Rate this article:
IndyCar Vintage White Logo Tee
100% washed cotton. Features Indy wings and wheel logo printed with special distressed look. Cool vintage tees!
Our Price: $22.00 ($19.80 Member)
Ferrari Red Classic Hat
Ferrari racing shield embroidered on front and Ferrari branding on back adjuster strap with shield embossed metal closure.
Our Price: $29.00 ($26.10 Member)
Formula 1 2009 Calendar
Every month is accompanied by a superb action shot from the 2008 season, with essential information about the sport.
Our Price: $16.95 ($15.26 Member)
Written by:
Tom Jensen
07/22/2008 - 01:58 PM
Indianapolis, In.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is second in Sprint Cup standings, highest of all Hendrick drivers. (Jason Smith/Getty Images Photo) ยป More Photos
Dale Earnhardt Jr., as keen a student of NASCAR history as there is in the Sprint Cup garage, knows full well how big a race Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is. Now he and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. have to try and figure out how to improve on his results there.
Earnhardt, who currently sits second in Sprint Cup points, historically has not enjoyed the type of results at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that he has elsewhere. In eight previous starts at the fabled 2.5-mile track, Earnhardt has never finished better than sixth and has an average finish of 21st. His sights are set much higher this weekend, when he driver a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for the first time at Indy.
“The Brickyard is a special race,” said Earnhardt. “A bunch of famous drivers have won there, and there's a ton of history. I'm big into the history of this sport. The track was one of the first to gain international recognition for its races. We tire tested there so it was good to get some extra laps. Winning would be cool because there is so much prestige. It would be special for the team and for me. It's a top-five track as far as places I want to win at over the course of my career.”
But for Earnhardt to enjoy a reversal of fortune at the Brickyard will take some doing. Under the best of circumstances, Indy has been a place where passing has been difficult for NASCAR stock cars. And with the new-generation car race car, clean air and track position will be critically important in Sunday’s race.
“It could possibly be its worst race just because of aero,” said Eury, Earnhardt’s cousin and long-time crew chief, of the new car. “That track is very aero-sensitive to the cars. You're going to see what you did at Pocono. You're going to see a lot of two-tire stops. You're going to see a lot of things happening just to keep your track position.
Earnhardt and his crew will have one advantage at Indy: They took part in a Goodyear tire test earlier this year at the Brickyard. The biggest benefit gained at the test, Eury said, “was probably the way to get the car down. The attitude and everything was the biggest thing we learned at the tire test. … Anytime you can get on the track at Indy and you can get your aero-attitude kind of baselined out, it's going to be a huge advantage for us.”
Eury thinks that could be the difference on Sunday. “Indy, as big of a race as it is and as unique as that track is, it was very special for us (to get the test),” he said. “We really jumped at the chance to be able to go there. That time is very valuable because the laps are so long. It takes right at 54 seconds to get around there so if you're doing a happy hour you may get three to four runs, and that's it. We actually had two days, and that will mean a lot.”
Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to
View All Comments
- Press Releases | Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | FOXReality | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen | BeliefNet -
The Online Motorsports Authority© Copyright 2008 Speed Channel, Inc. All Rights Reserved.