JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW
No. 88 Grand Touring Vodka Chevrolet/No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
No. 5 Hellmann’s Chevrolet
EVENT – DRIVE4COPD 300 (120 laps / 300 miles)
TRACK – Daytona International Speedway (2.5-mile tri-oval)
DATE – Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011
TV / RADIO – ESPN2 (coverage begins at 1:15 p.m. EST) / MRN (broadcast begins at 12:45 p.m. EST)
Aric Almirola
No. 88 Grand Touring Vodka Chevrolet
“This year Daytona is going to be a little bit different with the repaving of the race track. It’s going to be an unknown for most teams. So going down there with our GT Vodka team, we have a little extra testing time, which is going to be great for us. I’ve raced with a lot of the guys that are going to be in the Nationwide race at Daytona. When you’re drafting it’s so important to trust the guys you’re drafting with. I think many of the guys have a sense of trust and respect for me on the race track when it comes to drafting. I feel like I will get a lot of help once we get out there.
“Daytona is different from the other tracks for its historical significance to the sport of NASCAR. To know that back in the day they raced on the beach there, and all the history behind Daytona with the foundation of our sport, it separates it from the other race tracks. You go in there excited and ready to kick off the year, and get a good start to the season. I want to win at Daytona probably worse than anybody. I grew up about an hour and a half from the track, so I always have a lot of friends and family that come to that race. I think that adds more pressure than just the fact that it’s Daytona.”
Danica Patrick
No. 7 Go Daddy Chevrolet
“Daytona is exciting because it’s the first race of the year and everybody is geared up and ready to go. I’m looking forward to going back to some of these tracks for a second time with the Go Daddy car. When I went back to Fontana last fall it showed me what can happen if you start the weekend off from a better position. Instead of spending practice sessions learning the track and getting adjusted to the car’s handling, you can focus on other things. At some of the tracks last year, I had just gotten on the track and I’m telling Tony (Eury Jr., crew chief) the car is loose, where once I get up to speed it’s going to be tight. So you just feel like you’re wasting a lot of time. So being able to start the weekend from a good position really allows you all the practice time to improve the car and be in a better position for the race.
“I can’t even begin to describe what a help Tony Jr. has been to me. He’s been there from the beginning of last year and has taught me so much. I don’t think anyone needs me to reiterate how little I knew about stock cars when I climbed into one last season. He’s been a contributing factor in helping with my learning curve. JR Motorsports has also done everything they could to help me out in giving me as much testing as possible. And like I’ve said many times, the other drivers on the circuit were all so nice to me. So I really felt like if I had a question, there was somebody that could help me out with an answer. I really felt the respect and the honesty from those guys.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
No. 5 Hellmann’s Chevrolet
“I just enjoy racing at Daytona. It’s a place that has a neat feeling. It has a great atmosphere, a lot of history, and it feels good to be there. With the new surface at Daytona, it has lessened the challenge we’re typically up against. I do expect there to be some tire failures, which seems to happen on a newly paved track. The debris that comes off these cars just has nowhere to go. There aren’t the typical crevices for debris to fall down into, so it just sits on the surface and cuts tires down.
“I feel good about the contingent of cars and teams JR Motorsports is taking to Daytona this year. We’ve got solid sponsors that we enjoy being associated with, and I expect our cars to be really competitive. Tony Sr. and Tony Jr. have worked really hard this off-season for this one race, and they have a pretty good track record at Daytona. There’s no arguing that. I like what we’re taking.
“Chris Heroy will be my crew chief for this race. He is one of the lead engineers at Hendrick Motorsports, and I think very highly of him. He was the engineer on my Cup team last year. I think he has such potential in this sport, and I wanted to run a race or two with him, you know, give him a shot. We call him Sunshine. or Shine. He’s a smart guy, and in a situation where I am running a third car for a team that typically only runs two, we had a hole to fill and Shine was the guy I wanted to fill it. I appreciate Rick (Hendrick), Doug (Duchardt) and Lance (McGrew) over at Hendrick Motorsports for letting us borrow him for the Nationwide race. We’ll have a lot of fun.”
JR MOTORSPORTS NOTEBOOK –
275th START FOR JRM – The Feb. 19th season opener at Daytona marks the 275th start for JR Motorsports in Nationwide Series competition. Dating back to its introductory race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2005, the team amassed nine wins, 54 top-fives and 112 top-10s with five poles and 1,142 laps led.
