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DATE: March 29, 2010 RACE: Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 START: Eighth FINISH: 15th POINTS POSITION: 10th RECAPPING THE RACE: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy Sugar Free Lightning/National Guard Chevrolet, worked with a tight-handling car en route to a 15th–place finish in Monday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event was rescheduled for Monday after strong thunderstorms moved into the Martinsville area on Sunday afternoon. Rain also affected qualifying, and Earnhardt started the 500-lap event eighth after Friday afternoon showers canceled the event and the field was set based upon the owner standings. When the green flag dropped on Monday, Earnhardt had a strong opening run, maintaining his footing inside the top 10. The 35-year-old driver radioed crew chief Lance McGrew on Lap 109 to report that his silver-and-yellow Chevy had a tight-handling condition in the center of the corners. Earnhardt was running eighth when the caution flag waved on Lap 128. McGrew called his driver to pit road and the over-the-wall crew members supplied fuel, four fresh Goodyear tires and a chassis adjustment. The field went back to green-flag racing on Lap 134 with Earnhardt running eighth. The adjustments helped his No. 88 Impala, and he ran as high as sixth on Lap 197. The day's seventh caution flag waved on Lap 234 with Earnhardt running eighth. He made his way down pit road but brought the car in too close to pit wall and the pit crew took extra time jacking the car on the right side. Earnhardt made his way back on track running 15th. During the middle stages of the race, Earnhardt raced just outside of the top 10. The No. 88 crew continued to make adjustments to improve the Chevy's handling, but never could get the car quite to the driver's liking. The caution flag waved on Lap 493, setting up a five-lap showdown to the checkered flag. Earnhardt was running 16th when the green flag waved. A spin in Turn 3 brought out the caution flag once again setting the stage for a green-white-checkered finish. Earnhardt picked up a position to finish 15th. He now ranks 10th in the driver standings, trailing leader and teammate Jimmie Johnson by 159 points after six races in the 2010 season. ***** 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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