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DALE EARNHARDT JR. NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET POST-RACE RECAP/AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY DATE: Oct. 10, 2010 RACE: Pepsi Max 400 START: Ninth FINISH: 16th POINTS POSITION: 18th RECAPPING THE RACE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove his No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet to a solid 16th-place finish in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Auto Club Speedway. Earnhardt opened his birthday weekend on a positive note, qualifying his green-and-white Chevy ninth for Sunday's race. During the opening laps on Sunday, Earnhardt was having difficulty making forward progress and asked his No. 88 team to tighten up his Chevy so it would handle better in the corners. Earnhardt was running 11th when green-flag pit stops began on Lap 30. Crew chief Lance McGrew called his driver down pit road five laps later. The No. 88 team gave the Chevy fuel and four fresh tires and also made air pressure and wedge adjustments. Five laps later, the caution flag waved for the first time and McGrew called his driver back down pit road for another set of adjustments to ease the handling of the No. 88 Chevy. Several teams opted to take two tires during the pit stop while McGrew called for four. Earnhardt restarted the event 21st on Lap 45. During the run, Earnhardt slipped as far as 29th while battling heavy traffic. When the caution flag was displayed on Lap 52, McGrew made the call to stay on track while the field made their way down pit road in an effort to gain valuable track position. Earnhardt held the top spot for three laps, although the teams that pitted used their fresher tires to pass the No. 88 Chevy. At the half-way point was running 20th while working through the handling off the exit of the corners. Earnhardt maintained his footing inside the top 25, as the team worked to fine-tune the handling. Earnhardt had moved into the 18th position when the day's seventh caution flag waved on Lap 154. McGrew called his driver to pit road for a series of adjustments. Earnhardt was scored 18th on the scoring pylon when the field went back to green-flag racing with 40 laps remaining. The adjustments seemed to do the trick, and Earnhardt made forward progress through the field and by Lap 182 had made his way to 13th. The ninth and final caution flag waved on Lap 195, five laps shy of the green flag with Earnhardt scored 14th. Tire strategy came into play and McGrew opted to keep his driver on the track with the leaders while others opted to come down pit road for fresh tires. Two cars in front of Earnhardt made their way down pit road, and he lined up 12th for the three-lap showdown. With fresh tires prevailing, Earnhardt crossed the finish line 16th. Tony Stewart won of the Pepsi Max 400 at Auto Club Speedway, securing the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturers' Cup for Chevrolet. This is Chevy's 34th Manufacturers'' Cup since the inception of the award in 1950. ***** 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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