Dale Earnhardt Jr. – driver, No. 8 Budweiser team:
“Sunday (at Dover) was one of the craziest races I’ve ever been involved with, so who knows what to expect this weekend at Pocono. Track position is so critical at that place, because if you can get out front in clean air, you can check out and leave ’em in your dust. I like the place … used to hate it, but it grew on me the better we got there. It’s a unique place, and it’s tough to get comfortable as a driver and for a team to find a fast and consistent set-up. We got a couple top fives last year, and even raced Bobby Labonte for the win in 2001, which was real cool. It would be great to keep that trend going and have a good points weekend.”
“You’ve got to have a little luck to win a championship. I’m not going to complain about the last couple of weeks. We know we need to do a better job the next time we go to Dover, but there is such a thing as bad luck and good luck. You have control of your own fate to a certain extent, but you also have to be prepared and ready to take advantage when you do get some breaks here and there. It was a good day for us to gain so many points on those guys. It wasn’t like we outran them. If those guys hadn’t been in a wreck, I doubt we would’ve finished in the top five, but once we had track position, we showed we had a fast car.”
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Pocono:
Previous Nextel Cup Starts: 8
Best Start: 5th (June 8, 2003)
Best Finish: 2nd (July 29, 2001)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 5th / FIN: 4th / LED: 22 laps
-- The Budweiser team and Dale Jr. have competed in eight races at Pocono Raceway, scoring three top-five finishes. He finished in the top-five in both Pocono races in 2003, leading a combined 47 laps. His best finish at this tri-angular track was second on July 29, 2001, when he led 31 laps and battled Bobby Labonte to a thrilling finish.
-- The Bud team enters the weekend on the heels of a bizarre race at Dover, where Dale Jr. finished third for his eighth top-five and series-leading 10th top-10 of 2004. The Bud team has finished in the top-10 in six of its last seven races. The Dover finish helped Dale Jr. pad his lead in the Nextel Cup point standings to 98 points over Jimmie Johnson and 179 over Matt Kenseth. Dale Jr. has been the point leader for eight weeks in 2004, and is one of four drivers to remain in the top-10 all season. He has been among the top-10 in points for 47 consecutive races.
-- Of the 10 superspeedway races in 2004, Dale Jr. has scored eight top-10 finishes, more than any other driver.
-- Dale Jr. has posted 10 top-10 starts in the first 13 races in 2004, a feat equaled only by Ryan Newman.
Race Details:
Pocono 500
Pocono Raceway / Pocono, Pennsylvania.
2.5-mile tri-oval / 200 laps / 500 miles
Sunday, June 13, 2004
TV: Fox, 1 p.m. ET start.
Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN), XM Radio.
Bud Pole Qualifying: Speed Channel / Friday, 3 p.m. ET.
Budweiser. True
Thanks to Jade Gurss and Mike Davis from fingerprint inc. for sending the race reports and updates.
fingerprint inc.
-- Anheuser-Busch NASCAR Publicity
-- Dale Earnhardt Jr. / No. 8 Budweiser team
www.Budweiser.com |
