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PREVIEW: DALE EARNHARDT JR.
(NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET)
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VENUE: DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (ONE-MILE CONCRETE OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 28 OF 36)
DATE: SEPT. 21, 2008 (400 LAPS, 400 MILES)
*****
AT DOVER: In 17 starts at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has one win, four top-five finishes and seven top-10s. He has led 366 laps at the one-mile concrete oval and has completed almost 99 percent of all laps he's attempted there (6,726 of 6,804 laps).
LEADING LAPS: After leading 79 laps at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, Earnhardt has led 875 laps this season, which is more than he led total during his 2000 (426 laps), 2001 (767 laps), 2005 (169 laps), 2006 (444 laps) and 2007 (433 laps) Sprint Cup seasons. Earnhardt, driver of the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet, has led at least one lap in 19 of the 27 Cup events this season.
HENDRICK AT DOVER: In 49 races at Dover, Hendrick Motorsports has posted 10 wins, 36 top-five finishes and 63 top-10s. The organization has posted six pole positions, three of which happened in the last four years.
VISITING THE SOLDIERS: Earnhardt and team owner Rick Hendrick will visit the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on Thursday before heading to Dover International Speedway. Hendrick and Earnhardt will visit wounded and rehabilitating soldiers as guests of the National Guard. This appearance is closed to the public.
STRONG START: Earnhardt, competing in his third Chase for the Sprint Cup, took fifth and led 79 laps last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The 79 laps led are the most Earnhardt ever has recorded in the first race of the Chase and the most he's led during the last 10 races of the season since Oct. 29, 2006, when he finished third and led 95 laps at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Last week's fifth-place finish marks his seventh top-five overall when actively competing in the Chase. Earnhardt also made the Chase in 2004 and 2006.
CHASSIS FOR DOVER: Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and the No. 88 engineers chose Chassis No. 88-443 for this Sunday's race. This is the car that Earnhardt drove to a third-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March and used to lead 35 laps two months later en route to a fourth-place finish at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
ICE CREAM TOSSING WITH REGIS AND KELLY: Earnhardt and the top six drivers in the Chase attempted to crack into the Guinness World Records for the most successful ice cream tosses. Earnhardt and teammate Jimmie Johnson were paired up for the event. Watch Earnhardt and the drivers on "Live with Regis and Kelly," when it airs at 9 a.m. ET on Sept. 17 on ABC.
HURRICANE IKE: More than 7,500 National Guard soldiers were called upon to assist with search and rescue operations in Texas that were spurred by Hurricane Ike. Roughly 2,000 people have been rescued so far. The National Guard is running distribution points throughout the area to hand out water, ice and food provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). More than 2,000 troops from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri have been called upon to assist with residual effects from the storm.
AUCTION FOR A GOOD CAUSE: The Dale Jr. Celebrity Sports Auction is scheduled for Oct. 13 at the Concord (N.C.) Convention Center/Embassy Suites. Proceeds from the event will benefit The Dale Jr. Foundation, Make-A-Wish and Victory Junction Gang Camp. There also will be a charity concert, featuring country artist Gary Allan and a special performance by Kyle Petty, at Whisky River in Charlotte, N.C., on Oct. 12. Visit www.thedalejrfoundation.org for more information.
FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY: AMP Energy is introducing its "Dale Jr. Limited Edition Series" cans this summer. There are four cans to collect. One will pay tribute to his five wins at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, while the other three will feature his No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Impala SS, the stripes from his adidas firesuit and the JR Nation logo. For more information, visit www.ampenergy.com/limitededitionseries.
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.
*****
DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY IMPALA SS (ON WHO HE CONSIDERS HIS TOUGHEST COMPETITION IN THE CHASE.): "My teammates. If we do everything right, we'll all be up there battling. Obviously Rick (Hendrick, team owner) would want us to do whatever we can to win to win a championship first, and second do whatever we can to help our teammates in their quest as well. I've always felt that way. When I had teammates, I always did everything I could to help them so I'm comfortable with that. I feel like those are the two goals you should concentrate on."
EARNHARDT (ON THE WIN-FIRST, HELP-YOUR-TEAMMATE-SECOND MENTALITY.): "It's a little bit of gentleman's understanding. Rick demands that everybody help each other and do the best for each other. He spends a lot of time and spends a lot financially for us to all have this opportunity and be able to work here in such a great place with such great co-workers and employees to be working side by side with. We're just really fortunate that this is even here. I think everybody sort of buys into Rick's theories very easily."
TONY EURY JR., CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY IMPALA SS (ON THE CHASE.): "I told Dale Jr. before the race in New Hampshire if he finishes fifth every week from here on out, we will be sitting at that head table. We finished fifth in New Hampshire. We're just taking it race by race."
*****
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Official Site - www.dalejr.com
Thanks to Amy Walsh for the race reports and recaps.
Courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports.
Media Relations | No. 88 AMP Energy / National Guard Racing
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