Kerry Earnhardt
No. 33 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: Aaron’s 499, April 25, 2004
Venue: Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, Ala.
NOTES:
This Week’s Race Car at Talladega Superspeedway … Kerry Earnhardt will pilot chassis No. 101 from the Richard Childress Racing stable.
Testy, Testy … Earnhardt tested chassis No. 101 March 9-10 at Talladega in preparation for the Aaron’s 499.
Twice is Nice … The Aaron’s 499 will be Earnhardt’s second NASCAR Cup attempt at Talladega. He missed the field in October 2002 after rain washed out qualifying for the EA Sports 500.
Ain’t His First Rodeo … Earnhardt has two previous NASCAR Busch Series starts at the 2.66-mile Ala. track. His best start and finish of 15th came last April while driving for FitzBradshaw Racing.
Family Tradition … Earnhardt will be the third member of the Earnhardt family to drive a NASCAR entry fielded by RCR. His brother Dale Jr. was the most recent when he grabbed the checkered flag at the 2002 NASCAR Busch Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway.
Talladega’s First Family … Dating back to 1983, the Earnhardt family has combined for a total of 14 NASCAR Cup Series wins at Talladega. Dale Earnhardt is the winningest driver at Talladega posting a total of 10 victories, with son Dale Jr. embroiled in a four-way tie for second with four wins.
RCR Rules … Richard Childress leads the way with nine Talladega wins as a car owner, all of them coming with Dale Earnhardt.
Up to Speed … Qualifying for the Aaron’s 499 will be telecast live Friday, April 23 at
4 p.m. EDT on SPEED and broadcast on MRN and XM Satellite Radio. The Aaron’s 499 will be broadcast live Sunday, April 25 at 1:30 p.m. EDT on FOX, MRN and XM Satellite Radio.
KERRY EARNHARDT QUOTES
On Talladega:
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this weekend. I can’t thank Richard and Johnny Morris from Bass Pro Shops enough for having the faith and confidence in me to provide me with such a great opportunity. We had a chance to test at Talladega back in March and everything went very well. Richard has assembled an all-star cast to work on the car, so I can’t wait to get to Talladega and unload. Two of the key members on the crew are Bobby Hutchens and Bobby Leslie. Bobby Hutchens was a long-time crew member with my dad. Bobby Leslie was the crew chief for Dale Jr. when they won the Busch season opener in 2002 so I’ve definitely got a lot of talent behind me.”
On Expectations for the Weekend:
“All we’re really looking to do is make a good showing in qualifying and be competitive during the race. I’d be crazy to say I’m not hoping to win, but we’re all going to just try and keep everything in perspective. If we can qualify and run in the top-20 and stay out of trouble, I think everyone will consider it a successful weekend.”
