DALE EARNHARDT JR. - POST RACE RECAP

NO. 88 AMP ENERGY / NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET
DALE EARNHARDT JR. - POST RACE RECAP

Photo courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports
DATE: 2/24-25/2008
RACE: Auto Club 500
TRACK: Auto Club Speedway of Southern California
START: 15th (qualifying set according to owners points)
FINISH: 40th
POINTS POSITION: 23rd

FROM THE GREEN FLAG:
Rainy weather plagued Southern California all weekend, forcing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series field to line up according to the owner standings from the 2007 season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. inherited the points from the No. 25 car, which was driven last season by Casey Mears, Earnhardt's new teammate. The No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet started the 500-mile race in 15th place. Rainy weather limited practice to an average of 17 laps and then delayed the start of the race on Sunday. When the green flag finally waved at 3:30 p.m., P.T., Earnhardt started to move forward. He radioed to his team that the car was slick in the middle of the corners, and when he got the opportunity to pit on Lap 16, Earnhardt took it. The team made a four-tire stop and sent Earnhardt back out into the race in 14th place.

Things took a turn for the worse for the No. 88 Chevrolet on Lap 21. Then, Mears got up high in the groove exiting Turn 3 and spun out. On the way back down the race track, Mears clipped the right side door of the No. 88, tearing off the sheet metal. Earnhardt then hit the wall, while Mears' car returned to the wall and stopped. The No. 77 of Sam Hornish Jr. then hit Mears from behind causing Mears to flip on his roof. No driver was injured, but the accident sent Earnhardt to the garage. NASCAR red flagged the race so the track could be cleaned up. The No. 88 team repaired Earnhardt's car and sent him back onto the track. His car was fast, but he was 47 laps down. Eventually, the rain started falling again, and NASCAR postponed the race until Monday.

Photo courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports

THE BOTTOM LINE: Even though the team couldn't gain any positions and was 47 laps down, the No. 88 crew didn't give up. Late in the race Earnhardt had two burning issues within the cockpit of his Chevrolet. At first, the Velcro strap that held together the seat and the headrest cushion melted off because of the heat inside the car. The team pitted and tried to reattach the cushion. The next issue happened on Lap 221. From the accident on Lap 21, the plate that held the right front tire on the car was bent. Throughout the race, the plate continued to bend and the spring started to collapse. The team added extra rounds to help raise the car up so Earnhardt could make it to the end of the race. The team finished in 40th position, and Earnhardt had less than one hour to recoup for the rain-delayed Nationwide Series event.

QUOTING EARNHARDT (AFTER SUNDAY'S ACCIDENT):
“I think we were too excited. We got going a little too soon. The race track was a little dirty, and everybody was losing grip, and there were a lot of wet spots out there. When you run over all the wet spots, you do the best you can; everybody is just trying to ride. But once you slip up, sometimes you don't save enough. And Casey (Mears) got up there and into some water or dirt or something and ended up out of the groove. And way out of the groove is just terrible. It's like a dirt track up there. He just lost it. I didn't have anywhere I could go to miss him.

“I hate it for my team guys. I had to stay anyway for the Nationwide race but they could have gone home. It's unfortunate we had that wreck, but the guys fixed the car up for me real good, and I ran the rest of the race. We'll do much better in Vegas.”

NEXT UP: The No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevy next will compete at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 2 The race will air live on FOX at 3:30 p.m., ET.

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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