Archive for the ‘Dale Earnhardt Jr Daytona 500’ Category

It Looked like Dale Earnhardt Jr of old. Coming from 10th place to 2nd on the final lap of the biggest race of the year.

He won one race and made the Chase in 2008, but finished 12th in the points. Last year, while teammates Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon finished 1-2-3 in the championship, Junior failed to win a race and wound up 25th in the points.

Team owner Rick Hendrick has said repeatedly since the end of last season that he and the team were going to do whatever it took to get Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevrolet turned around this year.

You could tell it wasn’t the finish Earnhardt was looking for. It was the first time in awhile JR was dejected taking second place.

“I feel good about the finish,’’ Earnhardt said. “It’s just frustrating coming that close. You’re mad because you just want to get a top 10. When you get a top 10, you’re pissed off because you can’t get in the top five. Then when you’re running second it gets you mad because you didn’t get a win. That’s how race car drivers are, I hope.

“We worked hard all week. I felt foolish about what happened to us in the 150 qualifying race. We beat the fenders off the car and had to drop back and punt. I just didn’t like racing that way. We ran pretty hard today. We had a car that got ill handling and we faded a bit. We worked on it. We had all kinds of messes going on there.

“When it got cool,’’ he added, “everybody’s car gripped up. The outcome, I don’t know. We worked hard. I’m pretty happy for my team. They needed a good finish.’’

But plate racing at Daytona and Talladega is very different from the rest of the season and Earnhardt knows he and the 88 team still have a lot to prove.

“This is not a true gauge on what the changes are going to do to our team,’’ he said. “The next couple racetracks will definitely give us a better understanding of where we are and If we can go to Fontana, Vegas, be competitive at any point during them races, it would be a little more validation.’’

“It was all a blur,’’ said Earnhardt, whose finish was reminiscent of his father’s last victory at Talladega, when he sliced through traffic and drove from 18th to first in the last 10 laps. “I was just going wherever they weren’t.

“I really don’t enjoy being that aggressive. But if there was enough room for the radiator to fit, you just kind of held the gas down and prayed for the best.’’

You could tell in Earnhardt eyes that this was the most fun he’s had on a plate track in while.

“Yeah, I had a hell of a time tonight,’’ Earnhardt said. “When you got a good car, one that will make some moves and don’t wreck. I wrecked out of the last couple 500s. I figured, `What do I have to do to finish one of these things and finish it good?’ I might have been a little too careful (in the past), you know.

“Tonight, I just let it all hang out. If there was a hole in the middle, I went there, wherever it was.’’

I think this is just what Earnhardt need, hopefully this will give him a kick start to have a year.

Speed TV contributed to this report.

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