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VENUE: TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY (1.5-MILE TRI-OVAL) CIRCUIT: NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES (RACE 7 OF 35) DATE: APRIL 5, 2008 (200 LAPS, 300 MILES) ***** AT TEXAS: In two NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has finished both times inside the top 10. He led six laps en route to his first career Nationwide Series win in 1998, and then finished 10th in 1999. His average starting position is 14.0, and his average finish is 5.5. NO. 5 AT TEXAS: In 11 Nationwide Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway, the No. 5 Chevrolet has recorded three top-five finishes and four top-10s. Most recently, the No. 5 was the runner-up in the Nov. 3, 2007 race. EARNHARDT'S NATIONWIDE SERIES CAREER: In three Nationwide Series starts this season, Earnhardt has recorded one top-five finish and two top-10s. In his 12 years racing in the series, Earnhardt won championships in 1998 and 1999. Overall, he has recorded 22 wins, 47 top-five finishes, 63 top-10s and nine pole positions in 100 starts. His average starting position is 11.5, and his average finish is 11.6. GODADDY.COM: This weekend's race marks the first of two events this season in which Earnhardt will pilot the No. 5 GoDaddy.com GoDaddy.com Chevrolet. His next GoDaddy.com race will be at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International on Aug. 9. Earnhardt will run a total of eight Nationwide Series races this season in the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen JR Motorsports Chassis No. 473 for this weekend's Nationwide Series race at Texas. This is the same Chevrolet that Mark Martin won with in early March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Martin led 81 of 202 laps at the 1.5-mile oval. UP NEXT FOR THE NO. 5: Rookie Landon Cassill, 18, will pilot the No. 5 National Guard/285th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion Chevrolet in his second race of the season on April 11 at Phoenix International Raceway. Adrian Fernandez will race the No. 5 Lowe's Chevrolet on April 20 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. ***** DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET (ON WHAT HE REMEMBERS ABOUT HIS FIRST NATIONWIDE WIN AT TEXAS IN 1998.): "I remember we unloaded really good and were probably one of three or four cars that were legitimate contenders. But I ran into the back of someone halfway through the race, and it caused a tire rub. We had to pit, and I figured that killed any chance we had to win. Joe Nemechek was really strong that day, as he was every weekend. But we drove it back up through the field, took tires with about nine laps to go and were able to get by Joe coming off of Turn 4. My wheels were on the grass, too. It was hard to pass him, but we were able to get the win. It was a lot of fun. That was my first year (full-time in the Nationwide Series). I was still living in a double-wide trailer at the time with my buddy, just trying to pay the bills on time and keep the lights on." EARNHARDT (ON THE NINE-YEAR GAP BETWEEN HIS NATIONWIDE RACES AT TEXAS.): "It's been a while since I've raced at Texas in the Nationwide Series so I'm looking forward to getting back there. It's hard to believe that first win came 10 years ago -- time goes by pretty quick. Texas is a special track to me, and it would mean a lot to win there this weekend -- and it would be cool to win in both series. We're also so close to winning on the Cup side, so it would be nice to close the deal at Texas." ***** 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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