Dale Earnhardt Jr. is Back, is he?????

NASCAR Power Rankings: No Dale Jr.www.cbssportsline.com
The post-Daytona 500 Power Rankings are always somewhat tricky.
Run at one of only two restrictor-plate tracks on the schedule, the race is rarely a great indicator of future performance. Last year, none of the top five and only two of the top 10 finishers went on to secure a spot in the Chase.
Four-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson won the 2006 Daytona 500 en route to his first series title, but his past three championship seasons started with finishes of 39th, 27th and 31st at Daytona. Sunday, he walked away 35th because of a broken axle.
"It's a long season and we came out of here last year with a crashed race car and still came back," Johnson said. "We have a little work ahead of us."
As the 2010 Daytona 500 champion, recent history doesn't bode well for Jamie McMurray. Two of the past three Daytona 500 champions have failed win another points race after their victory (Kevin Harvick 2007 and Ryan Newman 2008), while Newman and Matt Kenseth, the 2009 winner, failed to make the Chase that year.
Even the final results don't tell the whole story of who ran well and who didn't.
Take Dale Earnhardt Jr., for instance. Though Earnhardt started on the front row alongside Hendrick Motorsports teammate and pole winner Mark Martin, he actually spent much of the race outside the top 10. A furious rally on fresh right-side tires allowed him to rally from 10th to second over the course of the final two laps.
David Reutimann snagged fifth, but like Earnhardt, he wasn't a factor most of the day, with an average running position of 15th.
Defending champion Kenseth was missing in action throughout, spending just 15 laps running in the top 15, yet when the smoke cleared, he wound up eighth.
On the other end of the spectrum was Kevin Harvick. He led a race-high 41 laps and was the leader for the final green-white-checkered restart, but he "zigged when [he] should have zagged" and was shuffled back to seventh as he finished.
Typically in years past, I'd wait until after California to make significant changes to the Power Rankings, but this time around I'm going to let Daytona play a little bit more of a factor. The new rankings won't be based purely on the 500 final results but instead factor in all of a driver's Speedweeks performance, while also taking into account driver and team historical tendencies and results.
It'll take a few more weeks before we can really separate the haves from the have-nots.

Power Rankings after Daytona:
2010 NASCAR Feb. POWER RANKINGS
Current Driver Previous
1 Jimmie Johnson 1
As noted, he has tanked at Daytona the past three seasons and still went on to claim the championship, so there is no concern about the 48 team's ability to recover. He did win a Gatorade Duel and was competitive at times during the 500 until he was done in by a broken axle. In the past three years at California following the Daytona 500, he has finishes of third, second and ninth.
2 Kevin Harvick NR
Perhaps no driver was more impressive over the course of Speedweeks than Harvick, who was ever so close to sweeping the Bud Shootout (won), Duel (nipped at the line, finished second) and Daytona 500 (led race-high 41 laps, leader with two to go, finished seventh). But can Harvick and the team carry the performance to the intermediate tracks?
3 Kurt Busch 3
Looked to be one of the drivers to beat in the 500, leading 33 laps, but the pot-hole delays hurt him -- he said his car was set up for a race that would end under the sun. A late race call for tires also didn't help him like it did for others.
4 Clint Bowyer 5
A solid performer throughout Speedweeks with fourth-place finishes in his Duel as well as the Daytona 500, where he led 37 laps.
5 Tony Stewart 4
He was expected to be a contender in the Daytona 500 after finishing second in his Duel, but he was never close to being a factor Sunday.
6 Greg Biffle 11
The final results don't reflect how well he ran throughout Speedweeks. He led laps in the Bud Shootout but wrecked in the final laps to finish 15th. In his Duel, he led 16 laps, but finished 11th, choosing to play it safe rather take any risky actions. So come the 500, many were surprised to see him out front, but they probably shouldn't have been.
7 Jeff Gordon 2
He didn't have a great Speedweeks, but it wasn't as awful as his 26th-place finish in the Daytona 500 would indicate. He picked up finishes of sixth in the Bud Shootout and 10th in his Gatorade Duel and was in and around the top 10 during the 500 until a last-lap melee.
8 Jamie McMurray NR
His No. 1 Chevrolet was always up among the leaders in prelims to the 500 (Bud Shootout and Gatorade Duel), which I why I had pegged him as my sleeper pick for the Daytona 500. He led just four laps (two in the Bud Shootout and two in the 500) but left Daytona with finishes of third, sixth and, of course, first. Juan Pablo Montoya proved last year that Earnhardt-Ganassi can be a formidable team. McMurray may just surprise.
9 Carl Edwards 8
It was an up-and-down Speedweeks for Edwards, but with a baby on the way as soon as this week, he'll gladly leave Daytona with a ninth-place finish, his first top 10 in six Daytona 500 starts.
10 Kasey Kahne 14
With finishes of second in the Bud Shootout and first in his Gatorade Duel, I don't know that I had ever heard or seen him so happy entering the Daytona 500. Even though he paced the Daytona 500 field for just four laps, during the race he sounded confident that his car could get to the front. But then came the delay, and he didn't show as much muscle late before a late-race wreck relegated him to 30th.



