NASCAR WCUP: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Event Preview, Watkins Glen
8 August 2000
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
|
Quotes from Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"I may be biased because we won there last year (in the Busch Series), but Watkins Glen is a cool place - a really cool track. The track has long straights and several good places to pass. You can be more aggressive there than at Sears Point (the other road course on the Winston Cup tour), so that suits my style. We have been struggling a bit lately, especially on the flat tracks. We don't take it very well when we're getting our butt kicked, so the entire team is working together to make sure we are in contention to win every time."
This Week's Race
What: Global Crossing at the Glen Winston Cup Race 21 of 34
Where: Watkins Glen International Speedway Watkins Glen, New York
When: Sunday, August 13, 2000
Watch: ESPN 12:30 p.m. Eastern
BUD Pole qualifying will be seen Friday afternoon on ESPN2. The final hour of practice will be seen Saturday evening on ESPN2.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Watkins Glen
Previous Winston Cup starts: --
Previous Busch Series Starts: 3
Best Busch Series Start: 3rd (1999)
Best Busch Series Finish: 1st (1999)
Just Loafin'
Creative Loafing, the hipster arts and entertainment magazine in the Charlotte (NC) area, has selected Dale Jr. for several awards in their "Best of Charlotte" issue on the newsstands this week.
The staff voted Dale Jr. as the "CELEBRITY YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW PERSONALLY." (We think they're just looking for an invitation to have a cold Budweiser at 'Club E,' the nightclub in Dale Jr's basement.)
The Loafing staff wrote "Who'd a-thought that Son of Terminator would turn out to be a pretty regular guy with a taste for music and a good-hearted nature? He's become almost as well-known for the parties in his basement as he is for his racin'."
The readers of Creative Loafing also recognized Dale Jr. for his exploits on-track. The readers voted him as "Best New Driver, Winston Cup."
What to Watch
Dale Jr. led only one lap of the Busch Series race at the Glen last year. However, it was the lap that counted, as he made a daring pass on road racing ace Ron Fellows to grab the victory. In 1997, prior to securing a full-time ride in the Busch Series, Dale Jr. drove to a ninth-place starting position at the Glen in only his third career Busch start.
The road course should offer a more entertaining and action-packed race than last week's parade at the Brickyard 400.
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