Hendrick Motorsports, Press Release

AT POCONO:

In 16 starts at Pocono Raceway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has four top-five finishes and five top-10s. He has led 97 laps and completed 95.7 percent of all laps (2,953 of 3,085 laps).

THIS SEASON:

In 13 races this season, Earnhardt has tallied five top-five finishes, nine top-10s and one pole position. Ranked third in the driver standings, the 33-year-old Kannapolis, N.C., native has held that spot steadily for five straight weeks. Earnhardt moved into third after finishing 10th at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on April 27. At the time, that marked his seventh top-10 of the season.

POCONO CHASSIS:

Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet engineers have selected Chassis No. 88-498 for this weekend's race at Pocono. This is a brand new car that the team tested last month at Pocono.

POCONO POLE:

Earnhardt earned a pole at Pocono on Aug. 5, 2007 and led eight laps before finishing second. The runner-up effort matched his best performance at the Long Pond, Pa., track. Earnhardt also finished second on July 29, 2001, after starting in the 12th position.

HENDRICK TOP 10:

In 48 races at Pocono Raceway, Hendrick drivers have recorded at least one top-10 finish in all but four events. Overall, Hendrick Motorsports drivers have combined for 11 wins, 45 top-five finishes and 76 top-10s at the track.

MUST-SEE TV:

This weekend Earnhardt will get a little bit closer to his favorite television show, "The Office." The sitcom is set in Scranton, Pa., which is about 40 miles north of Pocono Raceway in Long Pond. Recently, Earnhardt told the Charlotte Observer's David Poole, "'The Office' is the greatest show ever. I love it. Remember when 'Cheers' and maybe 'Seinfeld' ruled the world? 'The Office' is like that to me. I would give up everything I have today to go be in that office. I don't care what job it was -- I would do it. I would sell paper in Scranton. I've been watching it since the first season, but that rules my world."

HOMETOWN BOYS:

Chris Fasulka, gas man for the No. 88 Chevrolet, is a native of Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Fasulka, a 1990 graduate of James M. Coughlin High School, has been at Hendrick Motorsports since 2002. Also from the Keystone State are crew members Matt Myers, a rear-tire carrier tire from Ford City, and Dave Radney of Towanda, who drives the team transporter. Spotter T.J. Majors is originally from Wampum.

CLOSE TO HOME:

The No. 88 Chevrolet team will compete near PepsiCo's hometown this weekend at Pocono Raceway. Many employees of the company, which sponsors Earnhardt's car with its AMP Energy brand, will make the 125-mile trip east from Purchase, N.Y. PepsiCo has been headquartered in Purchase since 1970.

DALE JR., THE REPORTER:

In an effort to enlighten himself and his fans, Earnhardt has decided to forego the role of interviewee to play reporter for his official Web site. The interviews will be conducted monthly and featured exclusively on www.dalejr.com. Earnhardt's interview with owner Rick Hendrick is available now.

ARE YOU OLD SCHOOL, NEW? :

The Old School, New School promotion, which runs from May 19 through Aug. 11, gives consumers the chance to win "Cars, Kicks and More" and then choose their old school or new school prize, like a 2009 Corvette or a vintage one. To enter, fans must enter the code found on the bottom of their AMP Energy, Mountain Dew or Sobe drink purchase. Consumers can learn more about the challenge by visiting www.oldschoolornew.com.

BUY AN AMP, 'RIDE WITH DALE JR.':

There is only one month remaining for fans to get their name on the No. 88 Chevy to ride with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt fans can simply take the code found on the bottom of any AMP Energy can, log onto www.AMPEnergy.com and register. The first 70,000 will have their names featured on the special No. 88 AMP Energy "Ride with Dale Jr."/National Guard Chevrolet paint scheme. AMP Energy also will include each and every person who signs up to "Ride with Dale Jr." by the July 1 deadline by featuring additional names on Earnhardt's pit wall banner, car cover and other areas around Talladega Superspeedway during the Oct. 5 AMP Energy 500 weekend.

DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY IMPALA SS

(ON POCONO.):
"We had a good test, but I feel that the track needs to be repaved. It's real, real rough, and you are just bouncing all over the place in the car. They paved this little strip in Turn 3 in the third groove, and we're all running around on it and it had a lot of grip. They need to do the entire track over. The racing is going to be pretty strung out. It has characteristics of a road course and a superspeedway. It's a tough track -- you carry a ton of speed into the corner in Turn 1. It's like you're going 205 mph and have to brake for a 90-degree turn. It's a tough track, but I think it will be a long race; like normal at Pocono -- not many cautions and single-car lines."

TONY EURY JR., CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY IMPALA SS:

(ON POCONO.):
"We had a good little test in Pocono. We have some ground to make up from Dover because we were only 139 points out of first and now we are 272. But we plan on doing that. We were real fast during the test, and Dale Jr. was really happy with the car. I think we should have a good race. We're taking a new car."


This Press Release and any images that are used,
are used with permission. Do not duplicate or
redistribute in any form without permission or credit.

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Ryan Newman, Daytona 500 Champion!!
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.