Team 88 Ready for Racing in Phoenix

11/6/2012

Dale Jr. looks to build on momentum after last weekend's top-10 finish at Texas as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Phoenix International Raceway.

EVENT: AdvoCare 500
TRACK: Phoenix International Raceway
LENGTH: 1-mile tri-oval
DATE: Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012
TV: ESPN (Coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET)
RADIO: MRN (Coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET)

News & Notes

POINTS REPORT: With two races remaining in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. ranks 12th in the driver standings on the strength of one win, one pole position, 10 top-five finishes and 19 top-10s.

AT PHOENIX: In 20 Sprint Cup starts at Phoenix International Raceway, Earnhardt has earned two wins, four top-five finishes and eight top-10s. He also has led 460 laps there. He earned his two wins there back-to-back, going to Victory Lane in November 2003 and November 2004 when Phoenix hosted one Cup event a season.

PHOENIX STATS: Among all-time drivers, Earnhardt’s two wins rank him tied for second at Phoenix behind teammate Jimmie Johnson. Earnhardt ranks fifth among active drivers in the laps led category with 460 laps, and he is tied for 12th among active drivers with four top-five finishes. He ranks tied for 11th among active drivers with eight top-10s at the one-mile desert oval.

CHASSIS CHOICE: This weekend, crew chief Steve Letarte and the No. 88 crew will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-721. Earnhardt first raced this chassis to a fourth-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July.

INTERMEDIATE TRACK STATS: In 224 Cup starts on intermediate (one- to two-mile) tracks, Earnhardt has recorded six wins, six pole positions, 43 top-five finishes and 87 top-10s. On one-mile tracks, such as Phoenix, he ranks eighth among active, full-time drivers in the laps led category (828 laps) and tied for fourth with three wins.

HENDRICK AT PHOENIX: In 32 races (115 starts) at Phoenix, Hendrick has nine wins, 32 top-five finishes, 57 top-10s and eight pole positions. Johnson leads drivers all-time at Phoenix with four victories as well as 931 laps led. He also is tied for first with 12 top-five results. Jeff Gordon most recently won at the one-mile oval for Hendrick Motorsports in February 2011.

Quotes

DALE EARNHARDT JR. (ON PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY): “Phoenix did a good job on the repave, but I haven’t run good there since they repaved it. I’m just kind of anxious to go back and hoping we can find some speed and be competitive because I do like the racetrack. I’ve ran well on all the repaves this year so maybe we’ve got something for them going back.”