Food City 500 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. Notes

Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Race Preview

Dale Jr. Quotes for Bristol
“We were really awesome there (Bristol) last year. We had two top-fives and led for a big chunk of both races. This is a great track that’s fun for the drivers and the fans, but it’s also one of those places where you can’t let up for a second. We had some strong runs the first couple of years in Winston Cup, but it seemed like something would happen in the last 50 laps and we’d have a terrible finish. You work hard all day… scrapping all day long for 450 laps and then it can fall apart. I think that made us realize last year that we had to prepare for a marathon, a prize fight that lasts 15 rounds, and it paid off with some really good finishes. It’s so fast and so small, you have to be ready for about anything and try to bring the car home in one piece instead of behind a wrecker.

“The last three weeks have been great, but I think we’ve been a top team from the first day of testing this year. Well, even before that – it’s not something that happens overnight. It’s not just the last few races. We could have swept Daytona except for a bad alternator, and then people wouldn’t seem so surprised and make such a big deal that we’re right up there in points. This is the result of sheer hard work by Tony (Eury, crew chief) and Tony Jr. (Eury, car chief) and all of my guys. They work their tails off, and it shows every week. We expect to run at or near the front every Sunday, and now we’re backing that effort up with some strong results. Yes, we believe we should be in the top five.”

Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser Team at Bristol
Previous Winston Cup Starts:          6      
Best Start:                            2nd (August, 2002)  
Best Finish:                         3rd    (August 2002)
This Race, Last Year:                  ST: 23rd     FIN: 4th
                                   LED: 181 laps (bonus points for leading most laps)

Dale Jr. and the Budweiser team were the dominant players in the two races at Bristol in 2002. The No. 8 Bud boys led for a combined total of 321 laps and grabbed two top-four finishes.

Leader of the Pack:  Including non-points races so far this season, Dale Jr. and the Budweiser team have led six out of the seven races they have entered. (Rockingham is the only race they did not lead). This continues their pace from last season, as the team led more laps and more races than any other in 2002.  They have also finished no worse than sixth in five of the seven races.               
          Budweiser Shootout    13 laps led          Won
          Twin-125          38 laps led     Won
          Daytona 500      22 laps led                36th
          Las Vegas          97 laps led (most laps led)     2nd
          Atlanta           23 laps led                  3rd
          Darlington           91 laps led (most laps led)     6th

What:
Food City 500
500 laps / 266 miles / Race #6 of 36 in the Winston Cup Series

Where:
Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, TN
.533-mile high-banked oval

When: 
Sunday, March 23 /  1 p.m.  / Fox-TV  (pre-race: 12:30 pm)

Watch: 
Fox-TV covers the first half of the 2003 season… You can also tune-in to hear qualifying and race action from all of the Bruton Smith-owned tracks (Charlotte, Texas, Sears Point, Atlanta, Bristol, Las Vegas) on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) on a radio station or computer near you.

Bud Pole Qualifying:
Bud Pole qualifying can be seen live Friday at 3:00 p.m. on the Fox Sports Network (and replayed later on Speed Channel). You can hear it live on PRN affiliates across the nation, including XM Radio, who carries wall-to-wall coverage on the 24-hour NASCAR Channel.
(All Times: Eastern)

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