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DALE EARNHARDT JR. NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET POST-RACE RECAP/POCONO RACEWAY DATE: June 6, 2010 START: Third FINISH: 19th POINTS POSITION: 16th RECAPPING THE RACE: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet, spent most of Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway inside the top 15 until a series of late-race caution periods brought pit strategy into play. Earnhardt crossed the finish line 19th. The Kannapolis, N.C., native opened the weekend on a positive note. He posted the fourth-fastest lap during the opening practice session and followed up that outing by scoring the third-fastest lap during Friday's qualifying session. On Sunday, a brief and heavy downpour in the Pocono area delayed the drop of the green flag. But when the 200-lap event finally started – under windy and cooler temperatures – Earnhardt reported a loose-handling condition within 25 laps. Despite the handling issue, Earnhardt held steady inside the top 10. A round of green-flag pit stops began on Lap 46, and Earnhardt brought his blue-and-white Chevy down pit road the following circuit for service. Crew chief Lance McGrew called for four fresh tires, fuel and air pressure and chassis adjustments. Once the field cycled through on Lap 50, the No. 88 Chevy was shown 14th on the scoring pylon. By Lap124, Earnhardt made his way back inside the top 10 and radioed the crew that he liked the handling on the No. 88 Chevy a lot. The third caution flag waved on Lap 153, and Earnhardt, running 11th at the time, made his way down pit road. The crew bolted on four fresh tires, made a chassis adjustment and added fuel. Quick work by the crew sent Earnhardt back to green-flag racing on Lap 158 in the 10th position. Fuel strategy came in to play as most teams would need only one more fuel stop if the remainder of the race stayed under green-flag conditions. The caution flag waved on Lap 159, and teams executed their strategies – some teams came to pit road, some stayed out and some pitted several times – scrambling the field. McGrew decided to stay on track. Earnhardt was running 14th when caution flag waved once again on Lap 166, and McGrew called his driver to pit road for a fuel-only pit stop. Those drivers who had pitted during the previous caution period remained on the track and Earnhardt was shown in the 26th position for the Lap 171 restart. Earnhardt picked up seven positions during the closing laps to cross the finish line 19th. He advances one position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship standings, to take 16th. He trails 12th-place Clint Bowyer by 87 points after 15 races in the 2010 season. QUOTING DALE EARNHARDT JR.: EARNHARDT (ON SUNDAY'S RUN.): "We ran good. All that crap at the end with six laps to go, a bunch of cautions carrying on and shaking up the field - it's like playing poker and the dealer dealing you another game right in the middle of the hand after you've bet all your chips. It's frustrating to come out this far down after running top 10, top 15 all day." ***** 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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