Earnhardt Jr. struggles, rookie wins
again_6/2
 No. 8 Budweiser Team fights bad handling car, finish four
laps down
Jimmy Johnson continued his incredible run of rookie success Sunday, winning the
MBNA Platinum 400 Sunday at the Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware. It is
Johnson's second win in 16 Winston Cup starts, matching the previous record for quickest
multiple victories held by Davey Allison and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Unfortunately for
Earnhardt Jr., his day in the No. 8 Budweiser car was anything but a success. Despite
running as high as fifth place midway through the race, the handling on the Bud car went
away and the team slid back in the field, lap by agonizing lap, until finishing 30th, four
laps behind the leaders at the conclusion of the 400-lap grind. It is the fourth
consecutive finish of 30th or worse for the team since they won at Talladega in April. The
struggle has dropped them from fifth to 14th in Winston Cup points. The Key Moments: Dale Jr., starting 30th, had a day
that proceeded in the following order:
-- bad (dropping to 42nd place in the first ten laps),
-- not so bad (regaining 12 spots in less than 10 laps),
-- getting a little better (after the second pit stop,
charging from 32nd to the top-20 before the next stop),
-- pretty darn good (a great pit stop launches them to 12th
place, then Dale Jr. drives it into 8th place),
-- really impressive (the next pit stop pushed them into
fifth place at the lap 215 restart),
-- just plain awful (Dale Jr. finds the car to be evil, and
he drops from 5th to 19th in 20 laps),
-- and, finally, a disaster (the car is so bad the team has
to make an unscheduled stop to try and regain some sort of speed)
-- Oh, and the engine also overheated, filling the cockpit
with smoke on lap 320
Dale Jr's Quotes: "It's agonizing
frustrating embarrassing whatever you want to call it. We were awful at the start, the
rear tires were bouncing and chattering all over the place, but then we got the car
working pretty good. Everybody else seemed pretty slow compared to us, and when we got up
to fifth place, I think we all believed we had a shot at it (a victory). But from that
moment on, I had no grip. I was out there hangin' on just trying to stay out of the way
and not crash the thing. That's not how I enjoy racing. It sucks being that slow"
Best Radio Conversations
The usually talkative and conversational Dale Jr. was not in attendance today. Despite
some rather hilarious but not-suitable-for-release-here remarks about the abilities (or,
ahem, lack of abilities) of a couple of his fellow drivers, he managed to catch his breath
during a late-race yellow flag.
Dale Jr: "I'm tellin' ya, I just
about wrecked this thing offa turn two. That's about as close as you can get without
wreckin' it. I don't know how I didn't crash into the inside wall. I was surrounded by
lapped cars - and it wasn't me that saved it. I don't know how we didn't wreck"
Tony Eury Jr. (car chief):
"Cuz' you're the MAN, that's how! Now get up on that steerin' wheel and c'mon!"
After fighting with the car for nearly 100 laps, Dale
Jr. struggled to describe the characteristics to the crew.
Dale Jr.: "It's really, really,
really, bouncy, bouncy, and really really tight. It's just rough - all over the place. We
have to do something to get it to turn. I have no grip - no traction at all. I did not
like that... period."
Today's Stats
Started: 30th
Finished: 30th
Points Position: 14th
Laps Led: --
Best Pit Stop: Lap 125 / 4 tires and Fuel / 14.00 seconds
-Budweiser
Earnhardt qualifies 30th
5/31/02 - Dale Earnhardt Jr.
posted only the 30th-quickest lap during qualifying on Friday at Dover.
"I was just hanging onto it," he said. "That was the best we could
do."
Jr.'s average finishing position in four career starts at Dover is 8th. Last year he
finished 3rd and 1st at the 1-mile track. The MBNA Platinum 400 begins Sunday at 12:30
p.m. eastern on FX.
 Starting Lineup
Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Dover Race
Preview_5/28
Dale Jr. Quotes for MBNA Platinum 400
"It's been a disaster lately… we've had a lot of crashed cars coming back to the
DEI shops. But, we're still relatively close to the top-10 in points, and it feels good to
be going back to Dover. We won there last fall, and it just gives you a sense of
confidence going back again and knowing how well we did in the two races last season.
Finishing third in this race last year was a big kick of momentum for the whole team. We
had really struggled for much of the season until then, but after Dover, we seemed to get
better every week after that. We need that same boost this year…"
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Dover
Winston Cup Starts: 4
Best Start: 3rd (Sept. 2001)
Best Finish: 1st (Sept. 2001)
This Race, Last Year: St: 11th
Fin: 3rd
The team has found success at Dover, including a victory in the most recent race there
last September. It was the first race for the Winston Cup series following the 9/11
terrorist attacks on America. The Budweiser team has led a combined 199 laps in three of
the four starts on the concrete track. They have one win, two top-threes and three top-10s
in those four races. Their only finish outside of the top 10 was 16th place in the fall
race of the 2000 season.
What:
MBNA Platinum 400
400 laps, 400 miles / 1-mile oval / Race #13 of 36
Where:
Dover Downs Raceway / Dover, DE
When:
Sunday, June 2 / 1 p.m.
Watch:
FX / 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:
Bud Pole qualifying begins Friday afternoon at 1:30 and can be seen on the Fox Sports
Network.
-Budweiser |
