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RACE RECAP: DALE EARNHARDT JR.
NO. 5 DELPHI CHEVROLET
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DATE: 7/4/2008
EVENT: NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
RACE: WINN-DIXIE 250
TRACK: DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
START: 5th
FINISH: 3rd
OVERALL:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove the No. 5 Delphi Chevrolet to a third-place finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Friday at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, marking his third top-five finish and sixth top-10 of the season in just seven starts.
Earnhardt ran inside the top five for 85 laps and inside the top 10 for 204 of the 205 lap-event. He also led three times for 14 laps.
IN THE BEGINNING:
Earnhardt started the race fifth and quickly drove his way to the front in just seven laps, which is where he remained until the first caution of the night came out on Lap 13.
LIFE IN THE PITS:
Under the first caution, Earnhardt made a pit stop on Lap 15 for fuel and a track bar adjustment. At the restart on Lap 17, Earnhardt was in the second position, but quickly regained the lead on that same lap.
By time the second caution came out on Lap 30, it was time for another pit stop. Earnhardt radioed that he was pleased with the No. 5 Chevy, but that he needed fresh tires. Two laps later, crew chief Chad Walter made the call for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment for the No. 5 Delphi Chevrolet. Earnhardt entered the pits in the third position and restarted fifth on Lap 34.
The race continued with a long green-flag run, and this forced the entire field to pit during this time. Earnhardt reported moments before pitting that the Delphi Chevrolet's handling was loose on the bottom of the track. On Lap 77, Earnhardt was running third, when he made a stop for four tires and fuel. He rejoined the field 14th and a lap later, he was up to ninth. Five laps later, Earnhardt was back in the top-five and running third.
HOW IT ENDED:
The third and final caution of the night came out on Lap 98. Earnhardt, running third, radioed to his Delphi Chevrolet team that he was battling a loose handling race car that couldn't run on the bottom of the 2.5-mile track. However, he stated that the No. 5 Chevy was by far the best in the field and that he was proud of his team's efforts all night.
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Photo courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports
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At the restart on Lap 103, Earnhardt did his best to try and beat the two cars in front, but couldn't do so in just two laps. Under the green-white checkered flag finish, Earnhardt was third.
QUOTING DALE EARNHARDT JR.:
"The track was real slick. We were able to pass more than I thought we would. Kyle (Busch) and Denny (Hamlin) were real quick and they handled really, really good. I couldn't run on the bottom like they were, so I really didn't have many options. I was trying a couple things and nothing was really working. It was hard to come up with anything that would have been able to get by them. Anybody really, I think running in the top-five did a good job tonight because it was pretty slick out there, but it was a lot of fun."
NEXT UP:
On Friday, rookie Landon Cassill will pilot the No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland Speedway, which will air live on ESPN at 7:30 p.m., ET.
The No. 5 Delphi Chevrolet will return on Nov. 1 for the Nationwide Series race at Texas Motor Speedway with NASCAR veteran Mark Martin behind the wheel.
*****
Thanks to Megan Whiteside for the race previews and recaps.
Courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports.
National Guard Racing and Dale Earnhardt Jr
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