Engine Change Doesn't Slow Dale Earnhardt Jr.

[PressRoom-GFN]

By Deb Williams

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2008) – After nearly a two-year absence from victory lane in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, Dale Earnhardt Jr. now stands two-for-two heading into Sunday's Daytona 500.

Earnhardt Jr. led three times for 25 laps, including the final nine, in Thursday's first Gatorade Duel to claim his second victory in six days at Daytona International Speedway. He won the Budweiser Shootout Saturday night. No one has ever completed the Budweiser Shootout, Gatorade Duel, Daytona 500 victory sweep.

“It was fun. I'm real proud of my team,” Earnhardt Jr. said after claiming his 0.146-second victory over Reed Sorenson. “The setup was good. We started the race a little loose. We were up there on top, sliding around a little bit. The cars are pretty much a handful after about 25 laps, but that makes for good TV, I think.

“We got a little bit too far on an adjustment, but the car was better. I can't remember everything that was going on at the end. So many position changes we were having to make, being forced to make.

“We got up to about the bottom trying to take the lead, got shuffled back to about eighth, got to the top, got back to third. Tried to lay back a little bit, get a run. Got a run put together that made it happen. We got underneath the 12 [Ryan Newman]. I don't know if I forced him into lifting or whether we just cleared him or not, but we were able to get by him, and then I tried to keep the lead for the rest of the race.”

For Earnhardt Jr., the 150-mile race on the 2.5-mile track certainly wasn't status quo. All three Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets had to change engines prior to the event, sending them to the back for the start. A.J. Allmendinger also had to go to the rear due to an engine change in his Red Bull Toyota. The misfortune of those four drivers was Newman's good fortune. Newman's Alltel Dodge was slotted ninth, but with those four drivers moving to the rear, the Indiana native slid into the No. 1 starting position. Also having to move to the rear due to engine changes were Clint Bowyer, Scott Riggs and J.J. Yeley.

“We had a little problem yesterday [Wednesday] and they [engine guys] worked overnight to really get us the package that was durable and also competitive,” said Earnhardt Jr., who averaged 160.81 mph in claiming his third qualifying race victory.

Joe Nemechek, who started on the outside of the front row, exchanged the lead with Newman for the first 10 laps. Nemechek led the first two circuits, then Newman took over for the next six. Nemechek regained the lead on lap 9 and held it for three circuits, the last time he would lead in the event.

Kurt Busch, meanwhile, had moved into position in the low groove behind Newman to draft with his Penske teammate. However, after only nine laps, Busch experienced problems in his Miller Lite Dodge and went to the garage. That forced Busch to take the past champion's provisional to gain entrance into the Daytona 500 field. He will start 43rd on Sunday's grid.

“It’s too early to diagnose the problem,” Busch said. “I think we might have had something electrical underneath the dash, because there is a bunch of wires burned up.”

Busch's early departure from the first Gatorade Duel meant that former champions Dale Jarrett and Bill Elliott had to race their way into the Daytona 500 starting field.

Meanwhile, Earnhardt Jr. was threading his way through the field. It took him 18 laps in the 60-lap event to maneuver from last to first.

Throughout the rest of the race that was slowed by two caution flags for five laps, five drivers exchanged the lead nine times. The majority of the lead-lap cars pitted for four tires and fuel on lap 36, and when the tires were checked, Newman's were the only ones that didn't show a problem.

“I was worried about the tires, but they held up for us,” said Newman, who led four times for 13 laps. “We’re still wondering if we can make it a full fuel run, but we’re happy with the way the car handled. We have a little vibration in the car that we need to work out. It’s just nice to have some laps and get the car really fine tuned for the (Daytona) 500. I’m pretty happy with the car. We can make it better and we’ll do that. We’ll just keep working on it.

“I’m hoping the tire life gets better, because it’s not any fun having a tire that’s questionable.”

The race's final caution flag with only five laps remaining occurred when Elliott Sadler's Best Buy Dodge cut a right-front tire and scrapped the wall. That set up a two-lap shootout, with Earnhardt Jr. holding on for his second win of Speedweeks. Sorenson finished second in his Target Dodge, while Newman placed third. Rounding out the top five were Casey Mears and Carl Edwards, respectively.

“The track was quite a bit slicker today than it was on Saturday for the (Budweiser) Shootout,” Sorenson said. “I think it's going to be hotter on Sunday, so that means it will even be worse. Tire management, I think, is going to be the biggest thing for the 500. The car is pretty good. It seems to be balanced well. It just gets really slick after about 20 laps.”

Brian Vickers managed to race his Red Bull Toyota into the 50th Daytona 500 despite causing the first caution period with a spin on the backstretch on lap 3 and then an unscheduled stop on lap 30 with a right-rear tire problem. His teammate, however, wasn't as fortunate. Allmendinger will miss the Daytona 500.

“This pretty much sucks,” an extremely disappointed Allmendinger said. “This is as bad as it gets. It'll take a weekend to get over it.”

Also missing this year's Daytona 500 are Elliott, Sterling Marlin, Boris Said, and Carl Long. Elliott's failure to make the Daytona 500 starting field marks the first time the Wood Brothers' haven't fielded an entry in the “Great American Race”. The Stuart, Va., family had fielded a car in 47 of the previous 49 Daytona 500s. Previously, the only two times they didn't have a car in the Daytona 500 were 1960 and 1962 when the team didn't send a car to The Beach to attempt to qualify for the race.

Long, who completed 59 laps in the qualifying race, was moved to the 27th finishing position after failing post-race inspection.

In addition to Vickers, Kenny Wallace was the other driver to transfer into the Daytona 500 field from the qualifying race. It's the first time Wallace has made the race's grid since 2005.

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