NASCAR: Dale Jr. is Back! Is He??www.si.com
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s charge to second place in the last two laps of the Daytona 500 was so frantic that even he couldn't quite remember how he pulled it off.
Earnhardt came out of nowhere to nearly steal a surprise victory at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, somehow surging from 10th to second in a hard-driving finish during NASCAR's version of overtime. He couldn't quite run down Jamie McMurray as they raced to the finish line.
"It was all a blur," Earnhardt said. "I was just going wherever they weren't. I really don't enjoy being that aggressive. But if there was enough room for the radiator to fit, you just kind of held the gas down and prayed for the best."
Earnhardt, who hasn't won since June 2008 and missed the Chase last season, said the runner-up finish was awesome and frustrating, coming that close to another Daytona victory. The great run at the storied track isn't necessarily an indication that he'll be good at other NASCAR stops, either.
But it was a healthy shot of momentum for a driver facing intense pressure to perform for Hendrick Motorsports this season.
"I was happy," Earnhardt said. "I'm happy for the finish and it validates the changes they made and the hard work they've done over the offseason to get better."
Earnhardt won the Daytona 500 in 2004 and the July Daytona race in 2001, but had finished 27th or worse in four of his last six Sprint Cup races at the track where an accident claimed his father's life in 2001.
Earnhardt said he might have driven too conservatively at Daytona in recent years, and decided to let it all hang out this time around.
"I figured, 'What do I have to do to finish one of these things and finish it good?"' Earnhardt said. "I might have been a little too careful, you know?"
Earnhardt's dramatic charge came during NASCAR's second attempt at a "green-white-checker" finish, an overtime-like provision intended to make it less likely that races will end under caution. The rule was tweaked during Speedweeks to allow for up to three attempts at a green-flag finish -- instead of just one.
Earnhardt said he was in 22nd going into the final laps of regulation, but cautions caused NASCAR to add extra laps to the race and gave him the chance to charge forward.
Earnhardt praised NASCAR's new hands-off approach to governing driver behavior, saying it made him more comfortable making aggressive moves without fear of punishment.
"They made a lot of good choices on what to do to sort of put the racing back into the drivers' hands," Earnhardt said. "There was a ton of bumping out there. I never once felt like anybody was looking over my shoulder, you know. I mean, everybody took care of everybody as far as I know."
Still, Earnhardt said Sunday's strong finish didn't exactly dull the financial pain from Saturday's Nationwide race. Earnhardt flipped and completely tore up his car in a wreck, and teammate Danica Patrick heavily damaged her car when she got caught up in a crash. The Nationwide race was a rough day for JR Motorsports, the family race team that Earnhardt co-owns.
Earnhardt said Saturday the bill to replace his Nationwide car and repair Patrick's could total approximately $200,000. The total bill for bringing a pair of Nationwide cars to Daytona was even more.
"No, no, nothing will dull that -- unless someone has a $600,000 check they want to give me," Earnhardt said.
Sunday's third-place finisher, Greg Biffle, was sitting next to Earnhardt in the postrace news conference and apologized for hitting him in Saturday's accident. Earnhardt apparently hadn't realized who hit him.
"I was looking at your feet," Biffle joked.
Answered Earnhardt: "That was a mess."

New Crew Chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch takes dig at Dale Jr.

Hendrick Makes Change with the 88 Car by Replacing Tony Eury Jr as his Crew Chief

I don't think it will make much of a difference this year. He needs a chief that will put him in his place and make him drive and shut - up! I have been a Jr. fan all of my life and I think he will be a winner, but his time is running out. I would like them to get him the best crew chief out there for a year and see how it goes.
WELL, AFTER SUNDAY'S RACE, JR FINISHED 12TH AND SEEMED TO DO A LOT BETTER WITH COMMUNICATING. LETS SEE HOW IT GOES AFTER THEY BOTH HAVE A WEEK TO WORK TOGETHER!

