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DALE EARNHARDT JR. NO. 88 THE LEGEND OF HALLOWDEGA AMP ENERGY JUICE/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET POST-RACE RECAP / TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY DATE: Oct. 31, 2010 RACE: AMP Energy Juice 500 START: Sixth FINISH: 39th POINTS POSITION: 19th RECAPPING THE RACE: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 The Legend of Hallowdega AMP Energy Juice/National Guard Chevrolet, had a promising weekend at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. He started with a strong qualifying run and went on to lead the most laps in the 500-lap event. But a multi-car accident prevented Earnhardt from showing what his No. 88 Chevy could do, and he finished 39th. Earnhardt opened up the weekend by posting top-10 speeds in Friday's dual practices and followed that up with the sixth-fastest lap in Saturday's qualifying session. After the green flag dropped on Sunday, Earnhardt used the draft to sling-shot his way toward the front, and he brought the crowd to its feet on Lap 3 when he took command of the top spot. During the opening laps, he maintained his footing inside the top 10. He reported a tight-handling condition, and when green-flag stops began on Lap 38, crew chief Lance McGrew called for four fresh tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Earnhardt was running fourth when the day's first caution flag waved on Lap 69. Before making his way down pit road, Earnhardt notified the crew that the right-side cowl flap was damaged and would need to be fixed. Cowl flaps work the same way as the roof flaps, opening when the pressure on top becomes much lower than the pressure underneath. The opening of the cowl flaps allows air to escape from under the car, which decreases lift. After an extended time on pit road, the crew sent Earnhardt back to green-flag racing on Lap 73 in the 23rd position. Earnhardt wasted little time getting back the front and by Lap 81 he took command of the top spot once again. He led the field on six different occasions for a total of 24 laps -- a race high. On Lap 134, Earnhardt was bump drafting with a competitor but unfortunately sent both cars spinning in Turn 4. After spending 23 laps in garage, Earnhardt made his way back out on the track for the remainder of the race and ultimately crossed the finish line 39th in the AMP Energy Juice 500. QUOTING DALE EARNHARDT JR.: "I got in the back of (Jeff) Burton and got him out of control. We've just been pushing each other all day long, and I got into him the wrong way. I saw him in the Infield Care Center, and he's all right. But I had a real good car and awesome engine and just kinda having fun out there running around seeing what you can do, and got a little too excited and ended early. He had a really fast car, I apologize to Richard (Childress) and all of those guys over there. My boys, too, they worked really hard on my car. We had a terrific engine today and a real fast car. We were racing along there, probably more racing than we should have been doing, but it is fun. I just kind of caught up and got a little overzealous there getting ready to push Jeff there." ***** 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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