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PREVIEW: DALE EARNHARDT JR. (NO. 88 THE LEGEND OF HALLOWDEGA AMP ENERGY JUICE/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET) VENUE: TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY (2.66-MILE TRI-OVAL) CIRCUIT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 33 OF 36) DATE: OCT. 31, 2010 (188 LAPS, 500.08 MILES) AMP ENERGY JUICE 500: For the third straight year, AMP Energy will be the primary sponsor of the fall NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway with the AMP Energy Juice 500. AMP Energy Juice comes in orange and mixed berry flavors and is 100 percent juice with all the energy of AMP Energy drinks. THE LEGEND OF HALLOWDEGA: Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car will have a different look for this weekend's AMP Energy Juice 500. The hood of Earnhardt's black-and-yellow No. 88 The Legend of Hallowdega AMP Energy Juice/National Guard Chevrolet will feature "The Legend of Hallowdega," a short film directed by award-winning filmmaker Terry Gilliam that stars David Arquette and Justin Kirk. Starting Halloween night, the film will be available in its entirety on www.LegendofHallowdega.com. This is the first short film for both Gilliam and AMP Energy Juice. TALLADEGA STATS: In 21 Sprint Cup starts at Talladega Superspeedway, Earnhardt has scored five wins, eight top-five finishes and 11 top-10s. He scored a record-setting four consecutive wins at the 2.66-mile oval from October 2001 to April 2003. LEADING LAPS: Earnhardt has led all but two of the 21 Sprint Cup races he has entered at Talladega, tallying a total of 672 laps. He has led more career laps at only two other venues, pacing the field for 848 laps at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and 743 laps at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. TALLADEGA SUCCESS: Earnhardt's five wins at Talladega are the most for him at any track and rank him third all-time among drivers at the Alabama oval. Earnhardt's father Dale Earnhardt Sr. leads with 10 wins at the track, while Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon has recorded six. TOP FIVES: Earnhardt's eight top-five finishes at Talladega also match his personal best at a track. He has eight top-fives at Daytona, Martinsville, Richmond (Va.) International Raceway and Atlanta Motor Speedway. APPROACHING 400: After Sunday, Earnhardt's next start on a superspeedway will be his 400th start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The 36-year-old driver will make his 400th Cup start at the 2011 Daytona 500 in February. In 395 starts, Earnhardt has recorded 18 wins, nine pole positions, 91 top-five finishes and 150 top-10s. SUPERSPEEDWAY STRENGTH: In 43 Cup starts on the superspeedways of Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Talladega, Earnhardt has recorded seven wins, 16 top-five finishes and 24 top-10s. He has led a total of 1,058 laps at these tracks. DRIVER RATING: According to NASCAR's loop data statistics, Earnhardt is ranked second in the driver rating category with a score of 93.3 in the last 11 races at Talladega. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The driver rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator. CHASSIS CHOICE: Crew chief Lance McGrew and the No. 88 team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-563 for this weekend's AMP Energy Juice 500 at Talladega. This chassis first was raced to a second-place finish in the Daytona 500 in February. HENDRICK AT TALLADEGA: Hendrick Motorsports has earned 10 wins, 42 top-five finishes and 61 top-10s in 55 races (166 entries) at Talladega Superspeedway. The organization's 10 victories and 1,941 laps led at the track are the most for any team all-time in the Sprint Cup Series. CHEVY SALUTES AMERICAN HEROES: Chevrolet, the official ride of Country Music, is honoring our men and women in uniform through its Chevrolet Salutes America's Heroes. Launched Sept. 13, this promotion encourages people to nominate friends or family members who, while in uniform, have demonstrated the military spirit of overcoming obstacles, inspiring others and positively impacting their country and community. Now through Nov. 1, go to www.youreverydayhero.com, to cast your vote for one of the finalist. The winner will receive a trip to the 44th Annual CMA Awards on Nov. 10 and a new 2011 Chevrolet Cruze. GUARD GARAGE: Visit www.DaleJrGuardGarage.com and click on the "Most Extreme Fan" button to share your video about what the National Guard means to you. One lucky fan will be chosen among the entries to win a guitar autographed by Earnhardt. Join the Guard Garage Fan Club to stay up-to-date with National Guard drivers and score free ringtones, wallpapers and more. FREE JR NATION CREW FAN CLUB: Earnhardt and JR Motorsports encourage fans to join the JR Nation Crew Fan Club for free. The official fan club provides members with exclusive ticket and merchandise offers, in addition to JRM blogs, forums, and chat rooms to interact with other members of JR Nation. For more information, visit www.jrnation.com. AMP UP THE 88: Chris Golder, shock specialist for the No.88 Chevrolet, will participate in a