NASCAR-WCS: Long Pond II: Dale Earnhardt Jr preview

NASCAR-WCS: Long Pond II: Dale Earnhardt Jr preview

Post by pr.. » Thu, 25 Jul 2002 12:13:16

Dale Jr. Quotes for Pocono

"Pocono? Weren't we just there?! (laughs) Like always, it's track that's
tough to get a perfect set-up on the car because it's so odd. I mean,
three turns and they're all very different. I think that since this race
last season, we've had a really good set-up to race well there, and I'd
like to have a chance to race with Bobby (Labonte) for the win like we
did last year. This year, it's my turn to win it. I did all I could to
keep him behind me last year, but he just had a faster car than me. That
was fun, though."

"Our performance - not our finishing position - at Loudon shows the
continuous improvement of this team on relatively flat tracks. That was
really one of our weaknesses in the past, but we've tested and worked and
tested some more to try and get better at places like here (Pocono),
Loudon and Indianapolis that don't have a lot of banking. It feels like
we're regaining the performance that we had up until Talladega."

Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Pocono
Previous Winston Cup Starts: 5
Best Start: 6th (June., 2001)
Best Finish: 2nd (July, 2001)
This Race, Last Year:
  ST: 12th
  FIN: 2nd - Led twice for 31 laps

There was an epic, titanic battle between Dale Jr. and Bobby Labonte for
the win in the final laps of last year's race (OK, maybe neither epic nor
titanic, but it was great racing), With three laps left, a charging
Labonte got around a swerving Dale Jr. for the victory.. (Labonte later
displayed mock-disgust when told that Dale Jr. had run out of fuel in the
final corner: "All that for nothing?!" joked Labonte. "You shoulda told
me you were gonna run out of gas!").

What:
Pennsylvania 500
2.5-mile tri-oval / 200 laps / 500 miles
Race #20 of 36

Where:
Pocono Raceway
Long Pond, PA

When:
Sunday, July 28
1:00 p.m.

Watch:
TNT
Pre-race:  12:30 pm
(All Times: Eastern)
You can also listen to the race live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) on
a radio station near you.

Bud Pole Qualifying:
Bud Pole qualifying can be seen live on TNT, Friday afternoon at 3:00 pm.

-dei/budweiser-

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