DHL 400 - Kerry Earnhardt Notes

Kerry Earnhardt
No. 33 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet

Event/Date: DHL 400, June 20, 2004
Venue: Michigan International Speedway – Brooklyn, Mich.

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Car at Michigan International Speedway … Kerry Earnhardt will pilot chassis No. 112 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. This is the same car Earnhardt qualified 12th for the NEXTEL Open at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Kevin Harvick drove the same car to a 13th-place finish in February at Rockingham. Harvick also raced this car last season at Texas (3/30/03), California (4/27/03) and Michigan (6/15/03).

Third Time’s a Charm? … The DHL 400 will be Earnhardt’s third NEXTEL Cup Series start of 2004 for RCR. His most recent appearance came last month at Lowe’s Motor Speedway where he finished 24th in the NEXTEL Open after being involved in multi-car incident approaching the green flag. At Talladega in April, Earnhardt was running inside the top-15 when he was collected by another car, ending his day 63 circuits short of the scheduled 188 lap distance.

Thanks Dad … Earnhardt will sport a gold and black paint scheme this weekend in honor of Father’s Day while commemorating Bass Pro Shops first race in NASCAR’s premier division when Dale Earnhardt drove a Bass Pro Shops adorned Chevrolet in the 1998 Winston.

Testing 1,2,3, Testing … Earnhardt tested chassis No. 112 May 13 at MIS in preparation for the DHL 400.

Testing Part Two … Earnhardt also tested at Talladega Superspeedway on Monday of this week in preparation for the Pepsi 400 at Daytona, July 3 and the EA Sports 500, Oct. 3.

Twice is Nice … The DHL 400 will be Earnhardt’s second NASCAR NEXTEL Cup attempt at MIS. The 34-year-old Kannapolis, N.C., native notched his first career NASCAR Cup start at the two-mile oval (8/20/00) driving the No. 71 Chevrolet for Marcis Auto Racing. Earnhardt started 39th and finished 43rd.

Ring the Bell, We Have a Winner … Earnhardt won the 2001 Flagstar 200 ARCA Re/Max Series race at MIS. Additionally, he made one other ARCA start at the Brooklyn, Mich., track (6/10/00), where he finished third.

Meet the Driver … Earnhardt will sign autographs from 6-8 p.m. on Friday at the Bass Pro Shops store in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Up to Speed … Qualifying for the DHL 400 will be telecast on a live-to-tape basis Friday, June 18, at 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on SPEED and broadcast live on MRN and XM Satellite Radio. Live coverage of the DHL 400 will begin Sunday, June 20, at 1:30 p.m. EDT on FOX, MRN and XM Satellite Radio. KERRY EARNHARDT QUOTES

“I’m pretty excited about Michigan. It’s a race track I’ve won on before in the ARCA Series and I also got my first Cup start there in August of 2000. The results of my first Cup race weren’t anything to write home about, but it was the first time my dad, Dale Jr., and I all got to race together, so Michigan definitely holds a special place in my heart. We’re doing a special gold and black paint scheme this weekend, just like the car my dad ran at the 1998 Winston, so that makes this weekend even cooler. Michigan is big and wide, so there’s plenty of room to pass. Fuel mileage is always an issue at Michigan because the track is so wide and forgiving. The tendency is not to see a lot of cautions.

GARY COGSWELL QUOTES

“The track surface at Michigan is in very good condition. It’s smooth and it’s wide. The driver can make a mistake and have a lot of room to recover without running into anything. Michigan lends itself to a lot of green flag racing. Fuel mileage always plays a big role.”

On testing at Michigan: