<DJC> 2004 Race Report

Race Information
Event: UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
Date: March 7, 2004	Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Started: 26th	Finished: 35th
Status: Out of Race (Handling)	Laps Completed: 196 of 267
Points Pos. Before/After Race: 1st/7th	Points Earned: 58 (w/ 0 bonus)
Money Earned: $111,978
Summary and Related News
No. 8 Budweiser team struggles at Las Vegas_3/7/04 Dale Jr. finishes 35th, falls to seventh in point standings LAS VEGAS, Nev. (March 7, 2004) – Defending NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth held off rookie Kasey Kahne for the second week in a row to win Sunday’s UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Kenseth, the defending race winner, led 123 of the 267 laps and beat Kahne by 3.4 seconds. Tony Stewart finished third. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team started the day in the race, but ended it as a test session. With an ill-handling car that was nearly one second per lap off the pace, the Bud team was forced to pit road and eventually the garage for drastic changes to the car. The frustrating day sent Dale Jr. home in 35th place, and it dropped him from first to seventh in the point standings (125 points behind leader Kenseth). The Key Moments: Starting in 26th position, Dale Jr. climbed to 24th but no further. The red No. 8 fell a lap down to Kahne on lap 24, which prompted a handful of unscheduled pit stops and major chassis adjustments to help remedy the problems. The Bud team made pit stops on laps 27, 39 and 81 before surrendering to the garage for the first time on lap 106 to change the front sway bar, four shocks and four springs. Ensuing garage visits brought more of the same types of changes, and the Bud team finished 71 laps behind the leader. Dale Jr. Quotes: “Yeah, it's really disappointing. We were about a second off the pace, no matter what we did. I know it's going to be a black Monday at the shop, but I also know we're going to do an awful lot of laps in testing this week at Kentucky (Speedway) to figure out what was wrong. “We've always been good at Atlanta, so we should be OK. I mean, we started last year with two finishes like this and came back strong the rest of the year. Yeah, we should have tested here, but it's too late now. I know we're going to do what we can to figure out what we need to do to correct whatever was wrong.” Best Radio Conversations: Not even 20 laps into the event, Dale Jr. already sensed problems with his race car: Dale Jr.: “I’m really, really, really, really, really loose in, and I’m really, really, really loose off. It just slides in the middle. No grip.” A green-flag pit stop on lap 81 included more changes to the track bar, but as Dale Jr. made evident, it did little to improving the handle of the race car: Tony Jr.: “What’s it doing now?” Dale Jr.: “Wreckin’.” Following the first trip to the garage, Dale Jr. returned to the track to find the same problems as before: Tony Jr.: “How’s that?” Dale Jr.: “Nothing different.” Tony Jr.: “Still wrecking going in?” Dale Jr.: “I’m not wrecking right now, but I’m close. I’m too slow to tell.” Tony Jr.: “It’s just slow?” Dale Jr.: “Yep, I guess we need to be handling better to go faster.” Today’s Stats Started: 26th Finished: 35th Points: 7th place (dropped 6 positions) Money: $111,978 Best Pit Stop: Stop 2 / lap 39 / four tires & fuel / 13.18 seconds Anheuser-Busch’s 12 U.S.-based breweries and network of more than 700 wholesalers reduce delivery time and ensure that fresh beer is in retail accounts shortly after packaging. As it reads on every beer package, Anheuser-Busch beers including Budweiser are at their peak of freshness and taste within 110 days from their “Born On” date. -Budweiser Budweiser Race Preview: Las Vegas_3/1/04 (Monday, March 1, 2004) – The freshness of an off-weekend is plenty reason for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser Race Team to smile, but not the only reason. Besides being the only driver to record top-five finishes in the first two NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races and maintaining a slim lead in the championship point standings, Junior has broken into a fraternity that he’s sure to never leave. It’s the fraternity of gas grill owners. “I never knew how good steaks taste when you cook ’em on a gas grill,” Dale Jr. said. “My George Foreman grill got rained on at Daytona, so I cooked my steak on Michael (Waltrip’s) gas grill, and it was the best steak I ever had. I don’t mean to knock George Foreman because I’ve always liked him as a boxer, but last week at Rockingham I went out and bought me a grill like Michael’s.” With his new gas grill in tow, Dale Jr. heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he finished second to Matt Kenseth last year. Dale Jr. has led laps in each of his four races at Las Vegas. Only Mark Martin, who has raced in all six events at the 1.5-mile track, has led more. Dale Jr. on Las Vegas: “Man, the off week was cool, but I’ve already gotten the itch to get back to the track and go racin’ again. We did a few media deals last Monday, and I pretty much had the rest of the week to chill out with my friends. It was cool finishing as well as we did at Rockingham, because it sets the mood you’re gonna be in for the next couple of days. It feels good to get that race out of the way and go to a place where we’ve had some success at.” Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Las Vegas Previous Nextel Cup Starts: 4 Best Start: 3rd (2000) Best Finish: 2nd (2003) This Race, Last Year: ST: 4th / FIN: 2nd / LED: 97 laps Race Details: UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, NV 1.5-mile tri-oval, 267 laps, 400 miles Sunday, March 7, 2004 Posted Awards: $5,980,118 TV: Fox-TV, 2:30 p.m. ET (pre-race) / 3 p.m. ET race start. Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN), XM Radio. Bud Pole Qualifying: Speed Channel / Friday, 3:10 p.m. ET. LAS VEGAS TIDBITS: If Dale Jr. wins the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 this Sunday, he’ll receive an additional $30,000 as part of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup leader bonus. “DON’T LISTEN TO ME!”: The Bud Crew claimed first place in the McDonald’s Drive-Thru Pit Championship last week at North Carolina Motor Speedway, but its biggest achievement may have come in the form of a communication breakthrough with its driver. “No matter what, and I mean no matter what, don’t let me talk you into pitting (under green),” Dale Jr. said to car chief Tony Eury Jr. during the first caution of the Subway 400. “That’s bitten us every time here. I’m gonna gripe, cry and complain about wanting to pit, but don’t listen to me.” QUOTEABLE: Cincinnati Reds centerfielder Ken Griffey Jr., when asked about the magnitude of the New York Yankees’ signing of baseball star Alex Rodriguez: “I don’t care what you say, the A-Rod signing wasn’t as big as Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning at Daytona.” -- www.cincinnatireds.com Anheuser-Busch’s 12 U.S.-based breweries and network of more than 700 wholesalers reduce delivery time and ensure that fresh beer is in retail accounts shortly after packaging. As it reads on every beer package, Anheuser-Busch beers including Budweiser are at their peak of freshness and taste within 110 days from their “Born On” date. -Budweiser