live video chat with fans on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. ET on AMP Energy's website, www.AMPUPthe88.com. The site features weekly chats with a special guest or a member of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard team, daily sweepstakes with autographed No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard team memorabilia, videos, photos and more. DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER, NO. 88 THE LEGEND OF HALLOWDEGA AMP ENERGY JUICE /NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON 'THE LEGEND OF HALLOWDEGA.'): "I hope race fans enjoy this fun-spirited film from AMP Energy Juice. It was an honor to work with Terry Gilliam. His creativity and imagination comes out in all of his work, and he is a lot of fun. I've got a great sponsor in AMP Energy, who is putting together an awesome race weekend for the fans at Talladega." EARNHARDT (ON TALLADEGA.): "I just look forward to going back to Talladega and always enjoy racing there. We've always been good and fast there. I hope we can get up front, lead a lot of laps and be there at the end. I want to be in position to make a move for the win. We haven't really been in position at the end of these races like we need to, so we'll try to be a little more aggressive throughout the race and try to keep ourselves in that position." EARNHARDT (ON THE VARIED STRATEGIES FOR TALLADEGA.): "Some guys just want to risk it all, go up front and run hard. It is a risk because you can get yourself in an accident. Some guys don't want to take that risk and know that being there at the end is the most important thing so they'll try to stay out of trouble. "It is a little tough either way. If they aren't up front in the pack, nobody knows really what kind of car that they have got. Then at the end of the race, if you are one of the guys running up front all day long, trying hard, then you see all these new players pop up in the last 10 or 20 laps it sort of throws everybody off their game. Either way is a good way to go, so you just make up your mind and then do it. A lot of the fans probably don't like the guys that go ride in the back, but when they come up into the pack in the last 20 laps nobody really knows what kind of player they are and how strong they are. That is a good hand to hold, you know. When you haven't shown everybody all day long what kind of moves you are capable of making, you can catch people off guard. So those guys have a good hand at the end of race, too. The ones that have been up front running hard, which is what I like to do, you use up a lot of race car all day long beating around bumpers real hard, and you use up your car pretty good and you use up your engine. And, you've shown everybody what you are capable of doing and the people can use that against you. It is a tough call what to do." LANCE McGREW, CREW CHIEF, NO. 88 THE LEGEND OF HALLOWDEGA AMP ENERGY JUICE /NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PATIENCE AT TALLADEGA.): "I think it's only important in regards of putting yourself in a bad position. If a guy gets hung out and you are in a line going around, then it's all good. There is a time and a place to go. If you choose the wrong time, then they are going to go by you. I definitely think it's important. You can be the most patient person in the world and still get caught up in a pile-up. It is sometimes just situational. I think it's difficult to have the patience to know, 'I can clear this guy but not have anywhere to go.' You have to be really smart and take your runs when you can get them but only when you can do something with them." McGREW (ON RUNNING UP FRONT VERSUS HANGING IN THE BACK.): "Dale has absolutely zero interest in riding in the back so I don't consider it. He wants the car good enough to lead, and generally our car is that good, and he is that good at doing it. He is patient but he's not that patient -- he just doesn't want to ride in the back. History has proven that there are people who have done it and come away with some really good finishes but depending on how the cautions fly you could be in trouble. It seems like with these cars, especially with this spoiler, it's easier for less cars to stay together and maintain a pretty good pace so you could conceivably put yourself a half-a-lap behind and then put yourself nose to tail and catch them. It's all in what your driver wants to do." McGREW (ON THE IMPORTANCE OF ATTITUDE.): "I think attitude is real important. Even Dale will tell you at the beginning of the race when your mind's right, when you're relaxed and you're focused that it's real easy to play out 10 moves ahead in your mind. I think that confidence from the Martinsville (Va.) race is going to carry over to Talladega. But as the race goes on, you start to lose some of your mental focus. I think confidence from the week before is going to carry that deeper into the race. As the race goes on it gets more and more complicated like the end of the chess match, your moves get more critical. I'm hoping that confidence carries over a little deeper into the 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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