<DJC> 2004 Race Report

Race Information
Event: MBNA America 400
Date: September 26, 2004	Track: Dover Int'l Speedway
Started: 16th	Finished: 9th
Status: Running	Laps Completed: 399 of 400
Points Pos. Before/After Race: 1st/3rd	Points Earned: 143 (w/ 5 bonus)
Money Earned: $113,293
Summary and Related News
Budweiser team ninth at Dover, Newman wins_9/26/04 Dale Jr. Third Place in Points Ryan Newman won Sunday's MBNA 400 at Dover International Speedway, dominating the afternoon by leading 325 of 400 laps. Mark Martin was second, followed by Jeff Gordon in third place. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team spent much of the day in the top-10, but struggled near the end of the race to finish ninth, one lap behind Newman. It is the 17th top-10 finish of the season for Dale Jr. The finish, combined with five bonus points for leading a lap, places Dale Jr. third in the Nextel Chase for the Cup after two of ten races. Earnhardt Jr. trails leader Gordon by 18 points and Kurt Busch by 17 points heading into next week's race at Talladega. The Bud team has finished either first or second place in the last six Talladega Cup races. Key Moments: Starting 16th, Dale Jr. made a gradual climb into the top-10, taking advantage of several lightning-quick pit stops. After a red-flag on lap 122, the team made a third strong stop, gaining five positions into fifth place at the restart. The top-five run continued until a stop on lap 264. Despite making very small changes to tire pressure, the red No. 8 began to exhibit less-than-friendly characteristics in the last 130 laps. The team managed to stay on the lead lap until lap 392. Dale Jr. Quotes: We had a really good racecar today, and it just went to junk on the last two sets of tires. We made no other changes, and it just became a totally different car. Usually if the car starts off loose (on new tires), it will gradually tighten up as the air pressures change. But, at the end, there were no moments where it was even close to handling the way it had been during the first half of the race. It was runnin' good, and then it was so rough, with the way we sit in these seats, it almost beat the armpits offa me. Ninth? We finished ninth? Well, I'll take that. It keeps us close in the chase and I think it's going to take a steady run of top-10s and top-fives to win this thing. It was a frustrating way to finish the day, but we'll be OK. Best Radio Chatter: Before the race began: Dale Jr.: (to spotter Steve Hmeil, whose son Shane won his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Saturday night) Hey, congratulations on your boy winning. Steve Hmeil: Thank you. I thought he was gonna be third but he really came up through there and won it! During the red flag period: Dale Jr.: Tony (Eury) Jr., you must have metal in your head because I can never hear you on the radio. I only hear about half of what you say. (complaining about the brakes on the car) The boys who did these brakes, we need to send them back to school. (The team then attached Tony Jr's radio to a long antenna and lifted it high into the air.) Tony Eury Jr: OK, ya gotta copy now? I've got a 12-foot antenna next to me. Dale Jr: Yeah, I got a copy for now. As the race entered the final 50 laps, and lapped traffic became an issue: Hmeil: OK, the 41 (Casey Mears) says he's just going to ride around behind ya. He's a few laps back and he won't give you any trouble. Dale Jr.: Sweet! Today's Stats Started: 16th Finished: 9th (-1 lap) Led: One time for 1 lap (Lap 263) Points: 3rd (18 points behind leader) Best Pit Stop: Stop #2 of 6 / Lap 49 / four tires and fuel / 12.47 seconds -Budweiser Budweiser Race Preview: Dover_9/20/04 Dale Earnhardt Jr. - driver, No. 8 Budweiser team: “It’s kind of nice to be leading the points again, even though I’d prefer to be up there by myself (Dale Jr. is tied with Kurt Busch for the lead with 5,210 points). Seriously, to lead the points this early in the “Chase” probably doesn’t mean that much, because we still have a long way to go, but it sure beats the hell out of being anywhere else in the standings. I was real proud of my team at New Hampshire. The Eury’s did a great job, and I think we can make a serious run for this championship.” On whether the racing is more intense in these final 10 races: “For me mentally, it’s more intense, because what we’ve worked so hard for is within our grasp if we can just put together a better string of races than nine other guys. Sunday was a good start. This weekend at Dover will be a whole new ball game. We’ve got to run good. We weren’t very good there last time, but somehow we avoided all the wrecks and finished third. We tested there last week, and it went pretty well. “I had this amazing determination and drive at the start of the year. I was just focused and we were getting the results and the finishes and we were leading the points. Then we went to Pocono and places like that. Those places really drain the determination and drive right out of you. But we got though the summer and then went back to Bristol and won that race. We had such a good weekend winning the Busch race and then the Cup race, it was instantly a huge jump in confidence. We went to California and I expected us to run poorly there. But right in the middle of the race we found something to help the car. That helps. I haven't forgotten about that. Our run at Richmond was inspirational to the team and to everyone that we're trying hard. I've gotten that drive back - that fire that I had at the start of the year that I've definitely going to have to have to win the championship. It's there when it's fun and when I get along with the people I'm working with. When things are good that's how it happens. I think we're in a streak where we're going to finish this season out pretty spectacularly and hopefully with the championship. I really feel like we can win it." Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Dover: Previous Nextel Cup Starts: 9 Best Start: 2nd (Sept., 2003) Best Finish: 1st (Sept., 2001) This Race, Last Year: ST: 2nd / FIN: 37th / Led 48 laps -- Dale Jr. is the points leader (tied with Kurt Busch, but tops Busch via the tie-breaker with more victories) for the first time since mid-June after scoring a third-place finish in the first of 10 races in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup Championship. It was Dale Jr.’s 10th top-three, 13th top-five, and 16th top-10 of the season, and sent him from third to first place. Dale Jr. has now been atop the standings 10 of the 27 weeks of the 2004 campaign (more than any other driver). -- The Bud team has three top-three finishes in nine starts at Dover, including a win in 2001 and a third-place finish earlier this season. Dale Jr.’s 2001 victory came after leading nearly half the laps of the 400-lap race. Dover International Speedway is one of four “Chase” tracks where Dale Jr. has recorded at least one victory. -- Dale Jr. has six top-six finishes in his last nine races at one-mile tracks. -- The Bud team will use chassis #028 for the MBNA America 400, the chassis that finished 10th at Darlington and third in the June Dover race. The Bud crew tested this car last week during a one-day test session at Dover with positive results. They also tested a brand new chassis, which will serve as a back-up car this weekend. SPEAKING OF TESTING: Following Sunday’s race at Dover, the Bud team will head to Kansas Speedway for two days test sessions. Race Details: MBNA America 400 Dover International Speedway / Dover, Del. 1-mile oval / 400 laps / 400 miles Sun., Sept. 26, 2004 TV: TNT, 1 p.m. ET (pre-race begins at 12:30 p.m.) Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN), XM Radio. Bud Pole Qualifying: Friday, 3 p.m. ET (televised live on TNT) -Budweiser