Will all the pieces fit for Earnhardt Jr.?
SCENEDAILY - 2:50PM ET TUESDAY JULY 31, 2007 - BY SCENEDAILY STAFF REPORT
MATTHEW STOCKMAN / GETTY IMAGESDale Earnhardt Jr. compares his recent Nextel Cup races to a jigsaw puzzle that is only missing one piece. He and his No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. team have run well recently but haven't converted those good runs into solid finishes.
In the last eight races, Earnhardt Jr. has posted two top-five finishes but also has ended up 22nd or worse three times. He's also led 100 laps over that span.
The Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the latest example. Earnhardt Jr. led 33 laps and spent most of the race in the top 10 before blowing an engine with 24 laps to go.
"The Bud team is performing really well, but we just seem to run into things beyond our control," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It's not like we've been struggling - we've been running up front and in contention to win. It feels like a huge jigsaw puzzle: We have it 99 percent complete, and it looks beautiful - and then the final piece is missing somehow.
"If we find that last piece and we don't get hit by something falling out of the sky, we're going to be all right."
The team heads to Pocono Raceway for this weekend's Pennsylvania 500. Earnhardt Jr. finished 12th in the most recent race at Pocono, which was shortened to 106 laps because of rain.
"I'm not sure how much you can judge from the race at Pocono a few weeks back," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We ran well and we were a top-10 car, but because everyone could see the rain clouds coming in, we made a stop for fuel only and everyone in the field was on a different pit sequence when the rains finally came. Let's hope the weather is better this week and we can get the full distance in."
Earnhardt Jr. will use the Indianapolis chassis at Pocono - with a different engine, of course.
"We're taking the same chassis we raced at Indy, so I'm excited that we're going in with a car that is obviously fast," said Earnhardt Jr., who remains in 12th place in the driver standings, just inside the cutoff line to make this year's Chase For The Nextel Cup. "We'll work on making sure we can get it to turn down into the corners - that's the key for us at Pocono to be able to pass cars."
SCENEDAILY - 2:50PM ET TUESDAY JULY 31, 2007 - BY SCENEDAILY STAFF REPORT
MATTHEW STOCKMAN / GETTY IMAGESDale Earnhardt Jr. compares his recent Nextel Cup races to a jigsaw puzzle that is only missing one piece. He and his No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. team have run well recently but haven't converted those good runs into solid finishes.
In the last eight races, Earnhardt Jr. has posted two top-five finishes but also has ended up 22nd or worse three times. He's also led 100 laps over that span.
The Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the latest example. Earnhardt Jr. led 33 laps and spent most of the race in the top 10 before blowing an engine with 24 laps to go.
"The Bud team is performing really well, but we just seem to run into things beyond our control," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It's not like we've been struggling - we've been running up front and in contention to win. It feels like a huge jigsaw puzzle: We have it 99 percent complete, and it looks beautiful - and then the final piece is missing somehow.
"If we find that last piece and we don't get hit by something falling out of the sky, we're going to be all right."
The team heads to Pocono Raceway for this weekend's Pennsylvania 500. Earnhardt Jr. finished 12th in the most recent race at Pocono, which was shortened to 106 laps because of rain.
"I'm not sure how much you can judge from the race at Pocono a few weeks back," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We ran well and we were a top-10 car, but because everyone could see the rain clouds coming in, we made a stop for fuel only and everyone in the field was on a different pit sequence when the rains finally came. Let's hope the weather is better this week and we can get the full distance in."
Earnhardt Jr. will use the Indianapolis chassis at Pocono - with a different engine, of course.
"We're taking the same chassis we raced at Indy, so I'm excited that we're going in with a car that is obviously fast," said Earnhardt Jr., who remains in 12th place in the driver standings, just inside the cutoff line to make this year's Chase For The Nextel Cup. "We'll work on making sure we can get it to turn down into the corners - that's the key for us at Pocono to be able to pass cars."