MARTINSVILLE, Va. - Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard car racing team climbed in NASCAR's Sprint Cup chase for the championship standings Sunday from 5th to 4th with a 6th place finish at the Goody's Cool Orange 500 on Martinsville Speedway. Earnhardt led the race five times for 146 laps, the most of any driver.
Recapping the race:
After qualifying 22nd, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had some work ahead of him. But the stellar short-track driver put his skills to use and steadily started to make his way through the field. The handling on Earnhardt's No. 88 AMP Energy National Guard Chevrolet was tight at the beginning of the race, which was held under threatening skies and in the cold weather. Earnhardt radioed in the opening laps that the car was sliding through the center and pushing off the corners. The team pitted on Lap 22 during the first caution of the day. The team made an air pressure adjustment and put on four fresh tires. Earnhardt had dropped to 26th position, but he started picking up one position each lap. When the second caution was thrown on Lap 44, Earnhardt was running in the 15th position. Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. told Earnhardt to stay on the track, and the No. 88 Chevrolet claimed the second position for the restart. Earnhardt took the lead on Lap 49 and stayed out on the track in the top two positions until Lap 107. The car was snug in the center of the corners but better on the longer runs.
Hendrick Motorsports, which has won eight of the last 10 races at Martinsville, had another strong showing on Sunday. Earnhardt, plus teammates Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears joined in the battle for the lead. As the laps wore on, Earnhardt complained the car was too tight, so the No. 88 pit crew worked on it with each pit stop.
How it ended:
On the final pit stop, pit strategy came into play. Some teams took fuel only, and some took two tires. The No. 88 took four tires and fuel. Earnhardt lined up seventh on the restart. He worked his way back into the top-five but the car was too tight at the end to hold off Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Earnhardt finished sixth and moved up to fourth in the standings heading to Texas Motor Speedway, the site of Earnhardt's first NASCAR Cup Series win.