Bill Elliott wins, Dale Jr.
uninjured in horrific crash_7/28
 Earnhardt Jr. and No. 8 Budweiser Team make repairs after
lap one crash, finish 37th
Bill Elliott grabbed his first victory of the season Sunday in the rain-delayed
Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway, scoring a victory for the aging veterans against the
new breed of young drivers that have been grabbing many of the headlines this season. One
of the youngest drivers, Kurt Busch, was second while points leader Sterling Marlin
finished third. It was a rough day for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team, as
Dale Jr. was a helpless passenger in a multi-car wreck on the first lap. Junior was swept
up as teammate Steve Park shot across the track and then the two DEI cars slid across the
wet infield grass before making horrendous impact with the inside guard rail. The Bud car
was seriously damaged, but the immediate concern was for Park, who was briefly trapped in
his destroyed race car. Park and Dale Jr. were both checked out and quickly released from
the infield medical center. The Bud team was able to make repairs, and returned to the
track just as a rain storm stopped the race for an extended period of time. The shortened
race (175 laps instead of the scheduled 200) ended in near-darkness, with Dale Jr. in 37th
position, 31 laps behind the lead-lap finishers. The
Key Moments: Dale Jr., starting 11th, seemed poised for a strong run at the race
where he finished second last season, but high hopes ended almost before they began when
contact between the cars of Steve Park and Rusty Wallace sent Park sliding across the
track and into the No. 8 car. The two machines remained together as the hit the inside
guard rail, with the Park car flipping wildly as Dale Jr. slid backwards along the rail.
Dale Jr. raced to the crashed No. 1 car, where Park was temporarily trapped inside. Both
drivers rode to the care center together, where they were examined and quickly released.
The Bud team made significant repairs to the heavily-damaged car, cobbling together parts
and pieces from all of the DEI teams. As many as 23 crew members representing all three
DEI teams worked to repair the car, replacing the entire front body work and much of the
mud-caked external engine parts (radiator, pumps, etc.) in 31 minutes. The multi-colored
tape that somehow held together the patchwork body flapped in the wind like a bad 1960's
fringe jacket, but allowed Dale Jr. to finish the race.
Dale Jr's Quotes: About the crash:
"The 1 (Park) and the 2 car (Wallace) got together and Steve just shot across the
track. I was in his way, and we slid down into the grass. I was trying everything I could
to separate my car from his because I knew it would be a really hard hit if both cars were
still together when got there. I saw that guardrail coming up fast and it scared me --
bad. I thought Steve and I would both go right through it and end up in among the fans and
the RVs and the campers. That guard rail there is no good for anyone. That's not a good
deal, but it may have helped lessen the impact for Steve. After we hit, I was sliding
backwards and I just saw Steve flipping over and over. I knew I had to get to him to make
sure he was OK. When I got to him, he had unbuckled, but the angle of the car meant he
couldn't get out with his helmet on. The big headrest in there was blocking him, so he
undid his helmet and slid out. We need to think about that sort of thing as we keep
building these seats bigger and bigger. I'm really glad Steve was alright. I'm going to be
sore, but I'm OK. I didn't feel anything (any pain) until I strapped back into the car and
felt the spot where the seat belt rubbed my neck in the crash. I thought 'damn! That
hurts!'"
About the fast work of the team to make the
extensive repairs in a short time: "I could not be prouder of my guys right
now if we were leading the race. That car was torn up bad, and there was mud everywhere.
They did a great job. I mean, this really sucks, but the guys are getting good at putting
these things back together when they're crashed. You can never say die, and we hung in
there all day when we were really just making laps. That tape was flapping all over the
place and the car was jittery, but we picked up a few spots by the end. We could have even
pulled in a few laps early and not lost any positions, but we hung in there all day and I
didn't wanna see a DNF (did not finish) next to our car on the results, so we stayed out
there to the end."
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Because they returned to the race 26 laps behind the rest of the field, it was a long,
lonely day for Dale Jr., as he rode around at the back, merely logging laps and gaining
spots as others crashed or dropped out of the race. Consequently, there was very little
chatter until late in the race, when Dale Jr. turned to humor.
As the team prepared for their final pit stop of the day
(well, actually evening by that time), Dale Jr. decided to narrate his approach to the pit
stall.
Dale Jr. "OKkkkkkkk -- I'm comin'
innnnnn -- pitting nowwwwwwww -- comin' 'round the cornerrrrrr -- comin' in -- here I come
-- "
After the team changed a faltering battery on the same
stop, Dale Jr. happily reported the new and improved voltage reading in a manner much like
a Spinal Tap movie moment.
Dale Jr: "Hey, it's back up to 12 --
nice -- that's one more than 11 -- "
As the race neared the final restart, Dale Jr. remained at
the back of the longest line, and reminded his spotter, Joey Meier, about the possibility
of crazy driving and big crashes --
Dale Jr.: "Hey -- Joey -- if there's
a big crash in front of me, just say 'WHOA!' a buncha times."
Today's Stats
Started: 11th
Finished: 37th
Points Position: 16th
Money Won: $55,100
Laps Led: --
Best Pit Stop: Lap 91 / 4 tires and fuel as well as bodywork tape "resituating"
/ 23.02 seconds
-Budweiser
Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Pocono
Preview_7/22
Dale Jr. Quotes for Pocono
"Pocono? Weren't we just there?! (laughs) Like always, it's track that's tough to get
a perfect set-up on the car because it's so odd. I mean, three turns and they're all very
different. I think that since this race last season, we've had a really good set-up to
race well there, and I'd like to have a chance to race with Bobby (Labonte) for the win
like we did last year. This year, it's my turn to win it. I did all I could to keep him
behind me last year, but he just had a faster car than me. That was fun, though."
"Our performance - not our finishing position - at Loudon shows the continuous
improvement of this team on relatively flat tracks. That was really one of our weaknesses
in the past, but we've tested and worked and tested some more to try and get better at
places like here (Pocono), Loudon and Indianapolis that don't have a lot of banking. It
feels like we're regaining the performance that we had up until Talladega."
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Pocono
Previous Winston Cup Starts: 5
Best Start: 6th (June., 2001)
Best Finish: 2nd (July, 2001)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 12th
FIN: 2nd
Led twice for 31 laps
There was an epic, titanic battle between Dale Jr. and Bobby Labonte for the win in the
final laps of last year's race (OK, maybe neither epic nor titanic, but it was great
racing…), With three laps left, a charging Labonte got around a swerving Dale Jr. for
the victory.. (Labonte later displayed mock-disgust when told that Dale Jr. had run out of
fuel in the final corner: "All that for nothing?!" joked Labonte. "You
shoulda told me you were gonna run out of gas!").
What:
Pennsylvania 500
2.5-mile tri-oval / 200 laps / 500 miles
Race #20 of 36
Where:
Pocono Raceway
Long Pond, PA
When:
Sunday, July 28
1:00 p.m.
Watch:
TNT
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 can be seen live on TNT, Friday afternoon at 3:00 pm.
-Budweiser |
