RICHMOND, Va. - In the words of NASCAR racing great Darrell Waltrip, Boogity, boogity, boogity…let's go racing boys!
As engines roared and the heat of the sun beat down, the smell of concessions in a sea of people permeated the senses, meaning only one thing at Richmond International Raceway Saturday, April 30: race day was in full swing.
It also meant that Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet, would once again take-it-to-the-track and try to build upon the great season he has had so far in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.
"I feel good about tomorrow," said Earnhardt before practice and qualification on Friday, April 29. "I can't wait to get on the track and see what we've got. There's always a lot of excitement with a new team and a track that we haven't been to together yet, so I can't wait to get out there and see what happens."
For Earnhardt - who had the fastest time after the first practice session - the weekend started off promising, but during qualifications he posted only the 24th-fastest qualifying time for Saturday's race.
Earnhardt started the race Saturday night struggling with the handling of his car.
"To be in the winner's circle at Richmond, your car needs to roll to center really good," he said. "These cars have trouble finding that front grip through the middle of the corner and if your car can do that, if you can find that right set-up in the front end … you'll have a great advantage all night long."
Jr. compliments his new crew chief Steve Letarte with putting together a solid game plan every week, turning the right screws and bolts on the car that turn it into a real hot rod.
"There's a million different things you can do to the cars to get it right, and the crew chiefs come with a game plan that they've worked on throughout the week and they have a lot of variables that they feel like might fit," Earnhardt said.
After a long green-flag run the first caution flag waved on Lap 108, giving Letarte and the crew an opportunity to employ one of those variables in order to gain an edge.
"It's also important to get good driving off the corner, and hard to get power down out of the corner, so the guy that can have that will do really well too," said Earnhardt.
On Lap 115, Earnhardt began to move forward in the field, breaking into the top 20 on Lap 168.
Confidence remained high at Richmond, and performing well has been the driving factor for the No. 88 team's confidence said Earnhardt Jr.
"That's the … thing … that builds your confidence," he said.
The No. 88 team seemed to have things dialed in and sped into the top ten by Lap 287.
The night saw Earnhardt racing as high as second place, but a gamble that relied on a final late lap caution never came, putting the driver's fuel situation on the line and forcing him to pit with only 11 laps to go.
Earnhardt and the No. 88 National Guard team crossed the finish line in 19th, but Earnhardt is confident moving forward.
"There is a lot of optimism and confidence going into the rest of the season," he said. "We feel like we could only get better and everyone is really excited. We feel like we've got a really good program and package put together with our team."
Earnhardt said that this season is no different than any other when it comes to his relationship with the Guard.
"Representing the Guard means to me as much now as it has in seasons past," he said.
"The longer the relationship goes, the more you understand and learn about the Guard, you feel like you know them and can represent them better."
"The relationship has been strong from the beginning," he said, "and I have a lot of pride in it and will continue to try to improve on it and make it more productive."
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 team roll into Darlington, S.C., May 7 to see if they can tame the "Lady in Black" for their next race.
Jr. is solidly placed in the number four position and continues the consistency needed to seriously contend for the Sprint Cup championship this year.