Race Information

Summary and Related News

Matt Kenseth made a brilliant move late in the race, avoiding oil on the circuit to take the lead with eight laps left, grabbing his second Winston Cup career victory Sunday at the Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham. Multiple caution flags marked the 400-mile event but there were also multiple changes up-front as the lead changed hands 17 times in 393 laps. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team struggled for much of the day, finishing 26th, two laps behind the leaders due to handling problems and a cut left front tire that caused the team to make an unscheduled pit stop. To try and improve the race car, the Bud crew made 12 pit stops during the afternoon. Sterling Marlin finished second while Bobby Labonte finished third.

The Key Moment: Dale Jr. started 29th, and was never able to climb much higher than that position throughout the race. The ill-handling Bud car suffered from a pushing condition where the front tires would not grip the track on entry to the corners, pushing the No. 8 car high up the banking in every turn. After losing a lap on the 84th circuit, the team used pit strategy to regain a spot on the lead lap until lap 240, when a cut left front tire forced them to make an unscheduled pit stop, falling three laps behind. Aggressive driving allowed Dale Jr. to regain one of the laps, but he was not able to advance further from there. The finish of 26th, combined with a finish last week of 29th, puts the team in 31st position in Winston Cup points, their lowest position ever since joining the circuit full-time in 2000.

Dale Jr's Quotes: "I can only say it so many ways: it pushed it plowed it was tight it chattered the front tires until the end of the race. We were pretty decent the final 40 laps or so, but until then, it seemed like no matter what changes we made, the car just would not stay down in the corners. Sometimes it was alright once I got to the top of the track in the middle of the corners, but we just couldn't pass anybody or stay quick for more than a few laps at a time. I don't really have much else to say."

Best Radio Conversations
Dale Jr. (his first radio transmission on lap five, and a sign of what was to come) "Pushing! Pushing real bad!"

Dale Jr. (after coming to a full stop on the backstretch to avoid a multi-car accident) "Awwww man, the 33 car (Mike Wallace) just hit us - it may have bent something. I know the left front tire is rubbing."
Tony Eury Jr. (car chief) "Yeah, the left front fender is rubbing the tire. Bring it in here next time by."
Dale Jr. "It's not really bad, he just brushed by me in a hurry to get through the wreck. I wasn't even moving and he climbed up over my left front."

The team made two pit stops to replace the tires, mend the bent sheet metal and check the alignment. All of the key components of the car were still intact.
Tony Jr.: "It's fine. It's 1/8th inch out of alignment."
Dale Jr.:. "I'm glad! I'm happy that it isn't torn up. I don't wanna drive 'round this place with a bent-up and beat-up race car. This track is hard enough as it is with out just being out here hanging on."

RACE NOTES

Bud Crew Wins Award for Tenacity
Despite a variety of ills and adversity last week during the Daytona 500 (two blown tires, one major crash), crew chief Tony Eury and the Budweiser crew proved that teamwork counts as they were able to tape, weld and hammer the car into a condition that allowed them to finish 29th. In recognition of their tireless effort, they were presented with the "IRWIN Rough to Finish Award," a new award presented each week in conjunction with Benny Parson's radio show on the Performance Racing Network (PRN).

"This award is one of the few positive things to come out of Daytona for our team," said Eury. "The fact that we fought through all the bad luck and put the car back on the track says a lot about the team. Despite everything that went wrong, it was a fun weekend and it's going to be a great year for us."

The Best of Sellers
Dale Earnhardt Jr's book, "Driver #8" (Warner Books), will climb to the number five position on the New York Times Best Seller list next Sunday, March 3.

Today's Stats
Started: 29th
Finished: 26th
Money Won: $77,587
Points Position: 31 (85 points)
Laps Led: ---
Best Pit Stop: Lap 257 / 4 tires and Fuel / 13.51 seconds / (9th stop of the day)

-Budweiser


26th for Jr. in Subway 400
2/24/02 - Battling 42 other drivers as well as a case of the flu, Dale Jr. finished a not-so-great 26th in Sunday's Subway 400 at Rockingham. With a tight-handling car, Junior wasn't able to do much all day. He had to make a costly green-flag pit stop because of a flat tire and finished 2 laps down, slipping two spots in the points to 31st as a result. The Bud team will no doubt be looking to get back on track with a strong finish next week in Las Vegas!
Race Results


Earnhardt Jr. Bud Race Preview for Subway 400_2/19
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."

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.

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.

-Budweiser

N a v i g a t e