AT PHOENIX: In 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Phoenix
International Raceway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has scored two wins, four
top-five finishes and seven top-10s. He won back-to-back races in 2003
and 2004, when the venue hosted one event during the season. Earnhardt
has led 460 laps around the one-mile track.
HENDRICK POWERED: In three starts at Phoenix with Hendrick Motorsports,
Earnhardt has notched two top-10 finishes and led 150 laps. In this race
last November, he drove the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet to
a sixth-place finish -- his best result at PIR with Hendrick Motorsports.
CHASSIS CHOICE: This weekend, crew chief Lance McGrew and the No. 88
engineers will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-541. Earnhardt
last raced this chassis at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September. He
spent most of the race inside the top 10 and was running fourth when he
was involved in an accident with 17 laps remaining. He finished 35th.
INTERMEDIATE TRACK STATS: In 173 Cup starts on intermediate (one- to
two-mile) tracks, Earnhardt has recorded six wins, five pole positions,
37 top-five finishes and 67 top-10s. On one-mile tracks, such as Phoenix,
he ranks eighth among active, full-time drivers in the laps led category
(826 laps) and seventh in top-10 finishes (14 total).
HENDRICK AT PHOENIX: Hendrick Motorsports, which is celebrating its 25th
anniversary this year, has seven wins, 23 top-five finishes and 44
top-10s in 26 races (91 starts) at Phoenix International Raceway.
ON A ROLL: Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won five straight races at
Phoenix, with Mark Martin most recently visiting Victory Lane in April.
Jimmie Johnson earned the three previous victories, while Jeff Gordon won
the April 21, 2007, contest after starting from the pole position. During
the last nine races at the track, Hendrick Motorsports drivers have
claimed six victories and six pole positions.
DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER, NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET
(ON PHOENIX.): "The car is really important at Phoenix. It takes
something special to make a car work really good there. I think it's real
important to have a good handling car because each corner is so
different. It's tricky trying to be real good through Turns 1 and 2.
There will be one or two guys that really get their cars to get through
the center of the corners, and those are the guys that will be racing for
the win. That seemed to be what we did when we won there. We beat
everybody right down in the middle."
LANCE McGREW, CREW CHIEF, NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON
PHOENIX.): "Phoenix is kind of a different racetrack because both ends
are so different. It's cut real tight in (Turns) 1 and 2. You can get the
car turning real good in (Turns) 1 and 2, but then you might be loose off
in (Turns) 3 and 4. Your brakes are real important, and it's all about
getting the car to roll. The best handling car generally is going to win
that race. Because getting through traffic is difficult, it's hard to
pass there. There's only a couple of passing opportunities, so it's very
important to have your car handling as good as it possibly can be."
McGREW (ON KEYS TO WINNING AT PHOENIX.): "No mistakes. A bad pit stop
will do you in, a loose lug nut will do you in, a bad decision on the
racetrack will do you in. I think we have to stay focused as a race team
and not have any mistakes because it's so hard to recover."
-credit: hm