EARNHARDT FAMILY AT DAYTONA – The Earnhardt family owns 47 wins at the historic 2.5-mile speedway. Earnhardt Sr. secured 34 wins, with Earnhardt Jr. supplying 13 victories to the list. Earnhardt Jr.’s six Nationwide Series wins at the facility are the most among active drivers, just one win behind overall leader, Earnhardt Sr. In both Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series competition the younger Earnhardt owns 17 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes, with two poles and 907 laps led.
DEFENDING WINNER – Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove to victory in his most recent race at Daytona International Speedway last July. Earnhardt secured a storybook ending with his win in the No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet after qualifying third and leading the final 33 laps. It marked Earnhardt Jr.’s 23rd win in the Nationwide Series.
CHART TOPPER – Earnhardt Jr. ranks first in the Nationwide Series’ fastest-lap- run category at Daytona over the past six years, according to NASCAR Statistical Services. Additionally, Earnhardt Jr. ranks in the top five in the following categories: laps led, green-flag passes, and laps in the top 15. He also owns a top-10 ranking in average running position, driver rating, fastest drivers late in a run, green flag speed, and speed in traffic.
HELLMANN’S No. 5 TEAM – Earnhardt Jr.’s last turn behind the wheel of the No. 5 Chevrolet featured a pole and a third-place finish (Atlanta in 2009). For Daytona, the Hellmann’s team is comprised of Hendrick Motorsports employees. Chris Heroy, an engineer on Mark Martin’s No. 5 Sprint Cup entry, will assume the role of crew chief for the race, marking his debut in that position. The over-the-wall crew on the Hellmann’s team also serves as Earnhardt Jr.’s crew in the Sprint Cup Series.
TITLE CONTENDER – Almirola and the No. 88 team are poised to make another run at JRM’s initial championship in 2011. In the eight races Almirola ran for JRM last season, he tallied 1,021 points. At that pace Almirola would have earned a second-place finish among the Nationwide Series regulars over a 34-race span.
ALMIROLA AT DAYTONA – With only two starts to his credit at Daytona, Almirola owns one pole and one top-five start with respective finishes of 19th and 28th.His average start at the facility is 2.0.Almirola’s most recent Nationwide Series start there came in the summer of 2007. Despite growing up two hours away from Daytona International Speedway, Almirola, a native of Tampa, Fla., considers it his home track.
DAYTONA STATS FOR 88 – Since 2006, the No. 88 team earned one top-five and three top-10 finishes at Daytona, all of which came in night races. In 2010 the team also led laps in two of the three restrictor-plate races.
A STRONG 2010 – In his eight races with JRM last season, Almirola notched one top-five and four top-10 finishes. He led 19 laps, including at least one in six of his eight starts. Almirola’s average finish with the team is 13.0.
DANICA’S 2011 NNS SCHEDULE – Patrick will compete in 12 Nationwide Series races in 2011, including the first four events of the year at Daytona, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Bristol. The remainder of her schedule features races at Chicagoland Speedway (June 4), Daytona International Speedway (July 1), Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (Aug. 20), Richmond International Raceway (Sept. 9), Kansas Speedway (Oct. 8), Texas Motor Speedway (Nov. 5), Phoenix International Raceway (Nov. 12), and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Nov. 19). GoDaddy.com will sponsor 11 of Patrick’s 12 races with Tissot returning as a primary sponsor for the Chicagoland event.
PATRICK AT DAYTONA – Daytona marks only the second track where Patrick will have multiple NNS starts (the first was Auto Club Speedway). She earned one top-10 finish in the ARCA event at Daytona in 2010 and has one start there in NNS competition.
DRIVER APPEARANCES – JR Motorsports drivers Aric Almirola and Josh Wise will appear at the JR Nation merchandise hauler for autographs on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011, from 12:30 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. in the fan concourse area.
NEW JRM RACING WEBSITE – JRMracing.com is the digital home of the JR Motorsports NASCAR Nationwide Series race teams. Visit it for more information about the company, its history, and drivers, including Aric Almirola and Danica Patrick. Watch exclusive video content, including pre and post race reports with drivers and crew.
JRM QUICK FACT – Four former Daytona 500 winners have driven a JRM Chevrolet, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman.
