Newman wins Dover, Dale Jr. 11th_6/1/03
 No. 8 Budweiser Team Fights Forward From Back of the Field
Ryan Newman held off Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte in a six-lap green-flag dash to the
finish of today’s Dover 400. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team were
forced to start from the back of the 43-car field after a crash during a Saturday morning
practice session, but led the race late in the afternoon, ending the day in 11th position.
The finishing position allows Dale Jr. to remain in second place in the NASCAR Winston Cup
point standings, 171 points behind leader Matt Kenseth, who finished seventh today.
The Key Moments: The No. 8 Budweiser team qualified 12th in Friday’s
Bud Pole qualifying session, but a crash during practice on Saturday morning sent the team
to the back of the 43-car starting field for the start of the race. The back-up car was
the same chassis that raced last weekend in Charlotte, and Dale Jr. started today’s
race with no practice laps on the back-up car at Dover. A multi-car crash on the first lap
almost cost the team heavily, but despite being knocked into the wall by another car, Dale
Jr. was able to avoid heavy damage. The team made a pit stop on lap three to make a slight
repair to the nose of the Bud car. From that point onward, it was a steady, gradual climb
through the field. The team stayed on the lead lap throughout the day, finally climbing
into the top-10 on lap 283 (of 400), and then taking the lead for two laps before the team
made their final pit stop on lap 366. Dale Jr. started eighth on the final restart on lap
394, but lost several positions on the final lap to cars with four fresh tires.
Dale Jr’s Quotes: “It’s hard to come from the back like
that, but we were able to stay on the lead lap, and work our way up. Since we hadn’t
turned a lap with this chassis before the race started, I think the guys did a great job
of getting the back-up ready to race. We got better as the race went on, but I was
frustrated on that last yellow flag. With the single-file re-start, the guys right behind
us had fresh tires and we weren’t able to hold them off. The car was really good on
long runs – we turned our best laps of the day in the final 100 laps, but we
didn’t have enough there in that last sprint to hold our position. I was really proud
of the team today – we did a lot of great things, but I was disappointed that we
didn’t end up with a top-10. We did lead a couple of laps to get the five bonus
points, but you have to claw and fight for every position every week to stay in the hunt
for the title.”
Best Radio Conversations
When the race began with a multi-car crash, Dale Jr. was able to avoid serious damage.
The yellow-flag for the crash was extended when rain fell for a short time, allowing Dale
Jr. and the team to reminisce about past events…
Dale Jr: “How many times have we had to start with a back-up
car?”
Tony Eury Jr (car chief): “Five? Richmond… Pocono…
California… and then Milwaukee and Darlington in the Busch Series. We’ve always
done pretty well when we did that… We would have won that Darlington race if they
hadn’t moved the finish line on us… (laughs)”
Dale Jr: “Oh, yeah. We should have won that Darlington race (in
Sept. 1998). I was a little less aggressive in those days, not yet the steamroller that I
am today… We shoulda won that… How about our first trip to Daytona, where I
didn’t have the sense to leave the pits hard so the car would get up to speed for the
qualifying lap?! I just eased it on out there and your dad (Tony Eury, crew chief) was
yellin’ ‘what’s he doin?!?’ heh heh I just thought that car would get
up to speed a lot sooner.”
As the race neared an end, Dale Jr. continued to pick up positions, often running laps
faster than the leader. On lap 318, he asked for some feedback from his crew…
Dale Jr: “Talk to me Tony Jr.! Tell me something!”
Tony Jr: “Just keep doing what you’re doing. No more, no less.
You’re doing great. You are faster than anybody but the 20 car (Tony Stewart).”
Dale Jr: (sounding surprised, then speaking as if his opinion of his car
had changed) “oh… well then, it’s just a lil’ bit tight… is
anybody else backing up to me?”
Tony Jr: “Yeah – keep goin’… the 5 (Terry Labonte)
and the 32 (Ricky Craven) are right there in front of you…”
Dale Jr: “OK then, I guess it’s not driving too bad
then…”
Today’s Stats
Started: 12th (*Dale Jr. qualified 12th, but started the race at the back of the
field after starting in a back-up car following a Saturday morning crash.)
Finished: 11th
Laps Led: 2 laps (The team now has 60 bonus points this season, more than any other)
Points Position: 2nd (-171 pts. to leader)
Best Pit Stop: Lap 366 / Stop #8 of 8 / Fuel, four tires / 14.04 seconds
Want music? Films? Fun? Budweiser? Get it all at www.Budweiser.com. OK- you need to see
your local retailer about the Bud, but with the wedding season heatin’ up, you must
check out the hilarious short film “The Best Man.” It’s ONLY at
www.Budweiser.com. True.
-Budweiser
The Bud crew inspects Earnhardt's car which he crashed
during practice Saturday, May 31, 2003, at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. (AP
Photo/Pat Crowe II)
Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser MBNA 400 Preview_5/26/03
Dale Jr. Quotes for Dover
“I can’t help thinking about winning that race at Dover right after 9/11 –
it was just an unbelievable time for everyone in the country and the world. For us to be
lucky enough to be the team that won that race was pretty special. I don’t think it
mattered what team won that day, just running that race was the important thing. It made
me feel good that our sport could provide such a positive experience for America. It was a
huge feeling of relief and pride and excitement. I think it was a day that taught me a lot
about how critical it is to so many people that they can sit down every Sunday at the
track or on their couch and be entertained by what we do.”
“Dover has been a mixed bag for us. We either seem to be really, really awesome, or
really, really awful. We’ve led a lot of laps but we’ve also stunk up the joint
a few times. Sometimes we’ve even done both in the same afternoon, and that can be
really embarrassing or humiliating – whatever you want to call it. The set-up you
need there is so tricky – the car can go from fast to slow in a matter of a few laps.
We dropped to last place in the first few laps of this race last year, but once we worked
on the car, we were unstoppable – I think we got as high as fifth place. But, then we
dropped back just as fast as we had moved forward. It was awful, then great, then awful. I
am encouraged for this weekend because we have shown that we are much more consistent as a
team this year than in the past. We’ve been making the right choices throughout the
race to be able to run near the front all afternoon, so I don’t expect to do the
yo-yo up and down the scoreboard.”
“We lost some points to Matt (Kenseth, Winston Cup points leader) at the 600, but we
are not going to hang our heads and cry about it. We’re still thinking everyday about
the bigger picture of winning the championship at the end of 36 races. We’re only a
third of the way there, so we know we can’t let up for a second.”
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Dover
Previous Winston Cup Starts: 6
Best Start: 3rd (Sept., 2002 and June, 2001)
Best Finish: 1st (Sept., 2001)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 30 FIN: 30
--- The most memorable moment at Dover for the No. 8 Budweiser team was their emotional
victory in September, 2001. It was the first Winston Cup race following the 9/11 attacks,
and photographs of Dale Jr’s reverse victory lap while carrying a huge American flag
were seen around the world.
--- In six career starts at Dover, Dale Jr. has led 315 laps at Dover.
What:
MBNA 400
400 laps / 400 miles / Race #13 of 36-race Winston Cup Series
Where:
Dover Downs Speedway
1-mile concrete oval
When:
Sunday, June 1 / 1:00 p.m.
Watch:
Fox-TV (pre-race: 12:30 pm)
Bud Pole Qualifying:
Bud Pole qualifying can be seen live Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. on Speed Channel. You
can also hear qualifying and race action on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) on a radio
station or computer near you. The radio programming is also heard on the 24-hour NASCAR
channel on XM Radio. (All Times: Eastern)
-Budweiser
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