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[h=2]Earnhardt 'freakin' pumped' to be back in racecar[/h] Tuesday, 31 January 2017


Kelly Crandall / Image by LAT

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the happiest guy in Arizona on Tuesday.


One of 13 drivers scheduled to test at Phoenix International Raceway over the next two days, Earnhardt revealed he'd texted his Hendrick Motorsports crew that he was "freakin' pumped" to get going.
After missing the last 18 races of the 2016 season with a concussion, Earnhardt is now less than a month away from his return to racing. Meaning any chance at getting the behind the wheel, even for testing, is a more than welcome opportunity.


"It's been a while," Earnhardt said of his excitement level. "You miss the camaraderie and the friendship that I have with my road crew. I think they miss me, so that makes you feel good. They seem excited that we're working together and we're back together, and when you go out there and you're able to learn and put laps down. The communications right there with me and [crew chief Greg Ives], we're communicating really good."
He did, however, have one minor setback.


Like many drivers, testing was never high on Earnhardt's favorites list. However, Phoenix is just the second time Earnhardt has had the chance to be in a car since the July 9 race at Kentucky Speedway. The previous drive was a private test held at Darlington Raceway conducted for Earnhardt to receive clearance to return to competition.
This time around, the endless laps of gathering data and the long list of objectives the No. 88 team will make their way through doesn't bother Earnhardt.


"You got to really understand what the objectives are, try to motivate yourself to be a part of learning everything you can, be an asset to the team and the guys," Earnhardt said. "If you're sitting on your phone and playing around, you need to talk to your crew chief and discuss with him and listen to what [the team] is talking about and try to be a part of the team when you're here.
"You forget and lose sight of that sometimes. Over time you get lazy. So, I'm excited. I'm happy that we're here and the car's good. We'll see how it goes."


In the cockpit, Earnhardt is right back at home. He felt he needed no time to get acclimated to the car again aside from small changes he noticed with areas such as the dashboard.
"But as far as driving the car," Earnhardt said, "I feel real comfortable out there."
Whether that holds true when the season begins has yet to be seen. This year marks Earnhardt's 18th at the Cup level, and while he knows his fans are looking for him to have success, he doesn't feel he needs to prove anything.


Excitement aside, however, there is something admittedly different for Earnhardt going into a new season.
"I'm just a little nervous whether there will be any kind of learning curve," Earnhardt said. "I hope there ain't ... I hope there's no rust to shake off. I'm really anxious to kind of get out there and have some success. Go out and run well and check that box [off] that we're right where we need to be."

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Earnhardt tables contract talks for 'couple of months'

Saturday, 18 February 2017

RACER Staff / Image by LAT

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has waited a long time and diligently worked his way back to his No. 88 Chevy after taking half of 2016 to recover from concussion systems. And he still feels he has a few years of racing left in him. So even though he's in a contract year, those discussions are simply going to take some time.

"I told (team owner) Rick [Hendrick] I'd like to get a couple of months under my belt to get confidence in my health," he told a group of reporters Saturday. "When I got hurt last year and what I saw it put the company through, how I saw it frustrate certain aspects of the company, it put a strain on our relationships. Our [sponsors] were worried about my future.

"Rick and everybody was worried. I don't want to do that again. So I want to get some races under my belt and get confidence in my health before I can commit to him. I don't want to make any promises I can't deliver on.
Making his first competitive laps since July 9, 2016 on Saturday, Earnhardt said he was not nervous to be back behind the wheel.
"Just trying to put as many laps as I can behind me and get further and further into this deal to where the events from last year become more of a distant memory and don't define me as who I am so much anymore," Earnhardt said after clocking in 11th fastest during practice.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr.


Dale Earnhardt Jr. is still money. | Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

2016 Total earnings: $21.1 million
After eight consecutive years as NASCAR’s highest-paid driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally dropped a peg to No. 2. Of course, that doesn’t mean the popular driver wasn’t still rolling in cash.
Earnhardt sold more merchandise than any other driver, took home $8 million in endorsements, and secured $13.1 million in salary and winnings. Had he not been forced to miss the final 18 races of the season — because of concussion symptoms — we have a feeling Earnhardt would’ve netted more than $21.1 million in total earnings in 2016.

