Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 team worked throughout the weekend to get the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet dialed in for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The hard work paid off in the form of an eighth-place finish, the team’s second consecutive top-10 finish of the 2011 season.
With his eighth-place finish, Earnhardt advanced to 10th in the championship standings. He trails leader Tony Stewart by 22 points
The 43-car field took the green flag under mild temperatures and sunny skies Sunday, and Earnhardt used the opening laps to discuss the car’s handling with crew chief Steve Letarte.
Starting the event 33rd, the 36-year-old driver steadily made his way up the leaderboard during an early green-flag run.
Earnhardt was running 20th when the caution flag waved on Lap 96 and the team used this opportunity to fine-tune the handling on the No. 88 Chevy, so Earnhardt made his way down pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment.
The field went back to green-flag racing on Lap 101 with the No. 88 scored 13th on the leaderboard, as Earnhardt continued his ascent through the field, cracking the top 10 on Lap 118 and remaining there through the rest of the 267-lap race.
Earnhardt was running sixth when a final round of green-flag pit stops began on Lap 238, and Letarte called his driver down pit road two laps later for four tires and fuel.
Some teams gambled by only taking two tires during the final pit stop, and as the field cycled through on Lap 247, Earnhardt was shown eighth on the scoring pylon, and crossed the finish line eighth.