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2004 Season
2004 Sirius at the Glen
| Race Information |
| Event: Sirius at the Glen |
| Date: August 15, 2004 |
Track: Watkins Glen International |
| Started: 3rd |
Finished: 5th |
| Status: Running |
Laps Completed:
90 of 90 |
| Points
Pos. Before/After Race:
3rd/3rd |
Points
Earned: 160 (w/ 5 bonus) |
| Money
Earned: $111,708 |
Summary and Related News |
Tony Stewart wins, fifth place
for Dale Jr._8/15/04
No. 8 Budweiser Team Grabs Road Course Top-Five
Tony Stewart won Sunday's Sirius at the Glen, despite suffering from flu-like symptoms.
Road-course ace Ron Fellows, driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc. finished second after
starting last, while Mark Martin was third. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser
team gained their second consecutive top-five finish at the Watkins Glen road course,
leading one lap on the way to the team's 10th top-five finish of 2004. Dale Jr. and the
Bud team have now led laps in twelve races this year. Dale Jr. gained points on the two
drivers ahead of him, but remains third in Nextel Cup points, 128 points behind leader
Jimmie Johnson.
Key Moments: After qualifying was washed-out by rain Friday, Dale Jr.
started third (based on his points position) and remained among the top-five until making
a pit stop on lap 18. The stop dropped him to 15th at the restart, but he climbed his way
back into the top-10 in less than 10 laps. The Bud team took advantage of efficient fuel
mileage and moved through the field into third place until their second stop on lap 50.
The red Bud car took the lead on lap 60, then pulled into the pits on lap 61 for a splash
of fuel. The quick pit work sent him back on course in seventh, and Junior was able to
gain two positions by the finish of the 90-lap race.
Dale Jr. Quotes: “I owe this finish to my team - Tony (Eury) Jr. and
Tony (Eury) Sr. - those guys gave me a good car and they made great calls on the pit
stops. Our strategy was perfect and I need to thank the Bud crew for all of their work and
all of their help. Y'all were awesome. The car was OK - not great, not bad. It actually
started off as a good car but we lost our way somewhere there in the middle of the race. I
asked for a little more than I could handle on adjustments, and the car got away from us a
little and we got behind eight ball. We worked hard. We just tried to dig and keep what we
could keep and do what we could do. We gained some ground on the guys ahead of us in the
points, so it was a good day.”
“I'm happy for Ron (Fellows, DEI teammate). He's a legend in road racing, and a great
guy. You know, I owe a lot to him and Boris Said and Andy Pilgrim for helping me with my
road racing skills in the last four or five years. They're all great guys and it's a
privilege to know 'em. I guess I was more proud of last year's finish here (a third-place
after leading 11 laps) than my run today, but I'll take it. I have a lot more to learn
though. I watched Ron go past me late in the race and I said 'why can't I get my car to do
that too?' He really can get around this place.”
Best Radio Chatter:
Dale Jr. restarted the race behind points leader Jimmie Johnson on lap 8, and nearly
crashed into the back of Johnson's car on the front stretch. The incident would eventually
lead to Johnson's withdrawal from the race with transmission troubles.
Dale Jr: “Whoa man. Jimmie must have gone from first (gear) to
second and then back to first instead of third there. I almost got into him.”
The middle laps of the race found an impatient and hard-charging Dale Jr. held back by
another young driver.
Dale Jr: “I'm not puttin' up with that boy's (stuff) today! He does
that every time I try to pass. He just cuts me off! I'm tryin' hard not to turn him
around, but I'm tellin' ya I may have to soon if he doesn't stop.”
Tony Eury Jr. (car chief): “Just cool down a bit. Just hit your
marks and you'll be OK. He was slowing you down by a second a lap there, so just run your
race and we'll just worry about ourselves here.”
Before the final restart of the race:
Tony Jr.: “OK, Hot Rod. There'll be 15 laps to go when we go green.
Keep doin' what you're doin - you're doin' great.”
A few laps later as Dale Jr. climbs to fifth position:
Tony Jr: “You're doin' good. 11 to go. Keep doin' what you're
doin.”
Dale Jr.: (trying to concentrate) “OK! Keep quiet!”
Today's Stats
Started: 3rd (based on Nextel Cup points)
Finished: 5th (second career road-course top-five for Dale Jr.)
Points: 3rd (-128 to the leader)
Laps Led: 1 lap (lap 60)
Best Pit Stop: Pit stop number two of three / four tires and fuel / 14.48 seconds
-Budweiser
Budweiser Race Preview: Watkins Glen_8/9/04
Dale Earnhardt Jr, driver, No. 8 Budweiser team:
“Until this race last year, we really hadn't proven to ourselves - or to anyone else
for that matter - that we could run road courses real well. We were kind of just floating
in the wind in those races, so it was a part of our program we really tried to step up our
game, and it paid off with a third-place finish (in the 2003 Sirius At The Glen). Being
out front last year (leading 11 laps) was one of the coolest times I've had in a race car.
When you're in a car that's that good and you're out front, man, it's like you own the
place. It's a hell of a lot better than feeling like the place owns you.”
On the status of his injuries:
“I felt good, physically, in the race car at Indianapolis (Dale Jr. completed his
first full race Sunday in the Brickyard 400 since suffering burns in a sports-car accident
on July 18). I still have some open wounds on my legs that haven't healed yet, but they
didn't give me any problems. The burns might've hurt a little, but the adrenaline was
pumping, and I was driving my guts out trying to get us a good finish. Hopefully another
week of treating the wounds, cleaning them and dressing them will get me closer to being
100 percent again. I'm ready for this to be over with.”
Dale Jr. and the Bud team at Watkins Glen:
Previous Nextel Cup Starts: 4
Best Start: 6th (2003)
Best Finish: 3rd (2003)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 6th / FIN: 3rd / LED: 11 laps
Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team turned the corner at Watkins Glen last season,
finishing third at a track it had previously averaged finishes of 29th. The Brew Crew led
11 laps in the 2003 Watkins Glen race and cruised to its best-ever finish on a road
course.
With five races to go before the “Chase for the Championship” begins, Dale Jr.
is in third place in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series point standings (-240 behind leader
Jimmie Johnson and -142 behind Jeff Gordon) after a 27th-place finish at Indianapolis.
Dale Jr. was in sixth place with one lap to go before a blown tire sent him plummeting to
his finishing spot.
On the season the Budweiser team has three wins, nine top-fives and 12 top-10s.
SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE: Who does Dale Jr. think are the world's most irresistible women? His
answers may surprise you. Driver 8 offers up his short list of personal favorites on
“Spike's 52 Most Irresistible Women” this Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on Spike-TV.
Race Details:
Sirius At The Glen
Watkins Glen International Speedway / Watkins Glen, N.Y.
2.45-mile road course / 90 laps / 220.5 miles
Sunday, Aug. 15, 2004
TV: TNT, 2 p.m. ET start. (Pre-race begins at 1:30 p.m.)
Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN) and XM Satellite Radio, 2 p.m.
Bud Pole Qualifying: Friday, Aug. 13 / 3:10 p.m. ET (live on TNT)
-Budweiser |
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