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NO. 88 AMP ENERGY / NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET
DALE EARNHARDT JR. - POST RACE RECAP
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POST-RACE RECAP / PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
DATE: Nov.9, 2008
RACE: Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
START: Fifth
FINISH: Sixth
POINTS POSITION: 10th
RECAPPING THE RACE:
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, secured his 16th-top 10 finish of the season after taking sixth in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Phoenix International Raceway.
Earnhardt and his team improved one spot to 10th in the championship standings thanks to the solid finish. With one race remaining in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Earnhardt leads 11th-place Kyle Busch by seven points and 12th-place Tony Stewart by 28 points.
From the time Earnhardt hit the track for Friday's practice, he knew he had a fast Chevrolet, and he wasn't disappointed during qualifying. Earnhardt earned a fifth-place start for Sunday's 500-mile event.
The field took the green flag under sunny and windy conditions on Sunday and Earnhardt maintained his spot in the top seven during the opening laps. He reported early that his No. 88 Chevy was handling loose in and out the corners, so crew chief Tony Eury Jr. took advantage of a caution on Lap 20 to put on fresh tires. Earnhardt quickly noted that his AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet handled much better on the new tires than the scuff ones he originally had.
A brief rain and dust storm halted racing action on lap 43. After a 17-minute delay, the drivers re-fired their engines and Earnhardt set his sights on the leaders. Running third on Lap 101, Earnhardt made a scheduled stop under green-flag conditions for fuel, four tires and a track bar adjustment. The changes seemed to be the right remedy and the No. 88 Chevrolet ascended the leader board taking second-place behind teammate Jimmie Johnson on Lap 148.
The red flag was waved again on Lap 273 after a massive wreck in Turn 3 that ended teammate Casey Mears' promising night. After an 18-minute delay, the field went back to green. Earnhardt was running in the fifth position.
As the sun set behind the desert mountains, the Amp Energy/National Guard Chevy swung to the tight side and Earnhardt struggled to hold off the charge from behind. The closing 40 laps included three caution periods, and after a green-white-checkered flag finish, Earnhardt crossed the stripe sixth.
Johnson, who earned his seventh victory of the season, enters the season finale atop the championship standings with a 141-point lead.
NEXT UP: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend for the season finale. The race will air on ABC at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.
QUOTING DALE EARNHARDT JR.:
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD IMPALA SS (ON FINISHING SIXTH):
"We worked on the car all day and made little adjustments. Real proud of my team. Real proud of Tony Eury Jr. We just didn't have quite enough there at the end. Had a real good car for most of the race. Just not quite as good at the end. We tried to pump the tires up so the car could go at the end. We did that in practice, and it didn't work. I wish we hadn't done that right there."
"We worked real hard all day and got a solid finish. I would like to have got a top five there at the end, but Denny (Hamlin) was better than I was. We got too tight near the end of the race when it got dark and cold."
EARNHARDT (ON TEAMMATE JIMMIE JOHNSON):
"Jimmie has been awesome. He has been doing good. They are a great race team. Certainly, every sport gets dominated from time to time -- this is really all I see happening here. It is a good format, a good system, a good playoff atmosphere. I don't really think you could have set the points up differently."
Photos courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports
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*****
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Official Site - www.dalejr.com
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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