CONCORD, N.C. -- Rick Hendrick knew the pressure was on him to make Dale Earnhardt Jr. a champion when NASCAR's most popular driver arrived at Hendrick Motorsports last season.
He never felt that more than on Thursday, when he announced he had replaced Tony Eury Jr. as Earnhardt's crew chief, beginning with this weekend's race at Dover.
"I can tell you this is the most pressure I've felt in racing," Hendrick said.
Hendrick named Lance McGrew as Earnhardt's interim crew chief beginning with the June 7 race at Pocono. Team manager Brian Whitesell will serve as the crew chief at Dover while McGrew works with rookie Brad Keselowski.
Whitesell and Rex Stump, Hendrick's lead chassis engineer, will support McGrew on a full-time basis in hopes of turning around a team that is 19th in points.
"The pressure that I thought I would have having these guys ... I was concerned with having to manage Dale Earnhardt Jr. the superstar,'' Hendrick said. "I thought that was going to be the pressure. I never thought it would be a competition thing or failing to run pressure.
"This pressure is the worst kind of pressure because the better your [other] teams do, and then you have a team that is falling behind, then the world feels like you're not paying attention to it. I take that personally."
Hendrick thought as early as last week that Earnhardt and Eury would rally and have a shot at making the Chase. But after they finished 40th in Monday's rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600, the third consecutive finish of 27th or worse, he realized a change had to be made.
"We were pitiful, and all of us were embarrassed," Hendrick said. "I felt like it needed to happen and we couldn't wait until the end of the year. I just didn't feel it was fair to our sponsors, our fans and to those two guys to show up anymore changing nothing.
"We were working our butts off behind the scenes. It wasn't producing any fruit. I hate doing it at this time of the year. I hate having to do it period. I'd rather work out thins. My MO is to fix it, not change it. In this case I thought it was time for that."
Hendrick said he notified Earnhardt by phone on Wednesday and told Eury of the decision in person at Hendrick Motorsports. He said both accepted the decision, almost sensing relief that it was made.
"Tony Jr. is a good crew chief," Earnhardt told reporters during an appearance in Detroit. "We've had success, but this year, we aren't even mediocre. And the last couple weeks, we've arguably been one of the worst teams on the track.
"He's really, really talented, and I feel a lot of disappointment and failure for not being able to take advantage of that. Maybe the truth is that we just aren't meant to do it together. That's tough to admit, and even tougher to believe."
Hendrick said that's why he was motivated to make a move.
"It hurts me to see those two guys as frustrated as they've been and I can't help them," Hendrick said. "You can see it in their faces. I've seen Jeff Gordon get out of the car and throw his hands up. I've seen Jimmie Johnson do it.
"We had to find some sort of spark to get the car back to running good and everybody feels better about it and everybody's confidence is back."
Hendrick is optimistic that Earnhardt can rally and make the Chase.
"We're going to put our full resources toward improving the situation and winning races," Hendrick said. "It's going to be a collective effort that includes all of our drivers, all of our crew chiefs and all of our engineers. Everyone in our company will be involved on some level."
McGrew, who plans a thorough evaluation of the No. 88 team's operations, believes the team has been preparing for races differently than Hendrick's other three teams.
"I just believe there were some theories that they were using to making decisions by, that weren't necessarily the same theory that's on the rest of the complex," McGrew told ESPN.com's Marty Smith.
Chief Concern
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has driven for five crew chiefs in his NASCAR career, with Tony Eury Sr. and Tony Eury Jr. calling the majority of those races. His best season came under Eury Sr. in 2004 with six wins, including the Daytona 500. Here's how Junior has fared under each:
"The idea of having a multiple-car team is you can lean on your teammates," McGrew said. "And you have to be within the same page to get any information. A lot of times they were not on the same page."
Earnhardt and Eury had one win, 19 top-10s and 11 top-5s in 48 races after moving from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to HMS in 2008. Eury will move into what officials called a "key role" in HMS' research and development group.
"I have mixed feelings, and that's just natural," Eury said. "But I enjoy working at Hendrick Motorsports, and this is where I want to be. I'll do whatever I can to help all of our teams and try to be a part of another championship. I think a new challenge will be good."
Thursday's announcement came two months after Hendrick said he wasn't close to breaking up Earnhardt and Eury.
Hendrick said then Earnhardt and Eury each told him they would part if he didn't feel they were working well together. Race day communication has been a major issue, one that began when they were at Dale Earnhardt Inc. and one Hendrick began addressing last season when the team faltered in the Chase. Eury told ESPN.com two weeks ago if Earnhardt didn't make the Chase, he wouldn't blame Hendrick for making a change.
With Earnhardt 203 points behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin for the 12th and final Chase spot, Hendrick decided the time was now.
"Tony and I talked through this last night," Hendrick said. "I want him here, he wants to be here, and he's going to be a big contributor to our future success. I have an unbelievable amount of respect for the job he's done and for the caliber of person that he is."
Earnhardt's relationship with his first cousin has come under question many times over the years. It came to a head after a rough start to this season that had NASCAR's most popular driver 35th in points after two races.
Earnhardt came to Eury's rescue at Bristol with his fans screaming for a change.
"He gets criticized so bad," he said. "Everybody in this room ... knows how smart of a guy he is, certainly knows he's a good mechanic and a solid crew chief.
"He just wanted to do this for a living just like I do. I'll take the fall. I'd rather be crucified than him. Every time I read in the paper that people are on his case I feel like I'm sending my brother to jail for a crime I committed."
Three straight poor performances apparently sealed Eury's fate.
McGrew, 41, has posted wins in all three of NASCAR's top three series. He won the Oct. 2006 Cup race with Brian Vickers at Talladega and helped Vickers earn the 2003 Nationwide Series title.
Most recently he helped rookie Brad Keselowski to a seventh-place finish in the May 9 Cup race at Darlington.
McGrew and Earnhardt teamed in three Nationwide races last season, posting top 10 finishes at Teas and LMS and a 15th at Atlanta.
"I like Lance. He's going to tell me like it is, and that's what I want," Earnhardt said. "I've worked with him in the past, and I also have a whole lot of trust in Brian. He's going to make sure I've got what I need every week. I'm not worried at all about that. And who knows? This combination could be amazing."



