Earnhardt Jr. still trying for season's first win
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has just two chances left to extend a streak that has seen him win a race in each of the last seven NASCAR Cup seasons.
As he prepares to leave his Dale Earnhardt Inc. team for Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the year, Earnhardt Jr. is intent on keeping that streak alive.
"I'd like to keep my streak going, but most of all I want to win one for my fans and for these guys," he said of the DEI crew. "It's been a rough season to get out of the car at the end of each race and know everyone poured everything into that car, but we've still not won one."
It's been a rough season period. Earnhardt Jr. has only 12 top-10 finishes, seven of which are top-fives, combined with seven DNFs.
This weekend could be his best shot to win this year. He has two wins in the fall race at Phoenix International Raceway, site of this weekend's Checker Auto Parts 500 Nextel Cup race. Overall, he has five top-10 finishes in 10 starts at the facility.
So as he deals with the emotions of leaving his team, Earnhardt Jr. hopes that he can go out with a momentum boost.
"I can't explain how much fun I've had working with these guys on my team," Earnhardt Jr. said. "That's one of the bad things about moving on [to a new team] at the end of the year. I'm looking forward to my new deal, but it's also really tough to leave these guys. We've done it twice before at Phoenix when we needed a win, and we need one now. Our car of tomorrow program has been superb, so we expect to go in there and be fast like we have been everywhere else."
