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Or...Wally Puts the Screws on Junior
That's it...Junior officially ain't winning at Richmond.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/755868.asp
Junior will put night moves on at Richmond
Earnhardt is long on success at short track
by Wally Dallenbach, for NBC Sports
Sept. 4 — To say that Dale Earnhardt Jr. knows his way around Richmond International Raceway is understating the obvious. Going back to his days in the NASCAR Busch Series, Junior has either won or finished in the Top 5 at RIR every year since 1998. So when he gets into his car for Saturday’s Winston Cup race under the lights, I think Earnhardt’s knack for this track will be back and he will again be looking at the rest of the field in his rearview mirror as he takes the checkered flag.
WHY EARNHARDT WILL WIN
Junior followed up back-to-back victories in the Busch circuit’s fall races at RIR (1998-99)by winning the spring race there as a Winston Cup rookie in 2000. In fact, in his five Cup starts at Richmond coming into this year, Earnhardt had a victory, two Top 5s, four Top 10s and had never finished worse than 13th. However, almost 150 laps into this May’s race, he lost his car exiting Turn 4, hit the wall and finished 36th. Despite his misfortune at Richmond, Junior has done very well on the short tracks this year with third- and fourth-place finishes at Bristol and a fifth-place run at Martinsville. That’s why I believe the struggles that Junior and his team have had much of this season will take a break this week and they will make their first trip to Victory Lane in 17 races.
OTHER DRIVERS TO WATCH
Tony Stewart has three wins and six Top-10 finishes in his seven starts at RIR. He has a car that can hook the bottom of the racetrack and that’s important there because handling is so critical. When the No. 20 Pontiac is working well, Stewart is very tough to beat, as he proved in winning this year’s spring race. This track was also the site of his first Winston Cup victory in 1999. So coupling that much past success with being in the thick of a points race, make Stewart a strong contender to shine under the lights on Saturday night.
Even if Jeff Gordon hadn’t won the past two weeks, he would have been considered a favorite at Richmond.
His new found momentum, along with nine Top-5 finishes since 1994 at RIR, are two forces to be reckoned with by the rest of the field on Saturday. Gordon’s cars have consistently qualified (four poles) and run (two victories) well there. Even during his disappointing (by Gordon’s standards) three-victory year in 2000, No. 24 still found a way to take the checkered flag at Richmond.
Although Rusty Wallace leads all active drivers with six victories at Richmond, his most recent came in the spring race five years ago. Still, Wallace has made a living on short tracks like Richmond, Bristol and Martinsville, where he has combined to collect 21 of his 54 career victories. Although currently sixth in points, Wallace is without a victory this year and has a winless streak of 51 races, dating back to Fontana in April 2001. But given his history at RIR, I’m sure he feels there’s a pretty good shot of putting the brakes on that streak Saturday night.
Ricky Rudd returns as champion of this race and certainly has the track record at RIR to defend that title. His first win there came in 1984 and since then, he has consistently had a Top-10 car. In the spring race this year, he led 90 laps and looked to be the car to beat before getting caught up in an accident with lapped traffic. If he can avoid trouble on Saturday night, expect Rudd to be running with the leaders once again.
RACING RICHMOND
Fans always seem to get their money’s worth at Richmond because they’re guaranteed to see plenty of action, a lot of passing and a little bit of paint-swapping in every race. I think most of the drivers like this short track more than Martinsville or Bristol because it’s very wide with a lot of room to race — a true driver’s track.
Unlike the other short tracks, however, Richmond has two real grooves that allow cars to run fast from the apron to the outside wall. And since both the spring and summer races here are run under the lights, I think it takes a lot of drivers back to their racing roots — the Friday and Saturday night short-track circuits.
So far as the track is concerned, there seems to be more actual racing surface at Richmond than at a similar-sized track like Martinsville. While the corners may be just as wide, at Martinsville you can barely run side-by-side through them. By contrast at RIR, you’ll see cars running almost three different grooves going through Turns 3 and 4. Still, the guys who are going to be the fastest are the ones who can get around the bottom of Turns 1 and 2 consistently well.
It’s important to make long runs and be good on tires at Richmond. One of the things you have to caution against is getting the front brakes too hot from overusing them in the corners. This can really affect tire pressure. When the rotors and calipers become hot, the wheels also get hot and the tire pressures go up. And when your tire pressures go up, you lose the handling as well as ruin the balance of your car.
