Jeff Gordon wins again_9/1
 No. 8 Budweiser Team 16th in rain delayed Southern 500.
Jeff Gordon, who ended the longest victory drought of his career last week at Bristol,
made it two victories in a row Sunday at the Southern 500 at historic Darlington (S.C.)
Raceway. Gordon dominated the second half of the marathon, rain-delayed race, and crossed
the finish line ahead of rookie Ryan Newman and Bill Elliott. Gordon's victory pulled him
into second place in Winston Cup points, as the chase for the championship continues to
get closer and closer. Points leader Sterling Marlin is now less than 200 points ahead of
four other drivers with 11 races remaining. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser
team ran among the top five early in the race, but faded to a 16th place finish on the
lead lap. The Key Moments: Dale
Jr., starting in 15th based upon points (Bud Pole qualifying was rained out Friday),
wasted very little time in launching forward in the field. The race began under the yellow
flag to help dry the damp track, and when the green flew for the first time on lap 19, it
was only 21 more laps before Dale Jr. slotted into the top five. After that peak, Dale Jr.
began struggling with a car that would change characteristics throughout the day. The Bud
team made adjustments during each of the eight pit stops, but were never able to regain
the balance and speed that the car possessed during the first segment of the race.
Dale Jr's Quotes: "How long has this
race been around? (52 years) Well, this one felt like it lasted for about 52 years It was
like 500 laps instead of 500 miles. This track is so tough that it challenges you to
concentrate completely on every lap. It can really bite you - but I'm proud that my car is
clean - no dents anywhere. Believe me, that's an accomplishment at this place. I feel like
we didn't have a good finish, but I did all I could with the car that I had. That's the
only way I can feel satisfied - that I did all I could do."
"The car was great at the start of the race, and we
tried all day to get back to the way that the car felt in the beginning. I know we were
the fastest car on the track at several points during the day, and it would run, run, run,
but then all of a sudden one more lap and it was done. It was like the handling would just
switch off. We'd get really loose coming off the corners, so the car was sliding and I
wasn't able to get the throttle down to get a good run down the straightaways."
Best Radio Conversations
The rain delay made a long day even longer, but Dale Jr. was able to see the silver
lining in the afternoon during a late-race caution period.
Dale Jr: "The windshield looks like
an oil painting after all of the rain and the (stuff) off the track."
Dale Jr. and the team's car chief, Tony Eury Jr.
discussed the changes made to the car during the first half of the race.
Tony Jr: "Whatever you did during
that first run, you must have done the same during the third run. You had a good pace and
the lap times were better."
Dale Jr: "I could run hard on that
first run, but I've been real careful not to run too hard early on after the pit stops. I
can't seem to run hard early. I want to save my tires, but I'm not able to make up the
ground on those guys if I take it easy."
Tony Jr: "Well, you're doin' good,
but we haven't helped you in the pits."
Dale Jr: "Naw man, that's OK. You
made an educated guess. It sounded smart. I'm just moving around the track on every lap
just like you guys are moving and changing (the set-ups) on each pit stop. I'm just doing
things so we can stay on the lead lap and have a chance to do some stuff at the end."
Tony Jr: "I'll tell ya when you have
a good lap time"
Dale Jr: "I can tell when I have a
good lap, but I can't seem to be consistent lap-after-lap. I can't seem to get into turn
three the same each time. It's not the car, it's me. I go in too easy. I want to go in
harder, but I don't want to hit the wall like we did here a couple of years ago. In turns
one and two, if the car is decent, I'm pretty good"
Today's Stats
Started: 15th (based on points position. Bud Pole qualifying was rained out)
Finished: 16th
Points Position: 15th (no change)
Money Won: $67,185
Laps Led: --
Best Pit Stop: Lap 107 / Stop #2 of 8 / 4 tires, Fuel / 14.3 seconds
-Budweiser
Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser
Darlington Preview_8/28
Dale Jr. Quotes for Darlington
"The momentum is back on our side, and we're really working well as a team right now.
I think we all have stepped up and it's paying off. Two good runs in a row is something we
haven't had since early in the season. With the way Tony Jr. (Eury, car chief) and the
guys are working, it should stay that way the rest of the season. The points have gotten
away from us for this year, but we're going to end strong and work toward living up to the
championship expectations in 2003…
"I used to dread going to Darlington - the people at the track even gave me a trophy
for saying the surface is full of nothing but shells and garbage (it still is, by the way)
-- but we have really concentrated on making the car behave the way we want it to for more
than a few laps. Your tires lose grip just by rolling them across the pit lane, so the
challenge is to not burn 'em up on the first lap or two after a pit stop when you feel
like a superhero zooming past cars on old tires. You have to make the tires last for a
full run or you can fall so far back you have no shot to win. The spring race here (4th
place finish) was our best run ever, and we were in the hunt for the win from the start to
the finish. I think we learned a lot, and we'll apply that this weekend…"
The Numbers Say…100
Beginning in 1999 with five starts in the Budweiser No. 8, Dale Jr's Winston Cup career
reaches 100 starts this weekend at Darlington. Here's how the numbers stack up following
his first 99 races in the Dale Earnhardt Inc. entry.
|
Career |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
| Starts: |
99 |
5 |
34 |
36 |
24 |
| Wins: |
6 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
| Non-Pts. Wins: |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Top Three: |
13 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
3 |
| Top Five: |
18 |
0 |
3 |
9 |
6 |
| Top Ten: |
29 |
1 |
4 |
15 |
9 |
| Bud Pole Positions: |
5 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
| Races Led: |
40 |
1 |
10 |
16 |
15 |
| Laps Led: |
1918 |
1 |
427 |
765 |
725 |
| Career Earnings: |
$11,122,998 |
$162,095 |
$2,583,075 |
$5,827,542 |
$2,550,290 |
Winston Cup Victories:
Texas Motor Speedway, April 2, 2000
Richmond Intl. Raceway, May 6, 2000
Daytona International Speedway, July 7, 2001
Dover Downs Raceway, September 23, 2001
Talladega Superspeedway, October 21, 2001
Talladega Superspeedway, April 21, 2002
Dale Jr's six career wins place him 27th on the victories list in the "modern"
(1972-present) era of Winston Cup racing. He is the only driver to have six. (He will need
to win two more races to tie Kyle Petty, who currently has eight career victories.)
Non-Points "All-Star" Victories:
Lowe's Motor Speedway, May 20, 2000 (The Winston)
Bud Pole Positions:
Lowe's Motor Speedway, May 24, 2000
Michigan Intl. Speedway, August 18, 2000
Texas Motor Speedway, March 30, 2001
Atlanta Motor Speedway, November 16, 2001
Michigan International Speedway, August 16, 2002
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Darlington
Previous Winston Cup Starts: 5
Best Start: 10th (March, 2000)
Best Finish: 4th (March, 2002)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 18th
FIN: 17th
After struggling for several seasons at the odd-shaped Darlington track, Dale Jr. and the
team found a new set-up and successful approach for the spring race here in March. The red
Budweiser car was out in front for 10 laps late in the race on the way to a
career-best-at-Darlington finish of fourth place.
What:
Southern 500
1.366-mile 'egg' / 367 laps / 501 miles / Race #25 of 36
Where:
Darlington Raceway, Darlington, S.C.
When:
Sunday, September 1 / 1:00 p.m.
Watch:
TNT / Pre-race 12:30 pm
You can also tune in on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) on a radio or computer near
you…
Bud Pole Qualifying:
Bud Pole qualifying can be seen live at 3:00 pm Friday on TNT and heard on MRN affiliates
across the nation.
(All Times: Eastern)
-Budweiser |