Kyle Busch takes dig at Dale Jr.
Busch just needs to shut up!!!!

DOVER, Del. -- Kyle Busch said it point-blank: "It's never Junior; it's always the crew chief."
Busch fired that opening volley of driver reaction Friday morning to Hendrick Motorsports' dismissal of Tony Eury Jr. as Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief on Thursday.
“He's got his hands full, I guess, having to deal with what's going on. And if Junior doesn't run well, then [McGrew] is going to be the 'problem' again.”-- Kyle Busch
Asked about Eury's replacement, Lance McGrew, with whom Busch worked in the Nationwide Series at Hendrick in 2004, Busch expressed pity for McGrew.
"He's got his hands full, I guess, having to deal with what's going on," Busch said. "And if Junior doesn't run well, then he [McGrew] is going to be the 'problem' again."
Still, Busch said he understood the move to bolster the driver who replaced him at Hendrick last season, both because of Earnhardt's star power and Busch's salary issues.
"You've got to make the most popular driver in the sport competitive, so you gotta do what you gotta do, I guess," Busch said.
But Busch added, "He's the one who brought that crew chief on; he's the one who pulled so hard to bring Eury Jr. in [along with Earnhardt in his move from Dale Earnhardt Inc.].
"It looked like it was working there in the beginning," Busch continued, "and it just hasn't worked since the summer of last year, really. So, whatever makes them better, I guess."
Busch has won 11 Cup races to Earnhardt's one since the beginning of 2008, when Busch went to Joe Gibbs Racing and Earnhardt went to Hendrick.
Busch is currently sixth in points, well within the Chase, while Earnhardt is 19th after 12 races. No driver has ever come from 19th at this point in the season to make the Chase. Greg Biffle made the biggest leap, from 19th to 14th, in 2007.
Veteran Jeff Burton expressed more sympathy for Eury, who has been under intense fire for months from Earnhardt's fans, than for anyone else in the shakeup.
"I have a lot of respect for Tony Eury Jr.," Burton said. "I've seen him be part of making an awful lot of race cars go fast, including the cars that Junior was driving.
"If you go back just two years ago [when Earnhardt and Eury were together at DEI], there were an awful lot of races that Junior had chances to win, and compete at a very high level, and had problems," Burton said.
“Before they worked at Hendrick, the rumors were around that maybe there isn't the focus or the commitment. And all that stuff is BS. Both of those guys are extremely committed and extremely focused on what they're doing. And that's what makes this so tough. ” -- Jimmie Johnson
"I think the fans have been excessively hard on Eury Jr.," Burton continued. "I feel bad for him about that. At the same time, Junior can get it done, too.
"For whatever reason, it wasn't working, and sometimes you just have to make a change."
Team owner Rick Hendrick promised Thursday that "everyone in our company" will be involved in the effort to bolster Earnhardt, including "all of our drivers."
Said Jimmie Johnson, "as a teammate, I need to do everything that I can to explain my car and answer any questions that Junior may have, and in our debrief sessions, explain as much as I can. The same for Jeff [Gordon] and Mark [Martin]."
Asked whether Earnhardt has been absorbing debrief information, or whether he needs to absorb more, Johnson said, "I've been impressed by both [Earnhardt and Eury in the debriefs].
"Dale Jr. is on time to those meetings, and that's a pretty big statement, on a funny note," Johnson said, referring to Earnhardt's career-long reputation for not being an early riser or particularly punctual. "One time we came in the truck and he had food and drinks for us set up. So that's all being on the funny side.
"But on a real note, I've seen a great commitment out of both of them," Johnson continued. "Before they worked at Hendrick, the rumors were around that maybe there isn't the focus or the commitment.
"And all that stuff is BS. Both of those guys are extremely committed and extremely focused on what they're doing. And that's what makes this so tough," Johnson continued. "When the results aren't there and the effort is there, it's a hard world to live in."
The shift of Hendrick personnel and resources to focus on Earnhardt's effort "is not that unusual," said HMS senior driver Jeff Gordon. "It is unusual in that it's Junior and it's a very high profile driver. You know there's going to be a lot of media attention, and that's the biggest challenge.
"Within the organization we've had similar situations before," Gordon continued. "I've been there 17 years, so we've seen a lot of changes.
"My role is not going to be really any different from what it has been," Gordon said. "That's just to give my opinion, my thoughts on what I see and what I hear in our debriefs."
Ryan Newman of the Hendrick satellite Stewart-Haas team pointed out that beyond engineering, "It's a people business and you have to work together as a group. You have to have that chemistry that creates that gel that keeps everybody together.
"Performance is a part of that, attitude is a part of that, ego is a part of it -- your mannerisms can be a part of that," Newman continued.
"It's just part of sports in general. Every team goes through that, whether they're a team within an organization or a basketball team out there fighting against another team.
"It's about the people, and sometimes you have to make those changes -- that's the bottom line," Newman concluded.
Carl Edwards nosedived to a winless season in 2006 when separated from crew chief Bob Osborne at Roush Fenway Racing. He then rebounded in '07 and soared in '08 with Osborne back.
"With the crew chief changes that I've had, there's really not a set thing you have to learn about somebody -- it either works or it doesn't," Edwards said. "You either run better or you don't, and there's no way to really tell how that's going to happen."

