Race Information

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The Key Moments: Dale Jr., starting 9th, stayed among the lead pack of cars for the entire evening, never dropping out of the top 10. Strong pit work complemented the fast car, and the team was able to help Dale Jr. gain several positions during each pit stop. Dale Jr. ran in the top three positions from lap 60 until his move to pass Waltrip dropped him to sixth with three laps remaining.

Dale Jr's Quotes: About the decision to try and race his teammate Waltrip for the win, rather than stay in second place and help him: "Of all of the times that I have wondered what my daddy would do, this was the hardest tonight. I had a lot of caution laps to think about it. I know my dad would have tried to win. He never cared who was in front of him. He would have gone for it."

"We tried to make a pass on Michael for the win and we kind of came up short. We didn't get any drafting help. Michael went on to win the race. That's good. You just want to be able to win for the company and everything. And the company needs the win, Michael needs the win, but we need the win too. I stayed behind him most of the race, kept us both up front, and when it came down to the last few laps you gotta race. I don't think anybody, when they really sit down and think about it, would want us to kind of just sit there and cookie cutter the whole thing out. And orchestrate the finish. I tried to make a move on him and almost had him, I thought I had a good effort it, but Michael got more help. I knew Rusty (Wallace) wouldn't help me. I've raced for three years now and the man's never drafted with me once.

"I wanted to help Michael up until like 10 laps to go and then try to devise a plan to get around him. I was going to try to keep us both up there as close to the front as I could, and then with 10 to go, give us a good shot at either of us winning the race. It worked out. It kept him up front. It's hard to pass the leader with the rules the way they are, only on restarts, and we got a good run on the restart there. Actually, I had a much better shot at him with about 19 or 20 laps left, but I held back. I felt like it was too soon, and I knew if I went on around him then, he'd be trying to do the exact same thing to me the rest of the night. It was just too soon to make that move right then.

"It's a tough situation to be in to make the right decision. I was trying to make good judgment calls and I've got a lot of people working on my race car that cut and bleed on those things to go to victory lane and they don't want to see me give up the win just because my buddy Michael is leading the race. As a racecar driver, I've got to have a race team that's behind me 100 percent. I've got to do what it takes to try to win races for those guys. That0x00b9s number one. Second comes the other teams in the company, and the benefit of the company and all that stuff and what we can do to make it better, but when it comes down to it, I have to drive as hard as I can for these 15 guys that work on this car."

What about the fans throwing debris on the track at the end of the race? "I was wondering if Michael had done some kind of hat trick. I didn't know what it was."

Best Radio Conversations
Running first and second has become a normal routine for Waltrip and Dale Jr. at Daytona and Talladega. They have finished in those positions at three of the last four superspeedway races. The DEI teammates have excelled at helping each other get to the front of the pack, but both have struggled with the decision to race each other for the win or to run in tandem and almost assure a finish of first and second for Dale Earnhardt Inc.

In more than two and a half seasons of reporting the best radio chatter from each race, no conversation has approached the heights of philosophic argument or crisis of conscience as this evening's discussion between Dale Jr. and his car chief and cousin, Tony Eury Jr.

Dale Jr. (on lap 139, during a caution period) "I think I will have to help Michael win this race."

Tony Eury Jr. (car chief): "It's up to you, but that'd be like the Cowboy's winning because the Redskin's let 'em"

Dale Jr.: "Junior, this ain't football it's about me and my teammates. It's about making DEI the one to beat because we kicked their (butts) again. Right now, that's what I'm thinking about."

Tony Jr: "I am just thinking about the last race (at Talladega in April - where Dale Jr. led Waltrip across the finish line) where he said he was doin' everything to try to get past you. If you would have gotten caught in traffic, he would have blown right past ya. I mean, we're all a family at DEI. But we're a team here in this pit. And they are another team down there. You have a bunch of guys here in red that have worked their (butts) off until 11 o'clock each night so we can win this thing."

Dale Jr: "Alright then (long pause) Junior, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to try and win?"

Tony Jr.: "Yes. I want you to win If you drive like you can drive, you're gonna win this race."

Dale Jr.: "Alright. I'm with you"

After making his bid for the lead, Dale Jr. dropped all the way to sixth place, but was unable to climb back to the front when a yellow flag on the next lap sealed his finishing position.

Dale Jr. (disgusted) "I think I just got what I ($#&^*#^%) deserved right there"

Tony Jr.: "Hey man, all of us here appreciated that move. You were goin' for the win."

Dale Jr.: "Yeah, but now I feel like an $#*hole."

Tony Jr: "We appreciate it. You went for it. You did the right thing."

Ty Norris (spotter and DEI general manager): "Alright everybody get off this radio. Everybody worked hard and we had a great car. Dale Jr. you did what you had to do to win for your team and DEI. It was tough, but you did the right thing."