That's it...Junior officially ain't winning at Richmond.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/755868.asp
Junior will put night moves on at Richmond
Earnhardt is long on success at short track
by Wally Dallenbach, for NBC Sports
Sept. 4 — To say that Dale Earnhardt Jr. knows his way around Richmond International Raceway is understating the obvious. Going back to his days in the NASCAR Busch Series, Junior has either won or finished in the Top 5 at RIR every year since 1998. So when he gets into his car for Saturday’s Winston Cup race under the lights, I think Earnhardt’s knack for this track will be back and he will again be looking at the rest of the field in his rearview mirror as he takes the checkered flag.
WHY EARNHARDT WILL WIN
Junior followed up back-to-back victories in the Busch circuit’s fall races at RIR (1998-99)by winning the spring race there as a Winston Cup rookie in 2000. In fact, in his five Cup starts at Richmond coming into this year, Earnhardt had a victory, two Top 5s, four Top 10s and had never finished worse than 13th. However, almost 150 laps into this May’s race, he lost his car exiting Turn 4, hit the wall and finished 36th. Despite his misfortune at Richmond, Junior has done very well on the short tracks this year with third- and fourth-place finishes at Bristol and a fifth-place run at Martinsville. That’s why I believe the struggles that Junior and his team have had much of this season will take a break this week and they will make their first trip to Victory Lane in 17 races.
OTHER DRIVERS TO WATCH
Tony Stewart has three wins and six Top-10 finishes in his seven starts at RIR. He has a car that can hook the bottom of the racetrack and that’s important there because handling is so critical. When the No. 20 Pontiac is working well, Stewart is very tough to beat, as he proved in winning this year’s spring race. This track was also the site of his first Winston Cup victory in 1999. So coupling that much past success with being in the thick of a points race, make Stewart a strong contender to shine under the lights on Saturday night.
Even if Jeff Gordon hadn’t won the past two weeks, he would have been considered a favorite at Richmond.
His new found momentum, along with nine Top-5 finishes since 1994 at RIR, are two forces to be reckoned with by the rest of the field on Saturday. Gordon’s cars have consistently qualified (four poles) and run (two victories) well there. Even during his disappointing (by Gordon’s standards) three-victory year in 2000, No. 24 still found a way to take the checkered flag at Richmond.
Although Rusty Wallace leads all active drivers with six victories at Richmond, his most recent came in the spring race five years ago. Still, Wallace has made a living on short tracks like Richmond, Bristol and Martinsville, where he has combined to collect 21 of his 54 career victories. Although currently sixth in points, Wallace is without a victory this year and has a winless streak of 51 races, dating back to Fontana in April 2001. But given his history at RIR, I’m sure he feels there’s a pretty good shot of putting the brakes on that streak Saturday night.
Ricky Rudd returns as champion of this race and certainly has the track record at RIR to defend that title. His first win there came in 1984 and since then, he has consistently had a Top-10 car. In the spring race this year, he led 90 laps and looked to be the car to beat before getting caught up in an accident with lapped traffic. If he can avoid trouble on Saturday night, expect Rudd to be running with the leaders once again.
RACING RICHMOND
Fans always seem to get their money’s worth at Richmond because they’re guaranteed to see plenty of action, a lot of passing and a little bit of paint-swapping in every race. I think most of the drivers like this short track more than Martinsville or Bristol because it’s very wide with a lot of room to race — a true driver’s track.
Unlike the other short tracks, however, Richmond has two real grooves that allow cars to run fast from the apron to the outside wall. And since both the spring and summer races here are run under the lights, I think it takes a lot of drivers back to their racing roots — the Friday and Saturday night short-track circuits.
So far as the track is concerned, there seems to be more actual racing surface at Richmond than at a similar-sized track like Martinsville. While the corners may be just as wide, at Martinsville you can barely run side-by-side through them. By contrast at RIR, you’ll see cars running almost three different grooves going through Turns 3 and 4. Still, the guys who are going to be the fastest are the ones who can get around the bottom of Turns 1 and 2 consistently well.
It’s important to make long runs and be good on tires at Richmond. One of the things you have to caution against is getting the front brakes too hot from overusing them in the corners. This can really affect tire pressure. When the rotors and calipers become hot, the wheels also get hot and the tire pressures go up. And when your tire pressures go up, you lose the handling as well as ruin the balance of your car.