Teresa Earnhardt and the end of No. 8

a real good article on Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his stepmom's fall from grace since he has left DEI and the number 8. I think it is funny and love the fact that she is failing without Jr. this is from www.msnbc.com

Teresa Earnhardt and the end of No. 8
Number had no value without Little E, which stepmom found out too late

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - When Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing suspended operations on Aric Almirola’s team, it ensured there won’t be a No. 8 on the track this weekend for the first time in 10 years.
That falls squarely on Teresa Earnhardt.
She could have cashed in when the number was hot, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was willing to fork over a decent chunk of change to take the 8 with him to Hendrick Motorsports. Instead she set a price so high, it figured Junior and Rick Hendrick would never meet her demands.
And for what?
The number was important to the Earnhardt family. Although it was used by 86 different drivers from 1949 until Almirola’s final ride two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway, it had become as much a part of the Earnhardt legacy as was the elder Earnhardt’s feared No. 3.
Ralph Earnhardt used the number in 51 NASCAR starts, and his son, Dale, made his Cup Series debut with the number in the 1975 Coca-Cola 600. It was Dale Earnhardt’s only Cup race using his father’s number, and it bounced around to multiple drivers for the next two-plus decades.
But when Earnhardt Jr. was ready to go Cup racing, he wanted his grandaddy’s number.
Stavola Brothers Racing had used the No. 8 with very limited success for 14 Cup seasons, but left it idling when the team left NASCAR following the 1998 season. Dale Earnhardt Inc. grabbed it for Junior, and he made his calculated Cup debut behind the wheel of the No. 8 at the 1999 Coca-Cola 600 — 24 years after his father’s debut in the same race.
A year later, it had grown to one of the most recognizable numbers in NASCAR.
Earnhardt Jr. made 291 starts in the No. 8, winning 17 races and the Daytona 500. He became synonymous with the number, and his die-hard fans eagerly emblazoned everything from ballcaps to body parts with his slanted red 8.
So when he left for Hendrick following the 2007 season, it was natural that he wanted to take the 8 with him.
Only Teresa Earnhardt refused.
She wanted the number back when Earnhardt Jr. was done with it, and it was a reasonable request he might have agreed to. But she also demanded a percentage of the licensing revenue, and agreeing to such a giveaway would have been a ludicrous business decision.
So Hendrick and Earnhardt Jr. walked away from the number that had come to define NASCAR’s most popular driver, and instead brokered a more reasonable deal with team owner Robert Yates for the No. 88.
Earnhardt Jr. held his tongue despite his disappointment. He instead set out to start a new brand with the No. 88, and leaving his old number behind actually gave him a clean break from the difficult dealings he’d had with Teresa Earnhardt since she took charge of DEI after Dale Earnhardt’s 2001 death.
It didn’t take long for Teresa Earnhardt to learn the number had no value without Earnhardt Jr. behind the wheel.
Budweiser didn’t want to continue sponsoring the car without him, and Teresa Earnhardt’s executive management team was unable to find new funding. So she moved Mark Martin and sponsorship from the U.S. Army to keep DEI’s flagship No. 8 afloat.
Although Martin was a fine choice to fill the seat, his merchandise revenue was a monstrous drop-off from what DEI had been pulling in from Junior.
Then DEI deteriorated quickly last season, and when the Army pulled its sponsorship at the end of the year, both the No. 8 and the entire organization were in jeopardy of collapsing.
A late November merger with Chip Ganassi Racing saved Teresa Earnhardt’s NASCAR interests, but it was too late for the No. 8. She sent that team to Ganassi without any sponsorship and, in this poor economic climate, no real hope of finding anything that could guarantee the car would stay on the track this season.
EGR tried for four months to keep the team afloat without secure funding, but there’s not much new money floating around NASCAR right now and Almirola’s tough start to the season didn’t help.
So the Cup series will go to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend without the No. 8. Earnhardt Jr., who has a deep respect for NASCAR history, will notice the absence.
No telling if Teresa Earnhardt even cares.

