Dale Jr. Quotes for the Subway 400
"This is the first race this year at a track where we have not had strong finishes in the past. We've run strong but not had the results we needed to be a serious championship team. This week will be a test to see if our new maturity and confidence will continue.
"We had a wild day at Daytona, but our team fought and fought to stay on the track all afternoon, so we're really carrying a great attitude into this weekend. We're not happy to be where we are in the points, but a lot of guys that we expect to race for the championship also had a rough day at Daytona, so we are not as far behind as it may seem."
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Budwesier Team at Rockingham
Winston Cup Starts: 4
Best Start: 7 (Spring, 2000)
Best Finish: 15 (Fall, 2001)
This Race, Last Year: St: 25th
Fin: 43rd
Despite brilliant on-track performance for the first nine days of Speedweeks, Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team enter the Rockingham weekend in a disappointing 29th place in Winston Cup points. That is the lowest points position for Dale Jr. and the team since they joined the Winston Cup series full-time in 2000. Ironically, Dale Jr. leads the NASCAR Busch Series point standings after his win at Daytona. It is the 14th career victory for Dale Jr. in the Busch Series and marks his first appearance at the top of the Busch standings since the end of the 1999 season.
What:
Subway 400
393 Laps, 400 miles
1.017-mile oval
Race #2 of 36
Where:
North Carolina Speedway
Rockingham, NC
When:
Sunday, Feb. 24
1:00 pm
Watch:
Fox
Pre-race: 12:30 pm
(All Times: Eastern)
You can also listen to the race live on the Motor Racing
Network (MRN) on a radio station near you.
Bud Pole Qualifying:
Live coverage of Friday's Bud Pole qualifying session can be seen on the Fox Sports Network at 3:00 pm.
What to Watch
NBC covered the Daytona 500, and now hands the baton to Fox for the remainder of the first half of the 2002 season. Fox brings a level of irreverence and fun to the telecasts, and should continue to build upon the rating successes for both networks last season. The Daytona 500 was the most-watched NASCAR race in history, and a strong and entertaining race this weekend could cement some of those gains.
After the two weeks of Daytona, this begins the "normal" week-by-week three-day race schedules at the gritty-but-fun oval in the North Carolina sand hills.
Thanks to Jade for this Budweiser Race Report!
www.Budweiser.com |
