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CUP: Junior Wants First HMS Points Victory
Written by:
Tom Jensen
03/26/2008 - 08:50 AM
Harrisburg, N.C.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR) ยป More Photos
So far in 2008, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had the measure of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears. Earnhardt is hoping that holds true this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, site of the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race. History suggests he’ll have an uphill battle.
In 16 previous starts at the 0.526-mile Virginia short track, Earnhardt has amassed seven top-five finishes, an impressive record. But his teammates Gordon and Johnson have been almost unbeatable there, combining to win eight out of the last 10 Martinsville races. And that means Earnhardt will have his work cut out for him.
“Honestly, what has been between me and victory lane is Hendrick Motorsports,” said Earnhardt. “They have an amazing run going at Martinsville. I run well there due to my short track background, but I seemed to always find myself finishing behind my new teammates (Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson).”
Earnhardt currently sits fourth in NASCAR Sprint Cup points, compared to 13th for Johnson and 14th for Gordon. That might bode well for his chances this week at Martinsville, where Earnhardt would like to win one of the grandfather clocks the tracks awards as trophies to each race winner.
“Hopefully we can turn the corner and get a win there because the track is important to me with its deep history within the sport,” said
In last year’s race, Earnhardt led 137 of 500 laps en route to a fifth-place finish.
Darian Grubb, who is engineering manager for Earnhardt and Mears, is hoping to visit victory lane at Martinsville, too. “I absolutely love going back to Martinsville just because it's very close to my hometown,” said Grubb. “It's only about 45 minutes down the mountain from Floyd (Va.) where I grew up. A lot of good memories from back in the late model racing days when we'd have 160 cars show up, and you had to get in there and try to make the show. That was actually one of the first race tracks I ever went to. I was about 16 years old. I love that place and have a lot of good memories come back every time I go there.”
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 numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association.
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