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[h=2]Stock Car Racing warned for having a bent car..... [/h]

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[h=2]Stock Car Racing: Dale Earnhardt Jr's niece gets learners permit[/h]

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[h=2]Earnhardt Jr. claims pole for final Daytona race[/h] Friday, 30 June 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Image by Nigel Kinrade/LAT




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Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start his final Coke Zero 400 on the pole at Daytona International Speedway.
Thursday afternoon a roar erupted around the grounds of the famed speedway when the No. 88 flashed first on the scoring pylon after Earnhardt put down a lap of 190.973 mph. Earnhardt was the final car to take time in Coors Light Pole qualifying after he was fastest in the first round of the single-car runs.
The pole is Earnhardt's first of the season and second at Daytona. He also started on the pole when qualifying was rained out in the July 2015 race, which Earnhardt went on to win.
"I have to give Hendrick Motorsports a lot of credit, particularly for me personally it has been the No. 24 (Chase Elliott) bunch. We've been kind of pushing each other over the last several years in qualifying at Talladega and Daytona," Earnhardt said. "It's been a healthy competition. That's why we win poles and qualify so well at some of these race tracks, is a healthy competition within the company."
Earnhardt's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott will start second. Elliott laid down a lap of 190.795 mph. Defending race winner Brad Keselowski was third fastest at 190.287 mph with Kasey Kahne fourth fastest at 190.050 mph and Kevin Harvick rounding out the top five at 190.046 mph.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (190.006 mph), Joey Logano (189.921 mph), Jamie McMurray (189.849 mph), Ryan Blaney (189.785 mph), and Danica Patrick (189.633 mph) completed the top 10.
All 40 cars made the field.
"Greg (Ives, crew chief) and all the guys deserve all the credit for the car," Earnhardt said. "I don't do anything in qualifying except hold the wheel and make sure I don't hit the apron. The car does everything. A lot of credit to the power and the body man back at the shop. All that stuff is so critical and they did a great job today."
The green flag at Daytona is scheduled for 7:59 p.m. ET Saturday night on NBC.

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[h=2]Let Earnhardt win final Daytona race? 'Dale Yeah'[/h] Friday, 30 June 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Image by Nigel Kinrade/LAT




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Daytona International Speedway might be the house Earnhardt built, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn't have a free pass to another victory Saturday night.
With the Coke Zero 400 potentially Earnhardt's final race at the speedway, the main topic of conversation has been the possibility of one final win. And considering the No. 88 team hasn't exactly been top contenders this year, Daytona is one of the few places besides Talladega Superspeedway where he has a good shot at getting a win in his final season.
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Unfortunately for Earnhardt, his competitors aren't willing to lay over.
"He's a teammate and a great friend, but I certainly want to out-run him," Chase Elliott said. "I'm not going to feel bad about out-running someone if I can do it. I'm sure there are a lot of fans and a lot of people who would love to see it, but as a racer, I think it's hard to pull for anybody else. I think he would say the same thing about me or anybody else.
"Earnhardts have had a lot of success here at the speedway. Dale Sr. and Jr. have won a lot of races down here and his last race at Daytona is a big deal, but I can't say that I would like to see him win over me by any means."
Elliott isn't the only one. At an event earlier this month to promote the race at Daytona, Denny Hamlin admitted he hears all the time about Earnhardt's impending retirement. It's followed by the question of whether drivers would race Earnhardt differently for a victory.
"Even though we kind of sympathize with, hey, he's going to be retiring, take it easy on the old guy, I remember a guy (Tony Stewart) that was retiring last year that took me out at Sonoma on the last lap," Hamlin said. "I don't have any remorse for the retiring drivers. They're about to go have fun and live the rest of their life, so I'm going to try to win and do everything I can."
Hamlin and Earnhardt battling at Daytona has become common the last few years.
In 2014, Earnhardt beat Hamlin in the Daytona 500. This past February, Hamlin returned the favor by overtaking Earnhardt late in the second Can-Am Duel race. It spoiled what would have been a triumphant return for Earnhardt after a concussion sidelined him for the second half of last year.
"Ideally, I'd like to beat Dale Jr. on the last lap at Daytona," Hamlin continued. "I know it might be a bad thing for the fans and they might not like it, but my fans surely will. And I know it'll be a great moment for me."
Kurt Busch acknowledged while every driver wants to win at Daytona, there might be something to the thinking that the garage will be rooting for Earnhardt.
"It's going to be a good battle," Busch said. "I guarantee [Earnhardt's] going to be elbows up, sleeves up, and he'll be the car to beat this weekend."

Naturally, Earnhardt was informed what some of his peers had said and what his ideal scenario would be coming to the finish at Daytona.
"If I'm behind the 88, I'm probably going to let him win. Dale Yeah," Earnhardt deadpanned with a fist pump. "I'm a little different than the other drivers. I won't pass him."

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Wreck ends Earnhardt's Daytona comeback

Saturday, 01 July 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Images by John Harrelson/LAT & Sarah Crabill/Getty Images Dale Earnhardt Jr. was greeted with cheers after climbing from his car at Daytona International Speedway, except it wasn't in victory lane. The adoration instead came from the fans positioned on top of the garage area as Earnhardt headed for an evaluation at the infield care center after crashing out of the Coke Zero 400.
"The 4 car (Kevin Harvick) had a flat, and I just didn't have anywhere to go," Earnhardt said. "We had kind of worked our way back up there after having a little trouble with a flat tire earlier in the race. We got our laps back, and I thought things were going to work out to give us an opportunity to give us a run at the end for the checkers."
It was shaping up to be an incredible comeback to Earnhardt's final race at Daytona.
Having fallen two laps behind early in the race after a flat tire shot him into the wall, Earnhardt was inside the top 10 when the crash with Harvick occurred. Earnhardt was one of a handful of cars involved in a Lap 105 accident, an unfortunate turn of circumstances as Earnhardt thought he clawed back into contention for the victory.

