LAS VEGAS - Dale Earnhardt Jr., driving the No. 88 National Guard car's Sprint Cup Series points race debut, finished second at Las Vegas Speedway Mar. 2 in his ninth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start there this Sunday. In his eight previous starts, Earnhardt has led 145 laps and recorded one top-five finish and two top-10s. His best finish was second place, which he achieved March 2, 2003.
Guard on the hood:
The red, white and blue National Guard/AMP Energy paint scheme canvased the hood of the No. 88 Chevrolet in its first Sprint Cup Series points race. Earnhardt drove the design, which features the National Guard on the hood, into Victory Lane Feb. 9 during the Budweiser Shootout, a non-points event, at Daytona International Speedway.
From the Green Flag:
Within the first few laps, Earnhardt radioed to crew chief Tony Eury Jr. that the tires were chattering in Turn 3 and Turn 4. When the first caution flag flew on Lap 10, the No. 88 pitted a lap later for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Earnhardt dropped to 31st after the stop, but he said the car was turning better. He acknowledged the right tire was sliding a little, but overall the car's handling had improved. That showed as Earnhardt drove the No. 88 through the field to take the lead on Lap 60.
On Lap 61, the No. 88 team pitted again for four tires and fuel. Eury called for an air pressure adjustment to help Earnhardt get through the corners better. On Lap 68, Earnhardt said the car was handling very neutral, and he wouldn't change a thing. On Lap 70, he pitted again for fuel only, which cycled him to second on the leader board. He was chasing the No. 17 of Matt Kenseth.
During the next fuel run, Earnhardt fell to sixth. He told his team the car was loose going into Turn 1, and the right rear tire was very slick. On Lap 105, he slipped to eighth and said the car was real loose on the entrance of the corners. During the next 70 laps, the team pitted for tires and fuel, making minimal adjustments. Earnhardt said the car got better about 20 laps into a run. It took a while for the car to come around from new tires and adjustments, but overall he was happy with the handling.
On Lap 179, a caution flag flew for debris on the track. Earnhardt stayed on the track and took the lead once again. The final pit stop came on Lap 215. Earnhardt, who was running third at the time, said he didn't want changes, because he didn't want the car to get loose. The No. 88 pulled out a great pit stop; picking up one spot and sending Earnhardt back out onto the track in second place.
How it ended:
But on the restart, Earnhardt spun his tires and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth passed him. Then with six laps to go, Gordon and Kenseth spun in front of him. Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet suffered major damage when it hit the inside retaining wall, forcing NASCAR officials to red-flag the event. Earnhardt restarted in the second position for the green-white-checkered flag finish and held off a hard-charging Greg Biffle to take the runner-up spot to winner Carl Edwards. Earnhardt led 17 laps out of the 267 throughout the day and jumped 13 positions to sit 10th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings.