Dale Jr. Quotes for Charlotte
"I love racing here at home, and now we're coming in loaded and ready. The Talladega win was awesome, and if you think our restrictor-plate engines were good, I think the boys back at the DEI engine room have been working just as hard to give us some serious power this weekend as well. We had three DEI cars in the top eight on Sunday, so maybe we'll see the same thing here. No holds barred, we're ready.
"Charlotte has been a place where we've run really, really well, but other than the Winston, we don't have the finishes to prove it. (In the 2002 spring race), we were just chillin'… we led the race and were just sitting there with the fastest car, then we got put into the wall by another car. I think our car must have had some sort of magnet in it that caused that white car to crash into us every week for a month or so. I learned a lot about not putting myself in a position where that kind of thing can bite us. We (the Budweiser team) know we're not up there in the points like we believe we should be, but we have momentum and the confidence to go out and finish this season off with some killer finishes. We even have a shot at getting back into the top 10 and getting a seat at the banquet.
"I wanna mention something that was kind of forgotten yesterday in all of the talk about fuel mileage and restrictor plates… my pit crew was awesome all day. They had me out ahead of the pack almost every time we came in, and especially on that last pit stop. We were making great fuel mileage, so we would sort of inherit the lead of the race when everyone else pitted, but it was really important that we were able to keep that lead on the last stop. If they hadn't been as quick, I would have been back on the track behind Tony (Stewart) or even the 28 car (Ricky Rudd). We had a great car, but it might have been a much different story at the finish if those guys over the wall didn't do such a good job. They deserve a lot of credit that may have been missed, and I wanna be sure they get an "attaboy."
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Charlotte
Previous Winston Cup Starts: 6
Best Start: 1st (May, 2000)
Best Finish: 4th* (Twice: May, 2000, October, 2001)
(*This does not include the Winston victory in 2000, and
a second-place finish in the same non-points race in 2002)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 9th
FIN: 4th
Dale Jr. and the entire Budweiser team made their first Winston Cup start at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 1999, qualifying 8th and finishing 16th in their debut. In 2000, Dale Jr. won a memorable Winston all-star race that still rates among his most treasured moments, and then followed that with a track record Bud Pole qualifying lap several nights later. The team has recorded two fourth place finishes since then, including this event last season.
Funniest Sign Created By a Fan at Talladega: "Hey Junior, I'll Sign a Prenup!"
Dale Jr. will need one when he gets hitched, as his winnings of $1,166,040 Sunday at Talladega is the most money he has won in a single race. It brings his career money winnings to more than $12,600,000 in less than three full seasons of Winston Cup action.
What:
UAW/GM 500
1.5-mile oval / 334 laps / 500 miles / Race #31 of 36
Where:
Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord, NC
When:
Sunday, October 13 / 12:30 p.m.
Watch:
NBC / Pre-race 12:00 pm
You can also tune in on the Performance Racing Network (PRN)
on a radio or computer near you… you know the drill by now…
Bud Pole Qualifying:
As usual at the Lowe's track, Bud Pole qualifying is on a unique day and time. It can be seen live at Thursday at 7:00 pm on TNT and heard on PRN affiliates across the nation. (All Times: Eastern)
Thanks to Jade for this Budweiser Race Preview!
www.Budweiser.com |