Racing without his father

Racing without his father

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NASCAR is Back

Nascar is back!!!! The Daytona 500 is this Sunday!



DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Martin Truex Jr. suffered through an uncertain winter, unsure if his revamped race team could take him to the top.
Mark Martin also endured a long offseason, anxious to join NASCAR’s premier program.
Their waits proved worth it Sunday when the former teammates took the top two starting spots for the season-opening Daytona 500.
Truex, now driving for the organization born from the merger between sponsor-strapped Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Chip Ganassi Racing, earned the pole for the Feb. 15 showcase event. With a lap of 188.001 mph in a Chevrolet, he showed Earnhardt Ganassi Racing will go on — perhaps stronger than the individual teams ever were.
“It was a tough winter for most of us in the community,” said Ganassi, the front man for the new race team. “Bringing two companies together is a difficult task, a painful thing for a lot of people. My hats off to these guys because there was a core group of people who never wavered, never lost focus on what they wanted to do and today was a reward.”
The merger resulted in roughly 150 layoffs, coupled with an additional 70 employees Ganassi let go in July when he shuttered one of his three race teams. And it came together with just a week left in the season, giving management only three months to ready for NASCAR’s biggest event of the year.
But they were clearly ready for Daytona: Truex had the fastest time, Juan Pablo Montoya was fourth and Aric Almirola was seventh. Truex and Almirola were in old DEI cars, while Montoya will race in a car from the Ganassi inventory.
“It’s good to see the hard work pay off. They’ve been through a lot this winter,” said Truex, who earned just the second pole.“In two months, to move shops, to move everything and start over — that’s a big deal to the guys. To start working with a lot of new people, for both sides to fit together as well as they have, I think it’s going really well.”
Martin shared the sentiment after earning his highest-qualifying position in his 25th Daytona 500 start.
He spent the past two years driving a limited schedule for DEI, but was lured back into another run at the championship when Hendrick Motorsports offered him a seat in its elite equipment. It’s re-energized the 50-year-old veteran, considered the greatest driver to never win a Cup championship.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Martin said. “I feel so grateful to Rick Hendrick, because that’s where it all starts. What an incredible person he is for giving me this opportunity. I just can’t wait to drive it. I wish we were starting (the race) in five minutes. Just give me enough time to get strapped in, and I’d like to start the 500.”
Martin, who turned a lap in his Chevrolet at 187.817 mph, has never won the 500. He came oh-so-close in 2007 when he was nipped in a photo finish at the line by Kevin Harvick.
Only the top two spots were secured under the complicated qualifying process for the marquee race, and the rest of the field will be set by a pair of 150-mile races Thursday.
But the top 35 drivers from last season are ensured a spot in the 500 field. Four other drivers were technically locked into the field, although their starting spots will not be determined until after Thursday’s qualifying races. Two-time Daytona 500 winner Bill Elliott, two-time series champion Tony Stewart and Travis Kvapil earned their way in by posting the fastest speeds among drivers not already assured a spot in the field.
Terry Labonte earned a berth in the field as the fastest former champion attempting to make the field.
Many believed Elliott had a solid shot at the pole after pacing both of Saturday’s practice sessions in the storied No. 21 Ford for Wood Brother Racing. Like many smaller teams, the Wood Brothers have been saddled with sponsorship woes. Despite being one of the oldest teams in NASCAR history, the team currently has only enough funding for 12 races this season.
“I have such mixed emotions,” said Elliott, who was fifth fastest in qualifying. “This whole (sponsor) Motorcraft team, they really put a good plan together to come down here for the 500 this year and I’m so proud of what they’ve done. I’m disappointed for those guys that we didn’t sit on the pole.”
Stewart, who left Joe Gibbs Racing after 10 years to take over his own team, posted the 10th-fastest speed then waited in uniform with his new crew to see if it was good enough to lock down a starting spot.
Ryan Newman, his teammate, posted the third-fastest speed of the session but was already locked into the field based on last season’s points.
“To have a new organization and a new group of guys do this ... this is a good effort for sure,” Newman said.

