NASCAR WCUP: Earnhardt Shoots for Consistency at Bristol
23 March 2000
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
|
Dale Earnhardt has 75 NASCAR Winston Cup victories, including nine wins at Bristol Motor Speedway, his 75th win came two weeks ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but his first, third, 13th, 14th, 25th, 29th, 34th, 61st, 73rd all came at Bristol Motor Speedway and range from April 1979 to August 1999.
The GM Goodwrench Service Plus team has swept the high-banked oval twice over the last two decades winning both season events in 1985 and 1987.
Earnhardt holds the record for winning the race from the furthest starting position. He broke his own record from the 24th starting position recorded in 1994, when he won from the 27th starting position in August of 1999.
Earnhardt is currently tied with Cale Yarborough for second place in the most wins category at BMS with nine wins each.
Last season the GM Goodwrench Service Plus team damaged their primary car in "Happy Hour" forcing them to start their back-up Monte Carlo from the rear of the 43 car field. After taking the green flag Earnhardt drove his back up GM Goodwrench Service Plus Chevy to a 10th place finish.
Quotes
"It's tight racing with 43 cars on a mile track by the end of the race everybody is mad at somebody. The key to winning at Bristol is anger management," said Dale Earnhardt winner of nine Bristol events.
"You know you're going to have body damage when you leave here," said Kevin Hamlin. "Taking care of your equipment will help at the end of the race, but that isn't always in your control at a track like Bristol. Things happen very fast and you don't have a lot of room to maneuver when there's a car sitting sideways in front of you. It's kind of a hit or be hit situation."
Text provided by Racing PR
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