| |
 |
 |
NO. 88 AMP ENERGY / NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET
DALE EARNHARDT JR. - POST RACE RECAP
|
 |
DATE: 3/30/2008
RACE: Goody’s Cool Orange 500
TRACK: Martinsville Speedway
START: 22nd
FINISH: 6th
POINTS POSITION: 4th (69 points behind leader Jeff Burton)
|
Photo courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports
|
RECAPPING THE RACE:
After qualifying 22nd, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had some work ahead of him at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. But the stellar short-track driver put his skills to use and steadily started to make his way through the field. The handling on Earnhardt’s No. 88 AMP Energy National Guard Chevrolet was tight at the beginning of the race, which was held under threatening skies and in the cold weather on Sunday. Earnhardt radioed in the opening laps that the car was sliding through the center and pushing off the corners. The team pitted on Lap 22 during the first caution of the day. The team made an air pressure adjustment and put on four fresh tires. Earnhardt had dropped to 26th position, but he started picking up one position each lap. When the second caution was thrown on Lap 44, Earnhardt was running in the 15th position. Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. told Earnhardt to stay on the track, and the No. 88 Chevrolet claimed the second position for the restart. Earnhardt took the lead on Lap 49 and stayed out on the track in the top two positions until Lap 107. The car was snug in the center of the corners but better on the longer runs.
Hendrick Motorsports, which has won eight of the last 10 races at Martinsville, had another strong showing on Sunday. Earnhardt, plus teammates Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears joined in the battle for the lead. As the laps wore on, Earnhardt complained the car was too tight, so the No. 88 pit crew worked on it with each pit stop. On the final pit stop, pit strategy came into play. Some teams took fuel only, and some took two tires. The No. 88 took four tires and fuel. Earnhardt lined up seventh on the restart. He worked his way back into the top-five but the car was too tight at the end to hold off Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Earnhardt finished sixth and moved up to fourth in the standings heading to Texas Motor Speedway – the site of Earnhardt’s first NASCAR Cup Series win.
QUOTING DALE EARNHARDT JR.:
"We had a little different setup than we have run here before, and I think we can make that work. That was the longest green flag run we had had on tires today, that last one. I ran too hard at the start of it and used up my stuff a little bit and didn't have any tires at the end to hold those guys off.
I should have been more patient.
|
Photo courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports
|
Jeff (Gordon) was patient, and I got by him. I thought ‘All right. Now I can get these other guys on old tires,' but I just burned it up so we didn't get the finish we could have or needed to have. We got a good finish, I am real happy about that. We led a lot today. We can't be too upset. That would be ridiculous to be disappointed with how we did today because we did really good.
"We have to do this every week. If we can't get those wins right now, it is best to get what we can get and build upon making the Chase. We tried really hard today, and it just didn't work out for us.”
"I am not really disappointed. I know my guys are, but I am not, trust me. Tony, Jr. and the guys are disappointed with it. They saw that car run up front all day, and they wanted to finish there. We tried, but again, the wins will come. We just have to be patient and be happy and mindful about the points we are getting in this stretch. We have a little bit of a period in the summer where we go to tracks that we are off and on, hot and cold at. We need get a good base of points built up as early as we can, so in case we have any kind of struggles in mid-season, so just trying to be guarded and smart."
"We have been running great everywhere. I am happy the most about that. I daydream about getting that first win, and I would have loved to have gotten a clock today. We tried and worked really hard. But we have to be satisfied. We led a lot of laps today. We have been there every week."
NOTABLE:
- Earnhardt is now fourth in the point standings.
- Earnhardt led five times for 146 laps at Martinsville – the most of any driver.
NEXT UP: The No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy team will compete at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 6th. The broadcast will start at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX and PRN radio affiliates.
Thanks to Amy Walsh for the race recap.
Courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports.
Media Relations | No. 88 AMP Energy / National Guard Racing
|
| |
|
|