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NO. 88 AMP ENERGY / NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET
DALE EARNHARDT JR. - POST RACE RECAP
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VENUE: PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (ONE-MILE OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 35 OF 36)
DATE: NOV. 9, 2009 (312 LAPS, 312 MILES)
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PHOENIX STATS: In 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Phoenix International Raceway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has scored two wins, four top-five finishes and six top-10s. He has led 397 laps at the track, including 87 during his win on Nov. 2, 2003, and 118 when he won there on Nov. 7, 2004.
WINNING WAYS: Earnhardt's November 2004, win at Phoenix was one of two that he has recorded while competing in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup. He also won at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in 2004. Earnhardt, driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, has qualified for the Chase in three seasons -- 2004, 2006 and 2008.
LAST TIME AT PHOENIX: In April, Earnhardt led 87 laps and finished seventh behind teammate Jimmie Johnson, who won the last Cup event at Phoenix. The race saw only four leaders, and Hendrick Motorsports drivers combined to lead more than 65 percent of the race (207 of 312 laps).
CHASSIS FOR PHOENIX: Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard engineers chose Chassis No. 88-490 for the 312-mile event in Phoenix. This Impala SS is the same chassis the team raced at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in September when Earnhardt led 90 laps en route to a fourth-place finish.
HENDRICK AT PHOENIX: A Hendrick Motorsports driver has found Victory Lane in four of the last six Sprint Cup events at Phoenix, and Jeff Gordon and Johnson have combined to sweep the last three. Gordon won at the track in April 2007, while Johnson cinched the last two -- November 2007 and April 2008. Overall, Hendrick drivers have combined for five wins, 20 top-five finishes and 40 top-10s at PIR.
NAMES STILL THERE: Fans whose names appeared on the No. 88 AMP Energy "Ride with Dale Jr."/National Guard Chevy at Talladega Superspeedway still can log on to www.AMPEnergy.com to see their names on the car. They must use the e-mail addresses they used during registration to locate their names.
WIN A BUS: Fans can go to www.AMPEnergy.com to sign up for the "Ultimate Talladega RV" sweepstakes. One fan will win the one-of-a-kind No. 88 AMP Energy-branded bus. Special features include an entertainment system, a cooler for AMP Energy drink, custom wheels and autographed Earnhardt memorabilia.
WARRIOR VIDEO: Fans can visit www.NationalGuardWarrior.com to see Kid Rock's new "Warrior" music video and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage featuring Earnhardt, National Guard citizen soldiers and the No. 88 team. The two-minute video is now airing before movies in select AMC Theatres and includes the song "Warrior," which Kid Rock wrote specifically for the Army National Guard. During the next two months, the video will appear in more than 3,000 theaters and on more than 27,000 movie screens around the country.
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DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD IMPALA SS: (REFLECTING ON THE SEASON.): "It's been busy. It's been flattering and humbling. A lot of good things have happened, and a lot of neat stuff happened to me, being with Hendrick, that was flattering to me. There were a lot of little pats on the back and compliments going down the road that were pretty cool. You get appreciated for when you do good; you get recognized for it. And you get help when you do bad. You get people trying to remedy why that happened, try to help you keep that from happening again. When we do bad, people want to help us make it right, and that's a really good feeling. Then when you do good, someone says something about it. When you are doing your job, you get rewarded for it -- at least some acknowledgement for it, which is good. That makes you want to go out and keep going, keep working."
EARNHARDT (ON WATCHING HIS TEAMMATE JIMMIE JOHNSON VIE FOR HISTORY.): "It's fun. He's a nice guy. Jimmie's got a lot of confidence in his abilities and so does Chad (Knaus, crew chief for the No. 48 Chevrolet). They just run good."
TONY EURY JR., CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD IMPALA SS: (ON RETURNING TO PHOENIX.): "I think Phoenix is a good track for us. We've had a lot of success there. Dale and I have won twice there. This past time it was kind of a unique race. We were battling with Mark Martin most of the night. Then on the last run we kind of let the car setup get away from us, and everybody was on some different fuel mileage strategy. I was talking to Chad (Knaus), and he was like, 'What are you going to do?' I said, 'I've got to stop.' I was more worried about points at that time, and Chad took a gamble and it paid off and he got the win. It was a good thing to get the win for Hendrick Motorsports. But going back there, it looks like I'm looking forward to a totally different race."
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Official Site - www.dalejr.com
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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