Quotes from: DALE EARNHARDT JR. / Driver, #8 Budweiser Chevrolet:
“I’m pretty excited going to Richmond. For us, I’m not sure there’s a better track on the schedule than Richmond. It’s a very good track for me and I have a lot of fun racing there. Every time we go, we know it’s an opportunity to win. I know we’ll have a good car, so I think I can put it up front and win again. That’s the mindset. But anything can happen to you. You can get involved in crashes or do something stupid, so we’ll try to be smart, and we’ll try to lock ourselves into the Chase. We’re peaking at the right time. We’ve had some really good runs the last few weeks, and they’ve been at tracks that are completely different from each other. That has me optimistic that if we do make the Chase, we can really make a run at the championship.”
At California, a second-place finish meant you gained three positions in the standings, but lost ground to 11th-place Kasey Kahne, the race winner.
“The positions don’t really mean anything to me. A wreck or a mechanical problem will still knock you out because it’s so close. We’ve been lucky to keep our car clean the last few races. We need that luck to continue this weekend. Kasey is doing what he has to do to get in the Chase, and I feel like we’re doing all we can, too. It’s no time to feel comfortable. We know what can happen. We know better than anybody how fast you can drop, so we’re not taking anything for granted.”
Will you run the high line like you did in May when you won for the third time at Richmond?
“If the high line is the fastest line, I’m all about running it. I love running right up against the wall, and the great thing about Richmond is that there is more than one way to get around. You can move around and run different grooves. The top works pretty good if you need to try to get up around people and get a run on them -- especially when they repaved it a couple of years ago. Before that, it was really awesome. But obviously the surface was breaking up a little bit in some places and needed to be repaved. But it's a great race track. Moving up as the night goes on is a lot of fun -- running high and trying to get runs on people. It's fun to have a lot of different opportunities to pass people."
Where is the easiest place to get in trouble at Richmond?
"Turn two is a challenge. To get up out of that corner well is a challenge. There are little nuances all the way around the track. Like turn one. If you go in that corner and a guy checks up sooner than you expect, it's really hard to get on the brakes without spinning yourself out. A lot of times a guy will not get on the brakes and run in and wreck the guy in front of him just to keep from wrecking himself. You see that a lot."
The No. 8 Bud Team at Richmond:
Previous Starts: 14
Best Start: 2nd (May 5, 2002)
Best Finish: 1st (three times, most recently May 6, 2006)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 29th / FN: 20th
Last Time at Richmond: ST: 10th / FN: 1st / LED: 47 laps
This Week’s Bud Car: #10 (Richmond winner in May)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the #8 Budweiser team enter the final race of the Nextel Cup “regular season” sixth in the Nextel Cup point standings, a jump of three spots after scoring a career-best second-place finish at California Speedway on Sunday. Entering the final race before the “Chase” cut-off, the points picture for the Budweiser team looks like this:
3. Kevin Harvick +70
4. Jeff Gordon + 25
5. Kyle Busch +18
6. DALE EARNHARDT JR. 3226
7. Denny Hamlin -1
8. Tony Stewart -32
9. Mark Martin - 45
10. Jeff Burton -47
11. Kasey Kahne –77
Through 25 races, Dale Jr. has one win (Richmond), eight top-fives, 12 top-10s and 18 top-15s. He has led in 12 races for 209 laps, and has finished sixth or better in four of the last five races.
“A Place In The Chase” / NOTEBOOK:
* Dale Jr. can lock himself into the 2006 Chase for the Championship with a 16th-place finish at Richmond this weekend.
* In 2006, Dale Jr. has averaged 129.04 points per race, but has averaged 157.3 points in night races, and 161.3 points at tracks less than a mile in length.
* In the last six races, Dale Jr. has climbed from 11th to sixth in the Nextel Cup point standings. Through 25 races, his average point position is 6.64.
* Dale Jr. has been in the top-10 in points in all but two weeks in 2006, and has not been lower than 11th. His highest point standing is third (following races on July 1 and July 9).
* Dale Jr. has gained at least one spot in the point standings 11 times this year.
”Sizing up Richmond” / NOTEBOOK:
* In 14 career races at Richmond, Dale Jr. has three victories, seven top-fives and eight top-10s. His three wins at RIR are the second-most at any one track for Junior, topped only by his five wins at Talladega.
* Dale Jr. enters the weekend as the most recent winner at Richmond after leading 47 laps for the victory on May 6. It was Junior’s 17th career victory.
* Dale Jr. is the only driver with more than one victory in the last 10 races at RIR.
* Dale Jr. and Tony Stewart lead all active drivers with three victories at the Virginia short track.
* Dale Jr. has led eight races at Richmond for 322 laps, 115 of which came in a victorious effort on May 15, 2004.
* The Bud team has four top-fives in the last six night races, and has finished no worse than 20th in the last eight.
* Five of Junior’s 17 career victories have come under the lights.
* Dale Jr. has four victories on short tracks - or tracks less than one mile in length.
* The Bud team has finished in the top-five in each of the last three short-track races and in the top-20 in each of the last 10.
Race Details:
Chevy Rock & Roll 400
Richmond International Raceway / Richmond, Va.
.750-mile oval / 400 laps / 300 miles
Saturday, Sept. 9, 2006
TV: TNT, 7 p.m. ET
Radio: Motor Racing Network, XM Radio.
Bud Pole Qualifying: SPEED Channel / Friday, Sept. 8 / 6 p.m. ET
2005 winner: Kurt Busch
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 |
