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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Strong Record Favors Earnhardt Jr. At Bristol
Dale Earnhardt Junior heads to the track where he has his highest average finish this weekend...
Kenny Bruce  | http://www.scenedaily.com  |  Posted March 18, 2010   Bristol, TN
Dale Earnhardt Jr. endured a miserable outing at Pocono. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a reason for optimism this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Surprisingly, the tough, half-mile oval has been Earnhardt Jr.’s best track over the years. Though he has more career victories at Talladega (five) and Richmond (three), his average finish of 11.6 at Bristol is his best at any Sprint Cup track.

In 20 career starts at Bristol, Earnhardt Jr. has one win, seven top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. His 11 top-10s at Bristol match his personal best at any track. He has also completed 98.5 percent of the laps in his 20 races there and led 743.

Earnhardt Jr. won the 2004 Sharpie 500, leading 295 laps to hold off Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson.

After four races this year, Earnhardt Jr. is 13th in points, seven points behind 12th-place Scott Speed. He has finished second, 32nd, 16th and 15th in the four races. Hendrick Motorsports also has a strong record at Bristol with eight wins – five by Jeff Gordon – and 40 top-five finishes.

"Bristol is a pretty physically demanding track, but we've always been pretty good there. I like running there,” Earnhardt Jr. says.

Qualifying well will be crucial, he says, because a driver doesn’t want to have to pit on the backstretch.

“It's tough to qualify, but it's important to have a good pit stall selection. You want to have that front straightaway pit,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Bristol is a tough track. I got to go there when I was growing up, and I always look forward to going back."

The team will face a new challenge this weekend adjusting to a racing surface that will have less racing room because of the addition of the extension of the SAFER barriers in Turns 2 and 4.

"Adjusting to that is going to be different,” crew chief Lance McGrew said. “Normally I would go to Bristol in qualifying trim for the first practice because qualifying there is so important. But the new barriers made me think enough about the line, the difference in coming off the corner and how you have to approach that, so we'll probably go in race trim.

“I want to let Dale run 10 or 15 laps until he feels comfortable, and then we'll switch over to qualifying trim."

McGrew agrees that qualifying well is critical at Bristol.

"It's huge because there is really only four good pit stalls in the place, period,” he said. “If you're not in the top four then everyone is in the same boat. Past that, it's all luck if you have a start-and-park next to you or someone who might have problems in the pit.

“It can make or break your night because it doesn't matter how good your pit crew is if you can't get in or out of your pit stall. The track position is everything there."

SceneDaily.com•When Jeff Gordon gets booed, it still reminds him of Dale Earnhardt


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Kenny Bruce

SceneDaily.com

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