| |
 |
 |
PREVIEW: DALE EARNHARDT JR.
(NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET)
|
 |
VENUE: WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL (2.45-MILE ROAD COURSE)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES (RACE 24 OF 35)
DATE: AUG. 9, 2008 (82 LAPS, 200 MILES)
*****
SECOND WIN FOR NO. 5 TEAM: The No. 5 JR Motorsports team captured its second NASCAR Nationwide Series win of the season last Saturday at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Driver Ron Fellows became the first Canadian to win a major NASCAR race in Canada when he went to Victory Lane after the rain-shortened race. Mark Martin recorded the first win of the season for the No. 5 Chevrolet on March 1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
AT WATKINS GLEN: In three Nationwide Series starts at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has recorded one win, one top-five finish and two top-10s. He has an average start of eighth and an average finish of 16th. Earnhardt hopes the additional seat-time in Saturday's 200-mile event will help him and his team during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series contest on Sunday.
THE WIN: Earnhardt led two laps during his sole NASCAR win at Watkins Glen on June 27, 1999, and defeated runner-up Fellows by 1.1 seconds. Fellows had led a race-high 52 laps. The win was one of six that Earnhardt would record en route to his second straight Nationwide Series championship.
IN THE NATIONWIDE SERIES: In 104 career starts in the Nationwide Series, Earnhardt has won 22 times and recorded 49 top-five finishes, 67 top-10s and nine pole positions. He claimed the series championship in 1998 and 1999 and has raced in at least one event in 12 of the past 13 Nationwide Series seasons (none in 2000).
THIS SEASON: Earnhardt, who will run a total of eight races this season in the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, has three top-five finishes and six top-10s in six 2008 Nationwide Series events. Earnhardt has competed six times in the No. 5 Chevy and once in the No. 83 Chevy this season. His average start is 9.9, and his average finish is 6.4. This weekend's race at Watkins Glen marks Earnhardt's second event this season in the GoDaddy.com-sponsored No. 5 Chevrolet.
CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew chief Cam Strader has chosen Chassis No. 389 for Saturday's race at Watkins Glen. This is the same car Fellows drove to lead seven laps and capture the recent win in Montreal. Adrian Fernandez used Chassis 389 to score a 14th-place finish at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City in April.
FIRST WIN: Strader, making just his second appearance as a crew chief, earned his first win last Saturday with the No. 5 Chevrolet in Montreal. Strader, a 28-year-old native of Wilson, N.C., was the car chief before being named the crew chief two weeks ago.
LOCAL CONNECTION: Josh Koch, 26, grew up in Springville, N.Y., just 117 miles from Watkins Glen. Koch, the mechanic and catch-can man on the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet team, raced go-karts growing up and first got interested in motor sports after talking with his uncle, who works for Joe Gibbs Racing. Koch moved to North Carolina in 2005 to pursue a career in racing. He worked for Shaver Motorsports, a road-racing organization in Charlotte, and the No. 47 Nationwide Series team before joining the No. 5 crew in spring 2007.
UP NEXT: In his third of five scheduled races this season, Mark Martin will pilot the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet on Aug. 16 at Michigan International Speedway. This marks the second of three races Martin will drive a GoDaddy.com-sponsored Chevrolet.
*****
DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON SWITCHING FROM OVALS TO THE WATKINS GLEN ROAD COURSE.): "We don't do that much road course racing, and we rarely like to test road courses. Running the Nationwide car is really the best way to get acclimated with the track and get back up to speed. When you just run the Cup car all weekend like we do at Sonoma, you spend the first day just learning the track again -- at least I do. I feel like sometimes that puts me a little bit behind the eight ball. So I thought when they allowed me to pick and choose a couple races in the Nationwide Series, that would be a good reason to run Watkins Glen. I would be able to go in there and get a couple hours on the racetrack before I got in my Cup car. I thought maybe I could help my Cup guys by running better laps and getting better feedback to them for the car. It should be fun. I have a pretty good memory of winning there against Ron Fellows in '98. That really meant a lot to me to beat him there. I really respect him as a road racer."
Courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports.
Media Relations | No. 88 AMP Energy / National Guard Racing
|
| |
|
|