Newman wins Richmond, Dale Jr.
17th_9/6/03
 No. 8 Budweiser Team Leads 76 Laps, Punctured Tire Foils Bid
for Victory
Ryan Newman won Saturday night’s action-packed Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond
International Raceway. Jeremy Mayfield was second while Ricky Rudd was third. Dale
Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team were among the top three cars for almost the
entire race, until a punctured right front tire forced the team to make an unscheduled pit
stop on lap 355 (of 400) while running in third position. Dale Jr. led the race three
times for 76 laps, including an exciting side-by-side duel with Jeff Gordon for the lead
for nearly 30 laps. Dale Jr. remains in second place in the NASCAR Winston Cup point
standings. 
The Key Moments: Starting 13th, Dale Jr.
was into the top-10 by lap three, and then steadily climbed through the field, taking the
lead on lap 164. The No. 8 car, carrying a special paint scheme in honor of
Budweiser’s “True Music” program and the Chevrolet Rock-and Roll race
theme, was among the top-five positions for the next 190 laps. On lap 318, Dale Jr. ran
over a piece of debris in turn two with the right front tire. At the time, the tire did
not deflate, so the team opted to remain on the track in second place during the next
yellow flag period on lap 320. But, the damage was done, and Dale Jr. reported the right
front tire going flat on lap 354. After the unscheduled pit stop, the No. 8 team dropped
to 23rd position, and were able to move to 17th by the conclusion of the race.
Dale Jr, Quotes: “It’s really, really disappointing to have
such a fast car and then finish 17th. Almost from the start of the race, I had some sort
of vibration in the brakes. I really couldn’t drive the car hard because the
vibration would just make the front tires skip across the track. We were still fast, but I
didn’t want to push the car hard if I didn’t know how it would respond. This has
always been one of the tracks where we’ve had great finishes, but I guess we came up
about 50 laps short tonight. Because I wasn’t really able to push it, we had a lot of
car left for them at the end, and I think we would have been good in the long run.
“I hit some debris on the track in turn two (on lap 318). I wasn’t sure if the
right front tire was going flat, but we decided to stay out and not pit because it looked
it was going to stay up. It guess it took another 30 laps of racing for the tire to
actually go flat. Then, I had no chance to hang on and we had to pit. It’s
unfortunate, but I’m glad I had a great car to drive. It just makes it harder to
accept finishing where we did.”
Best Radio Conversations:
Despite being among the fastest cars, Dale Jr. was not as pleased with the set of
tires he received on the first pit stop.
Dale Jr: “I don’t like these tires as much as the first
set.”
Tony Jr: “Sherm (tire specialist Shawn Nettleton) said it may be an
old set of tires.”
Dale Jr: “Darn you, Sherm. OK, everybody point at Sherm and
laugh…”
Tony Jr: “It’s alright. We already did…”
After hitting debris on lap 318.
Dale Jr: “Get ready guys, I have a flat right front!… I hit
some debris in turn two…”
Ty Norris (spotter): “NASCAR is saying there is some debris there,
They may throw a caution.”
Dale Jr: “Yeah there’s debris there! I hit it! I ran over it!
Tell me if it looks like it’s going flat… Tell NASCAR I hit it!”
The caution flag did come out on lap 320.
Dale Jr: “Did anybody see what the debris was? Could it have caused
a flat.”
Norris: “We can’t see it from here.”
Dale Jr: “Somebody check it out. It looked like a piece of square
tubing…” Tony Jr: “NASCAR says it was fiberglass…You’ll have to
do what you can. We can make it on fuel.”
Norris: “From where I’m at, the tire looks the same as it has
all night, It looks fine.”
On lap 354…
Dale Jr: “Flat tire! I’m comin’ in!”
Today’s Stats:
Started: 13th
Finished: 17th (-1 lap)
Points: 2nd place (no change)
Best Pit Stop: Stop number 3 of 5 / Lap 196 / Four tires and fuel / 13.73 seconds
Special Awards: MBNA Mid-Race Leader Award ($10,000)
Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap Award ($5,000) / Lap 209 / 124.367 mph
-Budweiser
Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Preview_9/1/03
Dale Jr. Quotes for Richmond:
“This is a weekend I always look forward to. It seems like we’re always at the
front or near the front every time we come to Richmond. Last year, even when we had a flat
tire and dropped two laps behind, we were able to make up the laps and finish fourth.
We’re running a special paint scheme with the band ‘Staind.’ It’s a
part of Budweiser’s ‘True Music’ program and Chevy’s rock & roll
theme, so maybe we can put a special paint scheme into Victory Lane like we did with the
Major League Baseball car at Daytona (in July, 2001). If any team knows about rock &
roll and goin’ racing at night, it’s us.”
“I’ve had good cars all season, good-driving cars, and the credit goes to the
crew. I had a great car at Darlington, and it makes my job easier. When a car isn’t
right, it’s a ton of work just to muscle it around the track lap-after-lap. But, if
it’s right on, it’s much easier on the driver. I don’t have any intention
of dropping two laps down like we did last year, but we’ve proven we can come back to
have a good finish.”
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser Team at Richmond:
Previous Starts: 8
Best Start: 2nd (May 2002)
Best Finish: 1st (May 2000)
This Event, Last Year: ST: 34th / Fin: 4th
*Dale Jr. finished third in the previous race at Richmond in May.
*Dale Jr. has eight top-five finishes in the last 12 Winston Cup short track races (tracks
of less-than one-mile in length), the best record of any driver in that time frame. He
also recorded an additional top-10 finish (ninth) in the most recent short track race at
Bristol last month.
* In eight career starts at Richmond in the Winston Cup series, Dale Jr. has six top-10
finishes, more than any other driver in the same time frame. He has finished worse than
13th only once at this track.
*Dale Jr. drove to his second Winston Cup victory in only his 16th career start at
Richmond in May 2000. He shares the record with Davey Allison and Jimmie Johnson for
‘quickest multiple victories’ in Winston Cup history.
*In his fourth career start, Dale Jr. scored his first career Winston Cup top-10 finish at
Richmond in 1999 (10th place).
*In the NASCAR Busch Series, Dale Jr. recorded three Richmond victories, all in the fall
race. He won in September 1998, 1999 and 2002.
Race Details:
Chevrolet Rock & Roll 400
Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Va.
.75-mile D-shaped oval / 400 laps / 300 miles
Saturday, Sept. 6 / 7:30 pm / Eastern
Winston Cup Race # 26 (of 36)
TV: TNT-TV 7:00 pm pre-race
Bud Pole Qualifying: Bud Pole Qualifying takes place Friday at 3:00 pm.
You can see it live on TNT. You can also hear the race and Bud Pole qualifying live on MRN
radio (a station near you) or XM Radio.
-Budweiser |