"I knew anything was possible," Earnhardt said. "We had a pretty strong car. We had some gremlins in there; I'm not sure what was going on with that, but we had the toe-in messed up. The first deal we brushed the wall a couple of laps earlier, and I thought everything was OK.
"I came through the tri-oval, and I had a right front going down, and it was trying to spin out, so I was trying to lift, but there was really nothing I could do because there were so many guys behind me. ... Then, that happened with the No. 4. It's been a wild night. I didn't anticipate this much action and this much torn up sheet metal."
The center of attention all weekend, Earnhardt started the night on the pole. As has become accustomed around the circuit, he also received the biggest ovation during pre-race driver introductions.
The overwhelming attention surrounding Earnhardt and Saturday night's race was something he did not expect.
"My phone was buzzing all day long with social media going crazy, everybody talking about this being my last Daytona race," Earnhardt said. "I hope every weekend isn't like this as far as that goes. The attention and the reaction from the fans makes me feel great. Hopefully, we're able to turn that around and back on them for the rest of the season and thank them for all they had done. "I wish we had had a good finish tonight if not a win. We were working up in there and having a good time and being aggressive and wearing out the sides of that race car. It just wasn't to be.
"Everything we do is for the fans. When we came here and won in the No. 3 Wrangler car, that was for Daddy's fans. When we won here in '01 that was for all of our fans - for his fans. They are all here. The grandstands are full. Everything we are doing today and the rest of this race are for the fans. I think they're getting a great show."

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[h=2]Stenhouse plates Daytona win in overtime[/h] Saturday, 01 July 2017



By Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service / Image by John Harrelson/LAT

The major story of Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola – Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s final run at his beloved Daytona International Speedway in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – turned out to be a footnote to Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s masterful victory in a war of attrition that produced a race-record 14 cautions.

The driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, who got his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in his 158th career start two months ago at Talladega, established himself as a restrictor-plate wizard with his second straight superspeedway win, this one after three laps of overtime.

Stenhouse lined up behind race leader David Ragan for a restart on Lap 162, after a caution for a backstretch collision involving Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones slowed the action for the 14th time and sent the race to overtime.
Ragan pulled out to a two-car-length lead after the restart, but Stenhouse surged past him near the end of the backstretch and protected the top spot the rest of the way. Clint Bowyer charged into the runner-up position at the finish, beating third-place finisher Paul Menard to the stripe.

After the Talladega victory, Stenhouse talked team owner Jack Roush into letting him keep the winning car. So the No. 17 team built another superspeedway car that was just as fast.

"I kept my Talladega car and told them to build a new one," said Stenhouse, who locked himself into the postseason playoff with his second victory of the season. "They built a Fifth Third Ford that was really fast...
"This is awesome! I've been coming here since 2008. I actually came in 2006 one time with Bobby Hamilton Jr., and it's cool to put it in Victory Lane and get our second win this year. I love it! Thank you to the fans for coming out here. Everyone at NASCAR. What a great weekend. America! 1776! We are the champs!... This validates what we did at Talladega."
A succession of multicar wrecks crippled or eliminated more than a handful of contenders, the most notable of which was Earnhardt, the polesitter.
On Lap 52, Earnhardt felt his right front tire losing air but was trapped in the outside lane. Inadvertent contact from Menard nudged the No. 88 into the outside wall near the entrance to Turn 1, obliterating the top third of the car number on the right side.
Earnhardt lost two laps on pit road but returned to the lead lap as the highest-scored lapped car after eventual seventh-place finisher Brendan Gaughan scraped the wall on Lap 90 to cause the seventh caution. Earnhardt restarted 31st but drove up to sixth before Kevin Harvick blew a tire and spun in front of Earnhardt in Turn 2 on Lap 106.
In a wreck that involved five cars and also eliminated the Ford of Stage 1 winner Brad Keselowski, Earnhardt hit Harvick's Ford broadside, effectively ending the evening for both drivers.
But that was just a prelude to the intense action that would follow, as an unlikely cast of characters claimed positions in the top 10. Michael McDowell came home fourth, scoring his first top-five in 230 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts.
Ryan Newman was fifth, followed by Ragan, Gaughan, AJ Allmendinger, Jones (whose No. 77 Toyota survived a succession of incidents) and Chris Buescher.
A second-place finisher at Sonoma last Sunday, Bowyer was already growing weary of the runner-up role.
"This bridesmaid deal sucks," Bowyer said. "I want to win. We're in this business to win. That's what (owners) Tony (Stewart) and Gene (Haas) pay me to do. I'm proud of everyone on the Mobil 1 Ford team."

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More on the 88 car:

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