NASCAR Cup

Phoenix: Dale Earnhardt Jr preview

Dale Jr. Quotes for Phoenix "I have a vivid memory of finishing second there (in 1999) in the Busch Series car... we really clinched the championship that day. The two Winston Cup races don't have a lot for us to brag about if you just look at the ...

Edited: Nov 6, 2002, 4:31 AM

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Dale Jr. Quotes for Phoenix

"I have a vivid memory of finishing second there (in 1999) in the Busch Series car... we really clinched the championship that day. The two Winston Cup races don't have a lot for us to brag about if you just look at the finishes, but we did run in or near the top-10 for most of the race last year until we got a big chunk of debris in the radiator and hurt the motor. I had about 20 laps of warning before the thing gave up. It was fighting to hang in there before it just wouldn't go anymore. I guess it shows how strong the DEI engines are that it lasted that long. The engine shop and all of the people that work with Richie Gilmore (chief engine builder) have done a great job for me and the other DEI teams this year. They have been giving us some good horsepower and great gas mileage, not to mention super reliability. I think a lot of people were worried about the impact of the "one engine" rule, but we've not had any issues with that this season.

"It was really disappointing to run like we did at Rockingham. We thought we could keep that top-10 run going for the rest of the season, but we're not going to let it bother us this week. I think that's an area where we've really improved or matured this year versus past years. We used to let a poor run really mess with us all week, and then it would effect us at the track the following race. It was something that could really snowball, but we've really improved our communications so that it doesn't happen anymore. We're focused totally on Phoenix and Homestead. We're still right there to get in the top-10 in points."

Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Phoenix
Previous Winston Cup Starts: 2
Best Start: 18th (2000)
Best Finish: 27th (2000)
This Race, Last Year: ST: 30th
FIN: 37th

The Dale Jr. and the Bud team put on a passing exhibition early in the running here last year, passing more than 20 cars at the Phoenix oval before debris damaged the radiator, eventually causing an engine failure.

-dei/budweiser-

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