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NO. 88 AMP ENERGY / NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET
DALE EARNHARDT JR. - POST RACE RECAP
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Post-Race Recap
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Date: June 29, 2008
Race: LENOX Industrial Tools 301
Start: 5th
Finish: 24th
Points Position: 3rd
RECAPPING THE RACE:
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet team finished 24th in the LENOX Industrial Tools 301, but the final result was not indicative of the team’s performance at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Twelfth in Friday's first practice, Earnhardt went on to post a solid fifth-place qualifying effort, which marked his seventh top-five starting position of 2008 and put him on the inside of Row 3 for what turned out to be a 284-lap event. After the team recorded the seventh-best lap in Saturday's final "Happy Hour" practice session, both Earnhardt and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. were extremely confident going into Sunday's race.
At the outset, Earnhardt methodically worked his way toward the front of the pack and soon passed Kevin Harvick for the lead at Lap 44. Pacing 29 laps around the 1.058-mile track, the performance marked the 12th race that the No. 88 Chevy has led thus far this season.
The first pit stop of the afternoon came at Lap 72, with four fresh tires, fuel and no chassis adjustments to Earnhardt's well-handling Impala SS. Prior to the team’s second stop at Lap 87, the driver relayed to Eury that the car was working well and asked the crew chief to "leave it alone" on the next pit stop.
The handling of Earnhardt's car loosened as the race progressed, but he was able to keep it in the top 10 for the majority of the day and spent 271 laps among the top 15.
On Lap 271, the event took a frustrating turn for the No. 88 crew when Jamie McMurray made contact with Earnhardt as he moved toward pit road. McMurray later took responsibility for the incident, but it caused significant sheet-metal damage to the right-rear quarter-panel and made the No. 88 Chevy extremely difficult to drive.
After making multiple pit stops for repairs, the team still managed to salvage a lead-lap finish in the rain-shortened race. Kurt Busch led the 43-car field when inclement weather hit New Hampshire Motor Speedway and halted the event 17 laps early at Lap 284. Kurt Busch was declared the winner after a brief red-flag period.
Hendrick Motorsports placed three cars among the top-11 finishers, with Casey Mears (seventh) and Jimmie Johnson (ninth) leading the way. Jeff Gordon's No. 24 Chevy was 11th.
Although he finished 24th, Earnhardt was able to make up ground on Kyle Busch, who sits atop NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver standings. Kyle Busch finished 25th without leading a lap. The No. 88 team remained third in the standings, just 144 points from the top spot.
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on Saturday evening. Race coverage will be carried by TNT beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET and MRN at 8 p.m.
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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