| | | | | | TEAM PLAYER | Hendrick team the reason for strong start, Earnhardt says | |
| | By SceneDaily Staff AVONDALE, AZ -- Perhaps Dale Earnhardt Jr. is finding questions about his lack of a win almost as frustrating as the missing victory is. Earnhardt Jr. is quickly approaching the two-year mark on his last win, but he’s performing as well as ever and has his Hendrick Motorsports team in strong position.
He enters the Subway Fresh Fit 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race fourth in the standings with five top-10 finishes in the opening seven races. While he’s pleased with that turn of events, he’s often asked about his streak of races without a win – a stretch that dates back to May of 2006 at Richmond and includes a stretch of 69 races.
While it certainly must not be pleasant, Earnhardt Jr. has managed to stay focused and look at the big picture. That doesn’t mean he’s not hungering for a win, though.
“Well I haven’t been in victory lane in two years, so I don’t see why that would be frustrating because we’ve had plenty of time to get used to not winning,” he said. “It’ll happen. I’ve got a great team, I’ve got a great program so I’m in the best position possible to make that happen and that’s just gonna have to do for right now.”
He joined Hendrick in the offseason and is off to a fast start. When he compares this year with those of the past, though, he can’t really put his finger on any one thing that has altered his results. Things are just clicking right now for Earnhardt Jr. and his Tony Eury
Jr.-led team.
“There isn’t one thing that sticks out, it’s overall as a whole,” he said Thursday at Phoenix. “Hendrick has a great organization in every aspect of it. They’ve been doing it a long time and have worked very hard setting a standard. They just don’t have any weak area. They work on anything they see they need to fix immediately. It’s just a good company to work for and there’s not one thing that’s like this is why.”
As to Saturday night’s race, Earnhardt Jr. says the key to winning will be patience. Not necessarily in terms of not running into anyone, but rather in terms of not using up too much of one’s car.
With everyone being closer to equal with NASCAR's new car, that becomes even more critical on this 1-mile oval.
“It’s going to be hard to not overdrive the car trying to catch the guy in front of you,” he said. “You just got to be patient and you’ll have
your shots and opportunity to pass if you’re patient enough. I think that’s going to be key. Any time I try to run a little bit harder, I just slowed myself down and made the problems or issues my car had worse.
“The guy that can just be on a pace and even kill the entire day, he’s gonna to be the guy that’s moving forward the most.”
| | Posted April 11, 2008 , 4:46 pm EST
Last Updated April 11, 2008 , 4:46 pm EST | | | | | | | | | | |
