NASCAR WCUP: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Notes, Post Race, Texas Motor Speedway

By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

April 2, 2001

Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo (finished 8th): "We thought about a two-tire stop, but it just didn't pan out for us. We didn't have a great set of tires. You know, they're a little different here and there. They were able to get through the traffic better than we were. I was just too tight. We had a really good car before that. But we're happy for Goodyear and what they're doing this year. And I had a great time today. I hope we can come back here and do that every time. The crowd is just awesome. You come out here and these people are real excited - especially after the success we've had here. It's a great place to come. I always have a good time here, always.

"I'm just happy we didn't tear a fender off or anything. When you get a good car like that, it's a lot of fun to just sit there and ride and be patient and practice on patience and things like that. That's what I was doing most of the day. I'd get out there and get a big lead and when you get out there that far ahead, it's hard to stay in rhythm because your mind wanders and stuff. Then I'd lose ground. They'd come catch me and pass me and I'd get behind them and we'd run okay. The best part was when me and Steve ran together on a full tire run. That was pretty exciting, man, to see them two cars up there running good."

(How do you focus after being in the lead and then having a slow pit stop?) "Yeah, you come out and you say, 'That's how it is'. There ain't much you can do about it. I knew everybody was frustrated. I was too. We were sitting there with an opportunity to win the race and then we weren't. We lost two or three spots on pit road and then our tires weren't that good. And coming off pit road that far back, the odds are against you compared to where we were two minutes before that. There wasn't much I could do about it. I drove it as hard as I could, I moved it around, I couldn't get nothing to happen.

(Any thoughts about moving to Texas with all the success you've had here?) "I might get me a condo. What do you think about that?"

Text provided by Nancy Wager

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot photos and racing art, please visit The Racing Image Galleries and The Visions of Speed Art Gallery

.