KIDWCKED
06-23-2010, 11:22 PM
c/p
By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM
June 21, 2010
10:28 AM EDT
SONOMA, Calif. -- Wonders will never cease. A road course, of all places, has Dale Earnhardt Jr. back on the verge of Chase contention.
A driver raised on late models, who joked earlier in the weekend that he didn't race all those ovals to pursue a career in Formula One, built on last Sunday's drought-busting performance at Michigan with an 11th-place effort at Infineon Raceway. More importantly, Earnhardt made up a little more ground in the standings, picking up one position to 13th and pulling within 57 points of Carl Edwards for the final Chase berths with 10 events remaining until the championship field is decided.
"I don't get that pumped up about it," said Earnhardt, who prior to last weekend's seventh-place finish had complied five straight results of 19th or worse, sinking to a low of 17th in points over that span. "I just get relief to be able to go home and not be ticked off. But that's every week."
It didn't come easy for Earnhardt, who in Friday's opening practice had equipment problems and ranked 45th-fastest among the 46 drivers attempting to qualify for the event. He started in 24th on Sunday, and though he was never a threat to win, he saw the car improve to the point where he was able to run in the top 10 toward the latter portion of the race. Crew chief Lance McGrew's setup seemed to work better on fresher tires, and pit cycles helped the No. 88 car finish the event with rubber that had fewer than 20 laps of wear.
From there, Earnhardt took advantage of circumstances, watching as other competitors took one another out, and trying to avoid the fray. Earnhardt was ninth with 10 laps remaining, and narrowly missed recording his first back-to-back top-10s since Michigan and Bristol in August of last season.
"I just sat there and watched the first half of that race, and a lot of these guys were kind of taking themselves out of the race," he said. "I just wasn't really braking hard or running hard, and was playing around with tires to see what saved them and what didn't. Nothing really worked. But I ran one run where I didn't even spin a wheel the whole run to see what it would do, but it didn't make a difference. At the end of the race I thought all right, if we're going to get something, let's get it. And a couple of holes opened up and we got lucky and got us up in the top 10 and we just tried to hold it."
Others weren't so fortunate. Earnhardt's forward progress came at the expense of Clint Bowyer, who was involved in a pair of scrapes on an aggression-filled day and wound up 31st, dropping one spot in the standings as a result. Even championship contenders weren't immune -- Denny Hamlin, the series leader with five victories, took early damage and finished 34th. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch was involved in the day's first accident, spent considerable time in the garage area undergoing repairs, and returned with a patched-up vehicle that placed 39th.
Earnhardt will be the first to admit that he has a frustrating relationship with road courses, even though he and his father teamed with a pair of road racing specialists to finish fourth in Daytona 24-hour event in 2001. Sunday's result tied Earnhardt's best career finish at Sonoma, recorded three times previously, including last year. He's had better fortune at Watkins Glen, where he won a then-Busch Series event in 1999, and has finished inside the top 10 three times in Cup races, most recently in 2005.
"I feel like I can run in the top 10 at the Glen on a good day. I don't feel like that here yet," Earnhardt said. "Even when the car is handling good in practice like it had been in years past, I just don't have the confidence."
After Sunday, perhaps that will begin to change.
By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM
June 21, 2010
10:28 AM EDT
SONOMA, Calif. -- Wonders will never cease. A road course, of all places, has Dale Earnhardt Jr. back on the verge of Chase contention.
A driver raised on late models, who joked earlier in the weekend that he didn't race all those ovals to pursue a career in Formula One, built on last Sunday's drought-busting performance at Michigan with an 11th-place effort at Infineon Raceway. More importantly, Earnhardt made up a little more ground in the standings, picking up one position to 13th and pulling within 57 points of Carl Edwards for the final Chase berths with 10 events remaining until the championship field is decided.
"I don't get that pumped up about it," said Earnhardt, who prior to last weekend's seventh-place finish had complied five straight results of 19th or worse, sinking to a low of 17th in points over that span. "I just get relief to be able to go home and not be ticked off. But that's every week."
It didn't come easy for Earnhardt, who in Friday's opening practice had equipment problems and ranked 45th-fastest among the 46 drivers attempting to qualify for the event. He started in 24th on Sunday, and though he was never a threat to win, he saw the car improve to the point where he was able to run in the top 10 toward the latter portion of the race. Crew chief Lance McGrew's setup seemed to work better on fresher tires, and pit cycles helped the No. 88 car finish the event with rubber that had fewer than 20 laps of wear.
From there, Earnhardt took advantage of circumstances, watching as other competitors took one another out, and trying to avoid the fray. Earnhardt was ninth with 10 laps remaining, and narrowly missed recording his first back-to-back top-10s since Michigan and Bristol in August of last season.
"I just sat there and watched the first half of that race, and a lot of these guys were kind of taking themselves out of the race," he said. "I just wasn't really braking hard or running hard, and was playing around with tires to see what saved them and what didn't. Nothing really worked. But I ran one run where I didn't even spin a wheel the whole run to see what it would do, but it didn't make a difference. At the end of the race I thought all right, if we're going to get something, let's get it. And a couple of holes opened up and we got lucky and got us up in the top 10 and we just tried to hold it."
Others weren't so fortunate. Earnhardt's forward progress came at the expense of Clint Bowyer, who was involved in a pair of scrapes on an aggression-filled day and wound up 31st, dropping one spot in the standings as a result. Even championship contenders weren't immune -- Denny Hamlin, the series leader with five victories, took early damage and finished 34th. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch was involved in the day's first accident, spent considerable time in the garage area undergoing repairs, and returned with a patched-up vehicle that placed 39th.
Earnhardt will be the first to admit that he has a frustrating relationship with road courses, even though he and his father teamed with a pair of road racing specialists to finish fourth in Daytona 24-hour event in 2001. Sunday's result tied Earnhardt's best career finish at Sonoma, recorded three times previously, including last year. He's had better fortune at Watkins Glen, where he won a then-Busch Series event in 1999, and has finished inside the top 10 three times in Cup races, most recently in 2005.
"I feel like I can run in the top 10 at the Glen on a good day. I don't feel like that here yet," Earnhardt said. "Even when the car is handling good in practice like it had been in years past, I just don't have the confidence."
After Sunday, perhaps that will begin to change.