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PREVIEW: DALE EARNHARDT JR. (NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET) VENUE: POCONO RACEWAY (2.5-MILE TRIANGULAR TRACK) CIRCUIT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 14 OF 36) DATE: JUNE 7, 2009 (200 LAPS, 500 MILES) ***** AT POCONO: In 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has recorded five top-five finishes and six top-10s. He has led 98 laps and completed 96.2 percent of all laps he's attempted (3,353 laps of 3,485) at the Pennsylvania racetrack. POCONO PROWESS: In his first Pocono start with Hendrick Motorsports, Earnhardt started seventh and drove his No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet to a fourth-place finish in June 2008. He led one lap and finished 12th in the August 2008 race. POCONO POLE POSITION: Earnhardt earned a pole position at Pocono in August 2007 and led eight laps before finishing second. The runner-up effort matched his best performance at the Long Pond, Pa., track. Earnhardt also finished second on July 29, 2001, after leading 31 laps. ON TOP OF THE PIT BOX: Crew chief Lance McGrew has filled various leadership roles since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 1999. McGrew led the 2000 NASCAR Nationwide Series effort for Jeff Gordon and Ricky Hendrick before earning the Nationwide title with Brian Vickers in 2003. He guided Vickers to a Cup win at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in October 2006. McGrew also was the crew chief when Mark Martin won the 2008 Nationwide event at Las Vegas and scored Earnhardt's first win as a team owner with JR Motorsports. Most recently, McGrew won at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway with Tony Stewart behind the wheel of Hendrick Motorsports' No. 80 Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series. CHASSIS CHOICE: McGrew and the No. 88 team will unload Chassis 88-521 in Pocono. This chassis last was used on Oct. 11, 2008 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. AFTER DOVER: Earnhardt and the No. 88 team scored a 12th-place finish last weekend at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, which marked their best performance since taking second in the April 26 Cup event at Talladega. Earnhardt enters the 14th race of the Cup season ranked 18th in the driver standings. He trails teammate Mark Martin, who is in 12th place, by 215 points. PENNSYLVANIA NATIVES: Four members of the No. 88 Chevrolet consider the Keystone State home. Spotter T.J. Majors, 29, hails from Wampum, Pa., where he grew up racing dirt tracks in western Pennsylvania and in 2003 was named the Goody's Dash Series Rookie of the Year. Gas man Chris Fasulka, a native of Wilkes-Barre, is a 1990 graduate of James M. Coughlin High School and has been at Hendrick Motorsports since 2002. Rear-tire carrier Matt Myers (Ford City) and transporter driver Dave Radney (Canton) also are from Pennsylvania. HENDRICK AT POCONO: Hendrick Motorsports, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, has tallied 11 wins, 47 top-five finishes, 80 top-10s and 11 pole positions in 50 events (157 starts) at Pocono. MILESTONE WIN: Jimmie Johnson's performance Sunday at Dover marked the 180th Sprint Cup victory for Hendrick Motorsports. Among car owners, Rick Hendrick ranks first in wins in the modern era and second all-time. SERVING AMERICA: Next month at Daytona, Earnhardt will run the No. 88 National Guard "Serving America"/AMP Energy Chevrolet. It is a special paint scheme to honor National Guard soldiers who dedicate a portion of their time to serving their nation, state and local communities. Since first muster in 1636, National Guard soldiers have brought glory and honor upon themselves and the Guard through quiet and selfless service. Approximately 363,000 soldiers strong, the Army National Guard is the oldest component of the Armed Forces of the United States and celebrated its 372nd birthday in December 2008. To learn more on how you can serve your country with the Guard, visit www.NATIONALGUARD.com. TRADIN' PAINT: AMP Energy has launched Tradin' Paint, a new limited time only, Dale Earnhardt Jr.-themed energy drink. The beverage is a collision of three flavors -- orange, lime and berry -- with all the energy ingredients and great taste that consumers expect from AMP. Featuring the same paint scheme as Earnhardt's No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, Tradin' Paint also includes all the marks, dings and paint streaks that can show up on cars during a hotly contested race. HENDRICK ON TWITTER: Hendrick Motorsports has launched its official Twitter page: www.twitter.com/HendrickInfo. Fans are invited to check out the page for daily updates about Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the rest of Hendrick Motorsports. ***** DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET (ON POCONO.): "Pocono is a pretty tough track, but we did pretty good there last year. With the racing surface at Pocono, we will be bouncing around and your vision will be impaired slightly. It can be tough. We have our hands full at Pocono." LANCE MCGREW, INTERIM CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET (ON HOW HIS ROLE WITH HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS' RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GROUP WILL BENEFIT HIM IN HIS NEW ROLE.): "I think more than anything else it has let me stay current. I believe with the R&D program here at Hendrick, with as much time as we have spent with the 'Car of Today,' that if I wouldn't have been in a role like that, I would have gotten very stale and very behind on what the guys are racing and what we are looking to start racing. I feel like I have been in the loop with the progression of the car. It really allowed me to walk into the shop and feel confident that I am very up to date with how the cars are assembled, how the cars are set up and what style of setups the teams are running. So I feel like it got me on the same page as everyone else." MCGREW (ON HIS FIRST WEEK AS CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 88 TEAM.): "It's been kind of crazy, the extra media attention. Just the trying to get your feet wet on your car inventory, what cars have been where and what cars are Dale's favorites and which ones aren't. There are tons of snippets of information that you have to gather and understanding what you are bringing to the racetrack this weekend. Right now, they are just painted cars in the shop. I don't have an emotional attachment to the individual cars like I will. Right now, it's just metal, and I hope we can develop that (attachment). It's difficult because everything is so new. Everyone else in the shop can spit out car numbers and this car was here and this one was there. Right now, it is just adjusting to the car inventory and seeing where our next few races are." MCGREW (ON THE DIFFICULTY OF POCONO.): "All three corners are just so different. Turn 1 is like a speedway corner -- lots of banking, really rough. The way the car's loaded is different. Turn 2 is super fast like a road course and Turn 3 is flat. Inherently, you try to set up the cars the same from end to end when you are only dealing with two separate ends of a track. With three different corners, every corner is a sacrifice. You have to worry about the travel in 1, the speed in 2 and the slickness of the flat pavement in 3. It's a challenge." MCGREW (ON MOST IMPORTANT TURN AT POCONO.): "I think that Turn 3 was always the hardest one to get right. Honestly, I feel like it's the most important turn because if you don't get Turn 3 right then it kills your momentum off the corner, which kills your straightaway speed. If I was going have to sacrifice a little in Turn 2 to get Turn 3 right then that's what we will do." MCGREW (ON POTENTIALLY MOVING TO DOUBLE-FILE RESTARTS IN THE SPRINT CUP SERIES.): "I think it's going to take some getting used to. It's going to change the sport for lots of reasons. With the way the structure is, if you are a lap down and you are in front of the leaders, you get a wave-around. I think ultimately we are all going to have to sit back and understand the rule a little better, but I think it's going to change the way you call a race." ***** Courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports. Media Relations | No. 88 AMP Energy / National Guard Racing ***** Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Official Site - www.dalejr.com |
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