NASCAR WCUP: Earnhardt Jr. hopes to leverage off Pocono testing

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

June 12, 2001

“We had a good test there a few weeks ago, so I think we will be much better now than we were last year. We are getting stronger each week as a group, and I am looking forward to seeing how well we do at a track where we struggled for two races last year. We scrambled at Pocono because it was a totally new track for me and for the team. The Busch Series doesn’t race there, so we all had to learn it together as fast as we could, and it’s not an easy track to learn. I found something new on almost every lap on each of the three unique corners. We wiped out a car in testing and then another in practice for the second race last year, so it’s bound to be better this season!”--Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Budweiser No. 8 Team and Dale Jr. at Pocono

• Previous Winston Cup Races: 2
• Best Start: 13th (June, 2000)
• Best Finish: 13th(June, 2000)

Rolling Stone Redone

This week’s Rolling Stone Magazine (Angelina Jolie is the covergirl…) features a story about Dale Jr. penned by Touré, who also wrote the RS feature about Dale Jr. last spring. The magazine is scheduled to arrive on newsstands this Friday with the three-page spread about Junior.

In a related development, Dale Jr. has revealed the inspiration for his current facial hair stylings. His mustache is patterned after the one worn by actor Billy Crudup (“Russell Hammond”) from the fictional band “Stillwater” in the movie ALMOST FAMOUS, the autobiographical film written and directed by former Rolling Stone writer Cameron Crowe.

Text provided by J. Gurss

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.