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DALE EARNHARDT JR. NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/ NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET POST-RACE RECAP / TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY DATE: April 5, 2009 RACE: Samsung 500 START: 20th FINISH: 20th POINTS POSITION: 16th RECAPPING THE RACE: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet climbed through the field and was poised to make his third top-10 finish in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Texas Motor Speedway when a late-race impact with the wall forced an unscheduled pit stop. Earnhardt crossed the finish line 20th and maintains his 16th-place position in the driver standings. The Kannapolis, N.C., native lined up 20th for Sunday's 334-lap event and was fast at the drop of the green flag. By Lap 34, he had ticked off nine positions in his green and white Chevy. Earnhardt, who was running times two-tenths of a second faster than the leaders, cracked the top 10 by Lap 43. The race opened without a caution period, and green-flag pit stops began on Lap 50. Earnhardt radioed to crew chief Tony Eury Jr. that his No. 88 Chevrolet was experiencing a tight-handling condition, so the 34-year-old driver headed for pit road on Lap 53 for fresh tires. The No. 88 team also gave the Chevy an air pressure adjustment and fuel during the stop. Earnhardt once again reported a tight-handling condition during the middle segment and slipped back as far as the 18th position on Lap 120. Eury continued to work with his driver to get the car dialed in with a handful of modifications. The fourth caution flag waved on Lap 231, and Earnhardt, running 13th at the time, made a pit stop. The crew bolted on four fresh tires and added fuel. The team had an extended stop to add a spring rubber to the right rear, and the No. 88 Chevy restarted 15th on Lap 236. On Lap 242, Eury heard the words he had been hoping for all day. Earnhardt radioed that the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard crew had "found the ticket," and he set his sights on the leaders. He was scored 12th when the day's fifth caution flag waved on Lap 250. Earnhardt followed the field down pit road and, in a pit strategy to gain valuable track position, Eury called for two right-side tires and fuel. Quick work by the crew members had their driver off pit road first. Earnhardt led the field back to green-flag racing on Lap 258, but a competitor immediately forced the field three-wide, and Earnhardt was shuffled back to fourth. On Lap 287, Earnhardt got loose and made contact with the wall in Turn 1. The impact resulted in flat right-rear tire, and he had to make an unscheduled pit stop under green. Earnhardt rejoined the field running a lap down from the leaders in the 22nd position. The 34-year-old driver picked up two positions during the closing laps and crossed the finish line 20th. Earnhardt's Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson crossed the finish line first and second, respectively. QUOTING DALE EARNHARDT JR.: EARNHARDT (ON HITTING THE WALL IN SUNDAY'S RUN.): "I was running real, real hard all day. Trying too hard to run well and just got in to the wall down there in the middle of (Turn) 1 and 2.. The car jumped sideways. Those cars are built pretty tough. It didn't bend anything in the car. We were just running real hard there, trying to get the best finish we could there. Just got us in there a little deep and got in the fence. My mistake."  ***** 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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