NASCAR Cup

Earnhardt ready for Martinsville

With seven races remaining the GM Goodwrench Service Plus team and Dale Earnhardt know the time is now: to make up almost 250 points to lead the NASCAR Winston Cup series point standings. That's something Earnhardt knows all too well having won ...

Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM

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With seven races remaining the GM Goodwrench Service Plus team and Dale Earnhardt know the time is now: to make up almost 250 points to lead the NASCAR Winston Cup series point standings. That's something Earnhardt knows all too well having won Seven NASCAR Championships, no one knows how to win a championship better than Dale Earnhardt and Richard Childress.

The two the have been in the Championship battle at the end of the season on 11 occasions, winning seven of those and finishing in second place twice with a combined deficit of 46 total points between the two runner-up finishes. The GM Goodwrench Service Plus team knows you can never give up when it comes to the Championship race. In 1995, with seven races remaining on the NASCAR schedule, the RCR team was in second place, 309 points behind point's leader Jeff Gordon. Earnhardt and the GM Goodwrench Service Plus team rallied in the final stretch gaining points every race. With three races to go, the No. 3 team was -162 behind. Going into the final event the -147 point deficit proved too big to make up in one race. But the seven time champion and his team gained another 114 points that day, putting the season ending points difference a miniscule 34 points. "Anything can happen," said Earnhardt. "We need to capitalize when the opportunities are presented. It can be done 248 points isn't out of the question. We lost 175 in three races during the summer. Experience and opportunity are the two key things down the final stretch."

* The seven final races on the 2000 NASCAR schedule look good for the GM Goodwrench Service Plus team. Dale Earnhardt and the RCR teams have a combined total of 24 victories on the seven remaining race tracks in 2000. Winning on ALL but the newest to the schedule, with Homesteads first race being 1999.

* The GM Goodwrench Service Plus team last victory at Martinsville came in 1995. After starting from the outside pole the No. 3 car leading 251 of the 500 lap event. For last year's fall event, the "Intimidator" finished second after starting from the 38th position and lead for 45 circuits around the ½ mile oval.

* Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet in Newton, NC will be holding an open house for race fans on Monday, October 2, 2000. The festivities begin at 10:00 am with displays and souvenirs. The featured guests will be Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt, Jr, signing autographs from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm in the main showroom. Other guests include motorsports artist Sam Bass and many displays. The autograph session will begin promptly at 2:00 and is conducted on a first come first serve basis.

* Richard Childress Racing Museum will also be open extra hours this week in Welcome, NC. The RCR Museum holds the history of the championship teams documenting how founder Richard Childress began his racing career along with many other famous racing exhibits. This week the RCR Museum will be providing tours of the championship race shops starting at10:00 am in the morning. Visit the RCR shops in Welcome, NC located just 50 minutes north of Charlotte, NC and 15 minutes from downtown Winston, NC.

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