Earnhardt Jr. looking for speed as Cup series heads back to Michigan
By SceneDaily Staff
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Jerry Markland
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. won’t give back his victory at Michigan International Speedway in June, for it was his first in more than two years and his first with Hendrick Motorsports. But he’d clearly like to win a Sprint Cup race outright – and not on fuel mileage as he did at Michigan.
Earnhardt Jr. has had a solid season with the No. 88 team, with seven top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. But since his Michigan win, Earnhardt Jr. has had only one top-10 finish, an eighth at Daytona.
So as the series returns to the 2-mile Michigan track, Earnhardt Jr. is looking for more speed.
"I realize we won the last time out at Michigan, but we need to be racing better overall,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Yeah, we rolled the dice and gambled on fuel strategy, but a win is still a win, however you get it, and you're no less proud. This has by far been my most consistent year, but I really want to be racing for wins every week, not just being competitive."
Earnhardt Jr. won the LifeLock 400 in June with a car that wasn’t handling as well as he would’ve liked. Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. said some changes are in order to try to make the No. 88 Chevrolet more competitive.
"Our car was extremely loose about all day, so we're going to change some stuff in the rear end and probably change up some spring split in the rear and go with a different shock combination,” Eury Jr. said. “Those three things right there will be the ones we'll key on when we go back. We were really happy with our car there other than just being really loose, and it didn't really get going until too late.
“Halfway through a run, the car would get pretty good, but we need to get a little bit better on the short run. It was like 20 laps before our car would ever come around. Hopefully we've got it tightened up enough to where we can go on the short run and see what happens on the long run."
Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson led the most laps in the first Michigan race, so Eury Jr. said he and Earnhardt Jr. will look at Johnson’s setup.
Scoring a sweep of the Michigan races will “take some luck,” Eury Jr. said.
“I think we've got some issues we know we've got to fix from the last race,” Eury Jr. said. “We really lost some track position and hung around in seventh place. We've got to beat a couple more cars, and I think we've got a pretty good idea. Jimmie ran really well there in the race so we'll take his notes and bounce them around."
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21 responses to "Earnhardt Jr. looking for speed as Cup series heads back to Michigan". Post a Comment.
bob parent said:
Aug 13, 2008 at 3:34 PMCrew chief Tony Eury Jr. said some changes are in order to try to make the No. 88 Chevrolet more competitive.
Report as AbuseYa you.Go Junner
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» Confirm Abuse ReportThomas Mikulski said:
Aug 13, 2008 at 4:16 PMLeave Tony Jr. alone! Is he NOT the best crew chief on the best team for Hendrick?? He will win again this year and maybe the championship too. Gotta bump that #18 whenever you can. GO JUNIORS!!!!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportMarilyn Fisher said:
Aug 13, 2008 at 6:13 PMHopefully Jr's crew has been working out and keeping in shape so they aren't the slowest crew on the track. I don't want to see Jr losing positions each time there is a pit stop. That has been one the down falls in his races. Do I have to get in there and give them a pep talk?????? Come on you guys---get fired up and kick some butttttttt.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportScott Baker said:
Aug 13, 2008 at 7:51 PMTony needs to get his head in the game, I mean race. He didn't have a clue last week.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportrobert mcleester said:
Aug 13, 2008 at 8:27 PMjr and the #88 team need to put last week behind them and get"R"done this week!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportSusan Coley said:
Aug 13, 2008 at 9:21 PMThat's what I said too......put last week behind and "Let's go Racin' in Michigan"
Report as AbuseThe #88 team rox!!!!!!!!!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportMark Ernst said:
Aug 13, 2008 at 10:38 PMYou better be on your A game going Tony Jr.
Report as AbuseWe lost 33 points at Pocono when he ran out
of gas. And i don't even know what to think
about last week. Rock The House Junior!!!!!!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportTony Colla said:
Aug 13, 2008 at 10:43 PMDale Jr should have broken all ties when he left DEI, including Tony Jr. I know they're family, but he's got to go.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportWorm Dirt said:
Aug 14, 2008 at 1:33 AMIf Eury Junior was a football coach..... and it came down to needing 6 points TO WIN the game..... with one second left on the clock.......I HONESTLY wouldn't be surprised if he opted to kick a 3 point field-goal!!!! Actually, come to think of it......THAT WOULD MAKE MORE SENSE than what happened to the #88 team on Sunday!!! Good luck Junior Nation. Your gonna need it!
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» Confirm Abuse Reportpatricia jordan said:
Aug 14, 2008 at 5:39 AMjr has the mind set and the talent to win now get rick hendrick to sit on his pit box for a few races and maybey their will be alot more concentration in the pits
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» Confirm Abuse Reportpatricia jordan said:
Aug 14, 2008 at 5:39 AMjr has the mind set and the talent to win now get rick hendrick to sit on his pit box for a few races and maybey their will be alot more concentration in the pits
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» Confirm Abuse ReportBrenda Thompson said:
Aug 14, 2008 at 6:05 AMTony Jr.needs to shape up or get out!!!! He's not doing Jr.right!!!! Family or not he needs to go!!! Jr.s too good to be held back!! Brenda Thompson
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» Confirm Abuse ReportCasey Forsythe said:
Aug 14, 2008 at 7:12 AMlike mike bell said he is the weakest link on that team i dont care if their family.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportChazzo Ozzahc said:
Aug 14, 2008 at 9:13 AMwhoever claimed tony eury jr the best crew chief in the garage ? how did he get that title ? his resume ? please, after pocono and the glen, its clear his head is elsewhere. the best crew chief in the garage is chad knaus,bar none.his resume proves that.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportsally whan said:
Aug 14, 2008 at 9:13 AMJr, I hope you read these that onput on the net each week and take them and think real hard bout them,I know for a fact that Tony has lose you at less three races this year so far and now you drop in points, WHY,he needs to use his head a little more and for that matter the rest of the crew meant get better also you go in first and came out fourteen or worse WHY,,,can he not take some points from Chad I know he would help him...GO FOR IT JR YOU ARE ONE OF THE BEST AND YOUR JR NATIONS ARE BEHIND YOU ALL THE WAY..SO GO GET THEM.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportbeth emerson said:
Aug 14, 2008 at 11:14 AMEveryone needs to get a grip about Tony Eury Jr. Who do you think helped Jr win his busch championships as well as all his wins in sprint cup. Ok he made a mistake we all do no one is perfect.bug off Eury Jr.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportMark Ernst said:
Aug 14, 2008 at 2:18 PMTony Eury Sr was his crew chief from the start until the end of 2004. Get your facts
Report as Abusein order before you make a comment. Peace!!!
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» Confirm Abuse Reportrobert burnett said:
Aug 14, 2008 at 2:25 PMtony sr. was jr's crew chief in busch series
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» Confirm Abuse ReportJohn Lockhart said:
Aug 14, 2008 at 3:29 PMPatience people, Tony Jr. will figure it out and Dale Jr. can drive the heck out of the races coming up.So give them a little slack,I sure they know what's wrong and it will get fixed.Big Rick probably has a handle on it already.Go Dale Jr!
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» Confirm Abuse Reportemily bagwell said:
Aug 14, 2008 at 6:49 PMI hope you are correct, John. I have felt guilty all day for comments I made about Tony. I publicly apologize and say go kick some serious @$$, Junior!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportDavid Jones said:
Aug 15, 2008 at 11:02 AMIt's all about feed back. Junior doesn't comunicate the best info when he's driving. If you listen to the radio all they do is battle each other. They got to remember that they are on the same team and work as a team. We all know there is no "ME" in team. Keep your head #88 the worm will turn.
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