NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Duly Noted – Junior Says He Can Build On 2011
Dale Earnhardt Jr. says raft of notes from last season should provide solid foundation for this year…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted February 03, 2012   Charlotte, NC
Dale Earnhardt Jr at the Hendrick Motorsports Media Tour stop in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has made it clear that he likes crew chief Steve Letarte’s work-day style. Letarte expects Earnhardt Jr. to be punctual, professional and prolific with feedback, and Junior said that sort of structure helped him turn in a better season last year.

The boost for Junior this year, however, could come from the “hard copy,” or the notes driver and crew chief compiled in their first season together along the circuit.

“There are things that happen in races that are part of how the car itself reacts and performs, and that you’ll make a note of,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “And the next time at the track, you can do something different. Those things pile up over the year, and they help you get the car more comfortable to the driver.”

Earnhardt Jr. defines that as “me and the car sort of tuning in together better. I’ve got to be able to give Steve the information he needs to make the car better. We have to do it at the track. We can’t get too much better sitting here waiting on it to happen.”

Although Junior didn’t win last year, he was consistently strong enough to finish seventh in points, providing a foundation upon which to begin this season.

“We’ll be going to a lot of races this year with expectations that we didn’t have last year,” he said. “There’s a lot of anticipation. We have a lot of notes from last year.”

Junior said more driver-crew chief interaction gave last year more substance.

“I think I got better at being particular in my feedback,” he said. “I got better in my communication with my crew chief and being particular about the problems I was facing.

“In the past, I would get frustrated, and my comments would be broad and generic and not assisting anyone in any real manner. I think now I can be specific about the problem.”

Looking toward Daytona and the start of the season at a track that remains one of his favorites, Earnhardt Jr. said he has no clear-cut idea what to expect.

“None of us know until we get into the practice parts for the [Budweiser] Shootout and actually get to run in the Shootout and see what kind of racing we’ll be doing and what the strategy and style of racing are going to be. Once we know that, we can start to form our ideas about what our strategy is for the 500.

“What’s going to happen is out of our control. I don’t know what the racing is going to be. Can’t make a game plan.”

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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