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PREVIEW: DALE EARNHARDT JR.
(NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET)
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VENUE: TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY (1.5-MILE TRI-OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 7 OF 36)
DATE: APRIL 6, 2008 (334 LAPS, 500 MILES)
*****
STRONG AT TEXAS: In 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has recorded one win, one pole position, three top-five finishes and seven top-10s. He has led 362 laps around the 1.5-mile track in Fort Worth, Texas. Earnhardt has an average starting position of 9.3 and, despite not finishing two races, an average finishing position of 12.9.
FLASHBACK TO 2000: Eight years ago, Earnhardt was just seven races into his rookie season when he recorded his first Cup Series race win at Texas Motor Speedway. He started the race fourth and led 106 laps. The win marked the first of two victories by the then-26-year-old rookie. His second win of 2000 occurred four races later at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and the No. 88 engineers chose Chassis No. 88-488. This is the same National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet that Earnhardt used to qualify eighth and finish second at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last month.
HENDRICK AT TEXAS: In 14 races at Texas Motor Speedway, Rick Hendrick's teams have posted top-five finishes in 11 events and top-10 finishes in 13. Overall, the organization has recorded two wins, 13 top-five finishes and 21 top-10s at the track.
TOP-10 STREAK: All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers finished in the top 10 last week at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, improving the organization's top-10 streak to 71 straight races. The last time a Hendrick driver wasn't in the top 10 was April 9, 2006 at Texas Motor Speedway. Finishing 11th, Jimmie Johnson was Hendrick's top performer that day.
AMP'D UP: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his No. 88 Chevrolet currently are featured on cans of AMP Energy, which is launching three new types of energy drinks this month. The line will include AMP Energy Elevate (mixed berry flavor), AMP Energy Relaunch (citrus flavor) and AMP Energy Traction (grape flavor). Visit www.AMPEnergy.com for more information.
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DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET (ON HIS OUTLOOK FOR TEXAS.): "I do enjoy running at Texas. The past few times out there we really didn't run as well as we wanted to. That was the track where I got my first win. Typically, the tracks where drivers get their first wins are tracks they always run well at. Not sure why, but I guess if you know what it takes to get a win, you always have that in your mind. We have struggled there as of late, but hopefully with the new Chevy Impala SS program, and the way we have run on those mile-and-a-half tracks as of late, we can turn things around."
TONY EURY JR., CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET (ON THE TRACK AT TEXAS.): "Texas is a really neat track -- it's really fast. It's a tough track to set up a car for. A team can't have a perfect car at the beginning of the race and expect it to be there at the end. There are also a couple of bumps down at Turns 3 and 4 and down at 1 and 2 that you can really have a problem with."
EURY (ON RETURNING TO THE TRACK.): "Dale Jr. got his first win there -- I was a part of that crew and it was really special -- so I hope we can get the No. 88 Chevy back into the winner's circle this weekend. It would be pretty cool."
*****
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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