Quotes from: DALE EARNHARDT JR. / Driver, #8 Budweiser Chevrolet:
On the unpredictability of Bristol:
“When you’re running for the Chase, you’re always looking at the races coming up on the schedule and how you typically do at each of them. Some races you feel confident about, some you don’t. Bristol you don’t really know what to think because even good cars can finish bad there. With the exception of the road courses, this is the race that probably makes all the race teams the most nervous. It’s just so unpredictable. You know you’ve got to be lucky and good. We’re a team that is on the bubble right now, and we don’t really have room for error. I do my best not to worry about it.”
What is better to have at Bristol – patience or aggressiveness?
“Depends if it’s the last 10 laps or not (laughing). You try your best to be patient and keep the fenders clean during the race, because 500 laps is a long time at that place. But it’s hard, man. It doesn’t take much to lose your cool. I’ve lost it many times there. I’ve been the wrecker, the wreckee, and the innocent victim in other people’s wrecks at Bristol, and your tolerance gets tapped out in all those situations. I think the only person that leaves Bristol happy is the winner. But then I think back to when Daddy wrecked Terry Labonte as Terry crossed the finish line to win the race, and he probably wasn’t too happy either.”
On your craziest Bristol moment:
“I don’t know, they all seem crazy to me. Obviously my favorite moment was when we won there (2004). My first time there in the Cup Series was kind of crazy. I was in a wreck on the very first lap, and then wrecked again later in the race. I couldn’t buy a break that day. It was really frustrating. But some of the craziest moments don’t involve me, but I get just as much enjoyment as the fans do watching them unfold. Bristol is just a crazy place.”
Your mindset leading into the final three races of the “regular season”:
“We maintained our ground at Michigan this past weekend. We gave up a few points, but nothing spectacular. We’ll go into this weekend the same as any other weekend – run as hard as we can, get the car as good as it can possibly be, and have a good time doing it. We want to be in the Chase worse than anybody, and we’re going to do our best to get in. We know we’ve got a lot to work on.”
The No. 8 Bud Team at Bristol:
Previous Starts: 13
Best Start: 2nd (Aug. 24, 2002)
Best Finish: 1st (Aug. 28, 2004)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 41st / FN: 9th
Last Time at Bristol: ST: 19th / FN: 11th
This Week’s Bud Car: #06 (Bristol winner in 2004)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the #8 Budweiser team enter the Bristol race weekend 10th in the Nextel Cup point standings after a sixth-place finish at Michigan on Sunday. With three races to go before the Chase begins, Dale Jr. is in 10th place and in Chase contention by 49 points over 11th-place Kasey Kahne. Only 50 points separate him from sixth-place Jeff Gordon. In 23 races, Dale Jr. has one win (Richmond), six top-fives, and 10 top-10s.
Bristol Weekend Notebook:
In 13 career races at Bristol, Dale Jr. has one win, four top-fives and six top-10s.
The Brew Crew finished ninth in this race last year and 11th in March, extending their streak of six straight finishes of 11th or better at BMS.
Junior has led four races at Bristol for a total of 707 laps. On Aug. 28, 2004, he led a career-high 295 en route to his first and only Bristol win. The 295 laps led were by far the most laps Dale Jr. has led in a race, beating the 195 he led at Martinsville in 2003.
Dale Jr. was the first driver to ever complete a Bristol weekend sweep, as he won both the NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Nextel Cup races in August, 2004.
Dale Jr. has been running at the finish in all but his first race at Bristol.
Junior has a 13.230 average finish at “Thunder Valley.”
The Bud team has led in 10 races this year for 168 laps. Dale Jr.’s 40 laps led at Michigan on Sunday were the second-most this season, bested only by his 47 laps led in the Richmond victory.
Race Details:
Sharpie 500
Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, Tenn.
.5-mile oval / 500 laps / 250 miles
Saturday, August 26, 2006
TV: TNT, 7 p.m. ET
Radio: Performance Racing Network, XM Radio.
Bud Pole Qualifying: SPEED Channel / Friday, August 25 / 7 p.m. ET
2005 winner: Matt Kenseth
Budweiser. This is Beer.
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
blogs and info: www.fingerprintonline.com
www.Budweiser.com |
