Chevy Rock & Roll 400 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. Notes

Budweiser Race Preview: Richmond

Dale Earnhardt Jr. – driver, No. 8 Budweiser team:

What is your approach now that you’ve been eliminated from contention for the Chase for the Nextel Cup?
“We just have to go out there to have fun and try to win races. Let's race. Let it hang out. We’ve always been really good at Richmond, and we had a real positive test there last week. We’ve struggled all season and we want to do what we can to win a few here in the last 11 races (of the season). It’s discouraging. It’s frustrating. It’s disappointing, but we’re not out here to run bad, so we’ll do what we can to improve. We owe it to our fans, our sponsors and all of the people who work so hard at DEI (Dale Earnhardt Inc.).”

“As much as I love the superspeedways, Richmond is a place that I look forward to and circle on the calendar. I’ve always run well there, in the Busch Series and the Cup. We’ve finished in the top-five in half of the Cup races we’ve started and I think we’ve had something like eight top-10s. We’ll have a special paint scheme with our buddies from 3 Doors Down, so that adds a little something extra to the night as well. It’s a beautiful car, and I think the fans will love it.”

Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Richmond International Raceway:
Previous Nextel Cup Starts: 12
Best Start: 2nd (May, 2002)
Best Finish: 1st (May, 2000 and May, 2004)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 14th / FIN: 2nd
Last Time at Richmond (May):ST: 27h / FIN: 14th
Chassis: #39 (tested at Richmond / finished ninth at Loudon, July)

2005 SEASON OVERVIEW: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the #8 Budweiser team enter the Richmond race weekend in 18th place in the Nextel Cup point standings. They have been eliminated from earning a top-10 spot for the Nextel Chase for the Cup. The Bud team has one victory, five top-fives and 10 top-10s through 25 races.

Richmond Riches: Richmond has been one of Dale Jr’s more successful race tracks. He has two Cup victories there (one of three tracks where he has multiple victories). In 12 Cup starts, he has six finishes in the top-five and eight top-10 finishes. His first Cup career top-10 finish took place at Richmond in Sept. 1999, and his second career victory in May, 2000. He has three victories in Busch Series events at Richmond, including his first victory as a car owner when he won the Busch Series race in a Chance 2 race car in 2002.

3 Doors Down: Dale Jr. will carry a special Budweiser / 3 Doors Down paint scheme for the Chevy Rock-and-Roll 400. The scheme reflects a long-time friendship between Dale Jr. and the Mississippi-based band. Dale Jr. and Tony Stewart appeared in the music video for 3DD's "The Road I'm On" in 2003. Then, Stewart raced a special 3DD paint scheme on a Chance 2 Busch Series race car co-owned by Dale Jr. at Michigan in August of that year. The connection continued this year, when 3 Doors Down kicked-off their album release and their 2005 world tour by performing before and after the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.

Race Details:
Chevy Rock and Roll 400
Richmond International Raceway
.75-mile oval / 400 laps / 300 miles
Saturday, Sept. 10, 2005
TV: TNT, 7:45 p.m. ET start. (Pre-race begins at 7 p.m. ET)
Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN) and XM Satellite Radio
Bud Pole Qualifying: Friday, Sept. 9 / 6 p.m. ET (SPEED Channel)
2004 Winner: Jeremy Mayfield