-
Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
-
Latest Headlines: NASCAR
-
-
Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Games
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
Sprint Cup
CUP: Earnhardt Jr. Hopes To Remain Atop Roller Coaster At CMS
Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified eighth on Thursday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway...
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 18th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. calls the highs and lows of racing a “roller coaster,” and his main goal the rest of the weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway will be to continue to avoid any big drops.
Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t been all that successful in avoiding those for most of the 2010 season, but at least he opened the weekend fast off the truck Thursday and then qualified eighth for Saturday night’s Bank of America 500.
Then again, last week at Auto Club Speedway Earnhardt Jr. started ninth but finished 16th on the 2-mile track.
“Everybody in the garage has the same intentions, but not everybody has the same results,” Earnhardt Jr. said following qualifying. “So really a lot of things aren’t necessarily in your control. But you just try to control what you can and try to stay focused and try to stay aggressive. … Attitude is everything all weekend long.
“If I falter or struggle in practice or in the middle of the race or anyone else really on the team has a mental hiccup or lapse in focus, it can be tough on any team. I’m just trying to stay the course and keep the mind going in the right direction, trying to do what’s right. It’s important. It’s hard, though.”
It was a year ago at Charlotte where Earnhardt Jr. had one of his lowest moments. He had qualified 38th and the next day talked about being at the “end of my rope.”
Earnhardt Jr. chuckled a little when reminded of that.
“It’s a roller coaster every week in this sport – for teams like us, anyways,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “We unloaded comfortable and fast and felt confident in our setup and felt like we made some good changes. The car had more speed than that. … The car had plenty of grip and speed.
“The car was so good off the trailer. The first run was really, really great. I had no complaints about the car. We really didn’t adjust on it much. I know a lot of guys are probably freeing their cars up in the sun, and we felt the track was going to do that for us.”
The car was initially good possibly because the Hendrick Motorsports team did a tire test in Homestead-Miami Speedway last month that might have helped it find a setup for Charlotte, a 1.5-mile track but not totally comparable to Homestead.
“We want to take a variation of this setup and make it a race setup and make it comfortable,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I think we can. This is a good opportunity for us this weekend to try some things that we’ve been wanting to try.
“We tried a setup last weekend that was really something I had never even run before, not even considered running before. It wasn’t too bad a deal. But this won’t be nothing like that. It will be a little more along the lines of things we’ve been contemplating on running. It’s a good direction as far as the setup goes. … I’m feeling pretty good about what we’re thinking. We’ll just see how it works out on the race track.”
With six races left in the season, Earnhardt Jr. is 18th in the standings. Last year at this time, he was 22nd in the standings.
“Time is running out on the season,” he said. “Time is running out [until] we’re sitting on our asses not doing nothing for a couple of months.
“So I’m trying to get all the racing I can get out of these last few races, trying to be as competitive as we can be, not only just to be prepared for next year or whatever or trying to help our teammates to win the championship, but just to get everything you can out of it.”
SceneDaily.com • NASCAR makes gear change for Nationwide teams; 2011 title eligibility for Cup drivers still up in air
Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t been all that successful in avoiding those for most of the 2010 season, but at least he opened the weekend fast off the truck Thursday and then qualified eighth for Saturday night’s Bank of America 500.
Then again, last week at Auto Club Speedway Earnhardt Jr. started ninth but finished 16th on the 2-mile track.
“Everybody in the garage has the same intentions, but not everybody has the same results,” Earnhardt Jr. said following qualifying. “So really a lot of things aren’t necessarily in your control. But you just try to control what you can and try to stay focused and try to stay aggressive. … Attitude is everything all weekend long.
“If I falter or struggle in practice or in the middle of the race or anyone else really on the team has a mental hiccup or lapse in focus, it can be tough on any team. I’m just trying to stay the course and keep the mind going in the right direction, trying to do what’s right. It’s important. It’s hard, though.”
It was a year ago at Charlotte where Earnhardt Jr. had one of his lowest moments. He had qualified 38th and the next day talked about being at the “end of my rope.”
Earnhardt Jr. chuckled a little when reminded of that.
“It’s a roller coaster every week in this sport – for teams like us, anyways,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “We unloaded comfortable and fast and felt confident in our setup and felt like we made some good changes. The car had more speed than that. … The car had plenty of grip and speed.
“The car was so good off the trailer. The first run was really, really great. I had no complaints about the car. We really didn’t adjust on it much. I know a lot of guys are probably freeing their cars up in the sun, and we felt the track was going to do that for us.”
The car was initially good possibly because the Hendrick Motorsports team did a tire test in Homestead-Miami Speedway last month that might have helped it find a setup for Charlotte, a 1.5-mile track but not totally comparable to Homestead.
“We want to take a variation of this setup and make it a race setup and make it comfortable,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I think we can. This is a good opportunity for us this weekend to try some things that we’ve been wanting to try.
“We tried a setup last weekend that was really something I had never even run before, not even considered running before. It wasn’t too bad a deal. But this won’t be nothing like that. It will be a little more along the lines of things we’ve been contemplating on running. It’s a good direction as far as the setup goes. … I’m feeling pretty good about what we’re thinking. We’ll just see how it works out on the race track.”
With six races left in the season, Earnhardt Jr. is 18th in the standings. Last year at this time, he was 22nd in the standings.
“Time is running out on the season,” he said. “Time is running out [until] we’re sitting on our asses not doing nothing for a couple of months.
“So I’m trying to get all the racing I can get out of these last few races, trying to be as competitive as we can be, not only just to be prepared for next year or whatever or trying to help our teammates to win the championship, but just to get everything you can out of it.”
SceneDaily.com • NASCAR makes gear change for Nationwide teams; 2011 title eligibility for Cup drivers still up in air
Shake and Bake: Recent Posts
-
NASCAR Teams Lend Helping Hand To Oklahoma Tornado Victims »
-
Singer Chelsea Bain's Dad Loves Her Music, Doesn't Love Her Choice Of Clothing »
-
Mr. E Would Rather Watch Soap Operas & Teletubbies Than 4 Hours Of Single-File Racing (Video) »
-
Krash Kab Invades Darlington With Jimmy Spencer And Monica Palumbo (Video) »
-
Sebastian Vettel's Monaco GP Helmet Has A Nearly Naked Pinup Girl »
-
Last Lap: Despite Struggles, Danica Patrick Unlikely To Return To IndyCar »
-
NHRA Champ Antron Brown Will Try A Stock Car »
-
The Lovely MWR Girls Talk Beer Cooler Racing With 'Vodkatime' (Video) »
2013 All Star Race
LATEST HEADLINES: NASCAR
-
CUP: France – Schedule Good As It Is
NASCAR chairman Brian France says he prefers fall race to stay in… -
CUP: Saturday Charlotte Notebook (UPDATE 7)
Denny Hamlin will start from the pole in the Coca-Cola 600…… -
CUP: Keselowski Still Confident Despite Slump
Brad Keselowski is seventh in points heading into the Coca-Cola 600…… -
HAMMOND: 600-Mile Race Will Tax Drivers, Equipment
I expect we will see a lot of green-flag runs Sunday, making for… -
CUP: Menards Signs Renewal With RCR
Multi-year partnership renewal was announced today... -
CUP: Man On A Mission
Denny Hamlin going all out in pursuit of a shot at the championship…… -
NNS: RCR Crew Penalties Upheld
Nelson Piquet Jr. was allegedly assaulted at Richmond International… - More News
