07/26/96
For Immediate Release EARNHARDT GOING FOR THE GOLD AGAIN AT BRICKYARD INDIANAPOLIS, July 24, 1996 -- Defending Brickyard 400 champion Dale Earnhardt has won 70 races and more than $27 million in 528 career NASCAR Winston Cup starts. The seven-time series champion from Kannapolis, N.C., ranks sixth on NASCAR's career victory list, and no one has won more money in a stock car than the 45-year-old driver of the No. 3 GM Goodwrench Service Monte Carlo. Earnhardt won $565,600 in the 1995 Brickyard 400, his largest payday in 18 full seasons of NASCAR Winston Cup competition. The victory also provided a healthy dose of momentum in his pursuit of a record-breaking eighth NASCAR Winston Cup title. With top 10 finishes in 10 of the final 12 races last season, Earnhardt came up just 34 points behind 1995 series champion Jeff Gordon. Currently trailing leader Terry Labonte by 12 points entering Sunday's DieHard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Earnhardt hopes to use the third Brickyard 400 Aug. 3 as a springboard to NASCAR's gold medal in 1996. "The Brickyard 400 is one of the races everybody wants to win," Earnhardt said. "It would have been nice to win it first, but just winning it is quite an accomplishment." Showers almost postponed last year's race, and several victory lane shots were snapped in twilight. Earnhardt's constant grin provided plenty of light for the cameras. "It was just about dark when we did victory lane, but I didn't care," Earnhardt said. "We could have done it in the dark, in the rain, whatever. It didn't matter as long as we were there. "It was sort of a weird day with the rain and the delay. Then we worked all day long getting to the front. The guys did a great pit stop and put us out front. "That was the key to winning the race. After that, we just did our job. We ran the car as smooth and straight as we could and made every lap count." Earnhardt led the final 27 laps and scored a .37-second victory over Rusty Wallace. Earnhardt finished fifth behind Wallace in the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994, and he figures Wallace will be one of the drivers to beat again this year at Indianapolis. "The Brickyard is an historical place, and it's a great place to win a race," Earnhardt said. "To be one of only two guys to win it is great. Jeff (Gordon) and I need to try to win it again this year so there'll still only be two winners." Earnhardt tested for the second time this season this week at Indianapolis. The Richard Childress Racing team, with more than 500 total testing laps at Indy this summer, isn't taking any chances on a lackluster performance in NASCAR's most lucrative race. "The second half of our season is usually our strong suit," Earnhardt said. "Right now, we've got to rebound from a couple of tough races at New Hampshire and Pocono. We need to do well at Talladega and go into Indy with some momentum. We'll do everything we can to do the best we can. We just want to go race hard and win."
Check Out TACH's Special Coverage of the Brickyard 400