Pictures of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s New Home

Read the entire ESPN article by clicking here and enjoy the photos of his new getaway.

Daytona 500 Line-Ups Set

The 2008 Daytona 500 starting grid is up and ready for the race on Sunday. The Hendrick cars seem to be in good shape to get a win, but the surprise seems to be Toyota. I honestly think Dale Earnhardt Jr. is going to win, but everyone seems to be forgetting about Tony Stewart. He could sneek up and win it as well as Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordan. Who do you think will win the SuperBowl of racing?


2008 Daytona 500 Grid
Race Links: Qualifying Speeds | Starting GridReturn to Season ScheduleStarting Grid
POS DRIVER CAR MANUFACTURER SPEED
1 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 187.075 mph
2 Michael Waltrip 55 Toyota 186.734 mph
3 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 185.479 mph
4 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 185.947 mph
5 Reed Sorenson 41 Dodge 184.264 mph
6 Tony Stewart 20 Toyota 185.651 mph
7 Ryan Newman 12 Dodge 185.143 mph
8 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 185.858 mph
9 Casey Mears 5 Chevrolet 186.054 mph
10 Kasey Kahne 9 Dodge 184.828 mph
11 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 184.487 mph
12 Mark Martin 8 Chevrolet 185.429 mph
13 Bobby Labonte 43 Dodge 183.857 mph
14 David Ragan 6 Ford 185.594 mph
15 Juan Pablo Montoya 42 Dodge 184.241 mph
16 Kevin Harvick 29 Chevrolet 184.589 mph
17 Kenny Wallace 87 Chevrolet 184.953 mph
18 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 185.071 mph
19 Sam Hornish Jr 77 Dodge 184.226 mph
20 Dale Jarrett 44 Toyota 185.345 mph
21 Paul Menard 15 Chevrolet 184.415 mph
22 John Andretti 34 Chevrolet 183.673 mph
23 Brian Vickers 83 Toyota 185.475 mph
24 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 184.809 mph
25 Martin Truex Jr. 1 Chevrolet 184.290 mph
26 Robby Gordon 7 Dodge 184.850 mph
27 Scott Riggs 66 Chevrolet 185.193 mph
28 Matt Kenseth 17 Ford 185.517 mph
29 Regan Smith 01 Chevrolet 184.964 mph
30 Travis Kvapil 28 Ford 185.958 mph
31 Clint Bowyer 07 Chevrolet 184.106 mph
32 David Gilliland 38 Ford 185.410 mph
33 Jeremy Mayfield 70 Chevrolet 184.612 mph
34 Dave Blaney 22 Toyota 186.120 mph
35 Elliott Sadler 19 Dodge 184.521 mph
36 Jeff Burton 31 Chevrolet 183.884 mph
37 J.J. Yeley 96 Toyota 182.994 mph
38 Jamie McMurray 26 Ford 185.010 mph
39 Kyle Petty 45 Dodge 183.374 mph
40 Dario Franchitti 40 Dodge 184.351 mph
41 Joe Nemechek 78 Chevrolet 186.498 mph
42 David Reutimann 00 Toyota 186.463 mph
43 Kurt Busch 2 Dodge 184.540 mph

