DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., - Dale Earnhardt Jr., a man synonymous with auto racing, drove the No. 88 National Guard-sponsored car for the start of a third NASCAR auto racing season in the Budweiser Shootout Feb. 9.
Last season, Earnhardt and the Guard-car team placed 25th in the Sprint Cup Series standings with two top-five finishes and five top-10 finishes.
Although the team did not win a race, it earned more than $4 million in 36 races. Earnhardt also remains NASCAR's most popular driver, voted by fans for the seventh year.
After his 11th-place finish here, Earnhardt will race the Guard-sponsored car throughout 2010, starting at same speedway Sunday for the Daytona 500.
"This chassis is not as good as what we're racing in the 500. So I feel pretty good about what we're going to use there," said Earnhardt following the Shootout.
Hours after qualifying on the outside pole position for the Daytona 500, Earnhardt climbed into the No. 88 for the exhibition event. The Guard-car team said they used the event to gain information for the Daytona 500.
A total of 24 cars competed in the Budweiser Shootout, which included the top-12 drivers of the last season, past champions, past Daytona winners and the reigning Rookie of the Year.
Earnhardt qualified for this year's Shootout as a previous winner at Daytona. This year's event was 25 laps followed by a 10-minute break, then a 50-lap sprint to the finish.
Earnhardt's 11th starting position was determined by a random draw that established the field.
At the drop of the green flag, the 35-year-old driver steered his way to 7th-place by Lap 4. By the middle of the first segment, he radioed to crew chief Lance McGrew that he was struggling with loose-handling.
Earnhardt was running 21st when the evening's first caution flag waved on Lap 24, and the first segment came to a conclusion. Earnhardt steered the No. 88 onto pit road for the 10-minute break. The crew then bolted on four fresh tires and made adjustments.
The field went back to green for a 50-lap dash, and Earnhardt quickly said that his blue-and-white Chevy was better but still loose. The evening's second caution flag waved on Lap 32, and McGrew called him back down pit road to correct the condition. McGrew also called for four tires with an air pressure adjustment, fuel and a pair of chassis adjustments.
The No. 88 pit crew sent Earnhardt back to the race in 13th position, on Lap 37. He struggled to make his charge to the front of the pack and was running 13th when the evening's fourth caution flag came at Lap 70, which gave the pit crew one last opportunity to fine-tune handling.
Earnhardt and a majority of the field made their way down pit road for a final round of adjustments. McGrew called for four tires with an air pressure adjustment and fuel. Earnhardt restarted in 17th place for the checkered flag. He finished 11th.
"We learned a little bit on our front end," said Earnhardt. "You kind of pick-and-choose and try to figure out what are the best right-front spring and all this good stuff and how the bump-stops need to work. And I think we learned a little bit tonight."