last. They beat us real bad last year. Casey (Mears) won in kind of sort of the same way. I don't know what happened getting in Turn 3. I think we blew a right rear tire. I hate it for my guys. We were running really strong, I sure want to get a win here. Congratulations to Kasey (Kahne) and his team, they were really strong and deserve the win, they were running good. Had a fun night."
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EARNHARDT (ON HOW HE MANAGED A FIFTH-PLACE FINISH.): "Well, we just saved gas at the end. We came in and topped off with about 62 (laps) to go. I was about two laps short, and needed to save two laps. So me and Jeff (Gordon) sort of just set there and drafted a little bit and lifted real early getting in the corners and made it to the end."
"We ran good tonight, and I was proud of my team. We tore the car up pretty bad when we blew the tire going in to (Turn) 3. I thought we were done, then I got motivated again. But the car wasn't as fast; we were just trying to hang on. We got lucky, same way those guys did last year. We were running second last year and Casey and those guys stretched it out and won the race. We were on the other side of the fence tonight so we will take it. ... Happy Memorial Day, and I want to say thanks to all the troops out there, all the ones here watching and all the ones overseas watching, we had a great time tonight."
NOTABLE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. led 5 times for 76 laps – the most of any driver.
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway on Sunday, June 1. The race will air live on FOX at 2 p.m. The team will test at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway on May 27 and 28th in preparation for the event June 8.
Photo courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports
Thanks to Amy Walsh for the race recap.
Courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports.
Media Relations | No. 88 AMP Energy / National Guard Racing
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