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DATE: March 21, 2010 RACE: Food City 500 START: 18th FINISH: Seventh POINTS POSITION: Eighth RECAPPING THE RACE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy team notched a hard-fought seventh-place finish in Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. For the third straight race weekend, Earnhardt continued his climb in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship standings, improving five positions to take eighth place. He trails leader Kevin Harvick by 153 points after five races in the 2010 season. Earnhardt lined up for the green flag in 18th with rain showers looming in the Bristol area. During the first 79 laps of the event, Earnhardt fell back six positions and notified crew chief Lance McGrew that he was fighting a loose-handling Chevy. Twenty-two laps later, McGrew heard good news when Earnhardt radioed on Lap 101 that the blue-and-white Chevy's handling had improved. Earnhardt advanced his running position to 15th by Lap 203 when the fifth caution flag of the race was waved. He radioed that the No. 88 Chevrolet was not turning as well through the middle of the turns. The crew bolted on four fresh tires, made an air pressure adjustment and refueled the No. 88 Chevy. Earnhardt restarted the race running 12th on Lap 210. Earnhardt started his climb up the leaderboard and cracked the top 10 on Lap 214. He was running sixth when the sixth caution flag was waved on Lap 322. McGrew called his driver down pit road for four fresh tires and fuel. NASCAR officials notified the team that the No. 88 would have to restart the race at the tail end of the longest line for excessive speed entering the pits. Earnhardt went back to green-flag racing on Lap 331 running 26th. A hard-charging attitude kept the team focused on a solid finish. By Lap 371, Earnhardt was running 12th and improved a position when the 10th caution flag waved on Lap 482 for debris. McGrew called his driver down pit road one last time for right-side tires and sent him back to action. Quick work by the crew netted Earnhardt three positions on pit road. Earnhardt restarted eighth for the 10-lap showdown. He advanced one position to cross the finish line seventh behind winner and teammate Jimmie Johnson. ***** 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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