NASCAR Cup
Dale Earnhardt Jr. preview
Dale Earnhardt Jr. "The Sears Point track is very technical - it requires more skill than at Watkins Glen. You have to know how to get the car to turn - you have to know what the weight (of the car) is doing on each tire in each corner. The ...
Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"The Sears Point track is very technical - it requires more skill than at Watkins Glen. You have to know how to get the car to turn - you have to know what the weight (of the car) is doing on each tire in each corner. The run-off areas and gravel traps entice you to push harder and harder - as hard as you can. You say to yourself 'I'll only slide off into the gravel if I miss it.' It seems irresistible to just go faster and faster through some of the corners."
"I'm not saying I'm any good at it yet, but it gets to be fun when you get into the rhythm and start going fast. Then it's like driving a go-kart!
The Race
What: Save Mart/Kragen 350
Where: Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, CA
When: Sunday, June 25, 2000
Watch: ESPN 4:00 p.m. Eastern
Winston Cup Bud Pole qualifying will be televised live on Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2.
Dale Jr. and the Budweiser team have never raced at Sears Point, but did complete a two-day test session there in April. A New World Record?
It's not quite the Bonneville Salt Flats, but Dale Jr. will attempt to set an unique speed record this Wednesday evening in Salt Lake City. Appearing at a Budweiser promotion (along with former Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden) at Rocky Mountain Raceway, the Winston Cup rookie-of-the-year-hopeful will be behind the wheel of a motorized bar stool for an attempt at the world bar stool speed record. No word yet if the entire Budweiser Winston Cup crew will be flown in to provide pit stops, chassis set-up and technical guidance for Dale Jr. and his uh… stool, but sources tell us the attempt has been registered with the Guinness Book of World Records.
For the second consecutive week, the Budweiser crew head to a track where they have never raced. After gaining a top-twenty finish at Pocono, they will try to better that performance on the twisting circuit near San Francisco. Since dropping to 23rd in Winston Cup points in April, Dale Jr. and the Bud bunch have gained nine positions in the standings in the last six races. Now 14th, the team is less than 200 points out of the top 10.
Al Unser Jr. said it best about driving the heavy, bulky Winston Cup cars on a road course: "they don't turn, they don't go and they don't stop." Despite this, the Winston Cup stars manage to muscle these behemoths around the course and always put on an entertaining show of racing savvy.
This marks Dale Jr's first road course event behind the wheel of a Winston Cup car, but don't count him out. Last year at Watkins Glen, Dale Jr. blasted past road racing expert Ron Fellows on the final lap to win the Busch Series race at Watkins Glen (NY).
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