Jimmie Johnson Takes the Poll for Nascar's Biggest Race

Jimmie Johnson took the pool for the 2008 running of the Daytona 500 Sunday afternoon. Less than 24 hours ago his teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., edged Tony Stewart to win the Budweiser Shootout. This will mark the 50th running of the superbowl of racing. With all of the drivers qualifying today, only the top two are set for Sunday's race. A lot of the fans don't know that or understand that. The other driver that has punched his ticket for the race is Michael Waltrip. He was the first of many of the Toyato cars that ran really well. If fans remember well enough, Toyota was almost a joke last year. Starting with Michael Waltrip himself after the 500 inspection revealed that they used an illegal fuel.
So, the only spots taken for Sunday's race is the first row with Jimmie Johnson who qualified 1st with a speed of 187 mph and Michael Waltrip 2nd with a speed of 186 mph. The rest of the field will be decided in two 150 mile races on Thursday.
I think that everyone thought that Hendrick Motorsports would do fine this year, especially after Jr.'s win last night, but no one expected Toyota to show as well as they have this early on!

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Dale Earnhardt Wins the Budweiser Shootout

Is this a sign of things to come for Jr.? I hope so. The race was a heck of a lot more exciting with Jr. in contention from start to finish. It was good to see him battle Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson. The best part of the entire Budweiser Shootout was the total domination of the Hendrix Motorsports Team throughout the race. I would say they put a rest to the rumors that they could not exist together. They being Jeff Gordan, Jimmie Johnson, Casey Mears, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jimmie Johnson showed his true colors by pushing Jr. to the front past Stewart on the final few laps. It was great to see Jr. happy and the huge weight released off of his shoulders. Take that Teressa!

Remember, this race didn't count towards Nascar's points, so we'll see how nice the teammates are when it counts.

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Nascar Starts off 2008 with a Bang!

If the final practice for the Budweiser shootout is any indication of what kind of year Nascar fans are in for then we are in for one hell of a year! Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch probably don't share the same opinion as most Nascar fans are right now. They had a slight mishap in the final hours of practice at Daytona Int. Speedway. Busch slid up into the wall after being tapped by Stewart who claimed that Busch was blocking him. Both drivers were at each other afterwards and will probably look for payback tomorrow night. That's right! Nascar is back for another year and it seems like it will be better than ever in 2008.

The Budweiser Shootout will also mark the 1st race for Dale Earnhardt Jr. behind the wheel of the 88 Hendrick Chevy. Jr. is ready to make the transition from DEI (TEI - Teressa Earnhardt Inc.) to Hendrick Motorsports. I think his decision to move on has also sparked a lot of interest from all Nascar fans to finally find out if he can WIN. He'll have all the top materials at hand in 2008. He will get his chance Saturday night at Daytona and I couldn't think of a better place to start his year off with a "bang". Remember he won this event in 2003!!!

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Nascar Racing: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Moving On!

Despite having NO Nascar Championships and only 17 wins, Dale Earnhardt Jr. remains Nascar's superstar, its Lebron James, Tiger Woods. This year, Jr. joins a group of winners that have settled for nothing less than Championships. 7 Nascar Nextel Cups to be exact and Jimmie Johnson is looking for his 3rd in a row. The funny thing is they are now taking a backseat to their new teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Jr's not just worried about winning this year, he is concerned about overshadowing his new teammates at Hendrick Motor sports. In case you were wondering that would consist of Jeff Gordan, Jimmie Johnson, Casey Mears. You're probably wondering how in the world can Dale Jr. be more popular than those winning drivers? Well, it's pretty easy. Jr. represents all Nascar fans. Beer, hat on backwards, shirt off, or untucked, sunglasses, video games, women, etc....

Now he has to change his image to fit into the Hendrick team. How, shirt tucked in, long sleeved dress shirts, no hat on backwards, dress pants, clean shaving, etc...

The question is, will he still appeal to his fans thank drank Budweiser because Amped Energy Drink is a lot different from that. I think the only way he can be a good teammate is to win. Justify all the hype. Prove that you belong with the big-boys. There are no more excuses. No blown engines. He has the best of the best to work with and learn from.

I think he has more pressure to prove to DEI what they let go. Cause I honestly don't believe that they (DEI) believe losing Jr. will hurt them at all. I know I would want to prove them wrong especially if it was my step-mother who was shoving me out the door. Mother Teresa has already emptied out the DEI headquarters of all of the Earnhardt Jr. memorabilia, trophies, photos, anything that had any affiliation with Jr. is gone and she made sure of it. He says it doesn't bother him, but come on, any man in his right mind would want to prove how valuable they really are or were to their previous employer.

DEI, or TEI (Teresa Earnhardt Inc.) will now have to rely on Mark Martin and Martin Truex Jr. Which I don't think those two can erase the Jr. legacy at DEI, but if he doesn't win where he is at now, it will be a lot easier for Teresa Earnhardt to say, "I told ya so!"