Today's Stats
Started: 9th
Finished: 6th
Points Position: 15th
Money Won: $105,537
Laps Led: 1 (lap 118)
Best Pit Stop: Lap 60 / 4 tires and Fuel / 14.79 seconds

-Budweiser



Jr. qualifies 9th
7/5/02 - Earnhardt Jr. posted the 9th-quickest lap during Daytona Pepsi 400 qualifying on Friday morning. His DEI teammates Michael Waltrip and Steve Park will roll off right ahead of Jr. after they qualified 7th and 8th, respectively.

Happy Hour: Fri. at 6:30 p.m. ET on FX (taped)
Race: Sat. at 7 p.m. ET on FOX



Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Daytona Preview_7/1
Dale Jr. Quotes for Daytona
"The team will never forget last year's win. Unbelievable. We had so much on our minds - and to go out and win like we did was a great help to the whole team - and the entire DEI organization too. (DEI teammate Michael Waltrip finished second.) We're having a poor season right now, but it's nothing like the nightmare we all went through last year. To win again would really launch us into the second half of the season - just like last year's race did. And, we'll have a baseball-theme paint job again, so maybe we can do some more celebrating in the grass again after the race.

"We've had this magic car that has been great at the restrictor-plate races the last two years, and I was worried that I had ruined it when we cut a tire and crashed in the (Daytona) 500 this year. But, Tony (Eury) Jr. and all the guys revived it and we went out and won Talladega with it, so I expect to be fast again this weekend. The crew treats that car like it was their child. Any chance they can improve it or tweak it or clean and polish it - they do it. I dare anyone who claims last year's win was not 100% legitimate to say that to these guy's faces. They put their hearts and a helluva lotta hard work into that car."

(How did you win this race last year?) "Our car was faster than everybody else. That sounds simple, but really, I could steer it almost anywhere I wanted to go. It's weird, but sometimes that is a challenge at Daytona. The car was so good I could pull away, but because of the aero(dynamic) package, if you get too far out in the lead, the pack can really get a run on you in the draft. You almost have to hold back to stop the other 42 cars from getting a run and just thrashing right past you."

Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Daytona
Winston Cup Starts: 5
Best Start: 5th (Feb. 2002)
Best Finish: 1st (Summer, 2001)
This Race, Last Year: St: 13th / Fin: 1st Led: 116 (of 160) laps

Last season's unforgettable, heart-stopping victory is just one of the highlights of Dale Jr's short Winston Cup career at Daytona. Including the Budweiser Shootout and the twin-125 qualifying races in 2001 and 2002, Dale Jr. had a streak of five consecutive races with a finish of no worse than second place at the historic high-banked oval.

In 2000, the Bud team finished 35th in this nighttime event due to a blown engine, but were impressive while they lasted, including a dramatic moment where Dale Jr. passed 11 cars in a single lap.

The Dominator
In the last six points-paying restrictor-plate races at Daytona and Talladega, Dale Jr. has three wins, has led 360 laps and recorded five top-8 finishes. His only non-top-10 finish was 29th at this year's Daytona 500, when a cut tire sent the Bud car into the wall while running in second place.

Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, Chevrolet, and BUDWEISER
Last season's victory in this race was achieved carrying a special paint scheme celebrating the Major League Baseball All-Star game. The promotion was such a hit with the fans, that Budweiser (the official beer of MLB and NASCAR) have teamed with MLB and Dale Earnhardt Inc. to again celebrate the mid-summer classic game. Dale Jr. will race a special baseball-themed paint scheme this weekend, and then will jet to Milwaukee on Sunday for the festivities leading up to the July 9 All-Star game.

What:
Pepsi 400
160 laps, 400 miles / 2.5-mile oval / Race #17 of 36

Where:
Daytona International Speedway / Daytona Beach, FL

When:
Saturday, July 6 / 7:30 p.m.

Watch:
Fox / Pre-race: 7:00 pm (All Times: Eastern)
You can also listen to the race live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) on a radio station near you. Happy Hour (the final practice session) can also be seen Friday evening on FX, prior to the telecast of the inaugural Busch Series night race at Daytona.

This weekend is the final Winston Cup telecast of the season for Fox, a network that has done a masterful job for the second season in a row. Starting next week, NBC and TNT take over the broadcasting duties for the remainder of the year.

Bud Pole Qualifying:
Bud Pole qualifying begins Thursday evening, July 4 at 8:00 and can be seen live on the Fox Sports Network.

MTV True Life
This weekend is the re-scheduled "True Life Marathon" on MTV. You can see Dale Jr's one-hour documentary (including new interview footage) Saturday, July 5 at 5 p.m. and again Sunday, July 6 (check local listing for exact time)

-Budweiser

N a v i g a t e