Earnhardt Jr. Pleased with Performance but not Second Place
DOVER, Del. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. had another solid weekend but solid just isn’t cutting it for him anymore.
He finished second to teammate Jimmie Johnson, who led a race high 243 of 400 laps. It was a record win for Johnson as Earnhardt Jr. tried to overtake him with four tires coming off the race’s final pit stop and restart.
“I’ll be honest with you, it sucks to lose regardless of who wins. It’s probably harder to run second than it is fifth or tenth. When you have a car like we had today, you don’t get good cars every week, you like to capitalize,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me that it was Jimmie. I know Jimmie is going to be good here. Plus he’s my teammate. I want to see him do well. When he does well, it indirectly affects us and benefits us.
“I wasn’t hoping he was going to blow a tire or anything there at the end, I was just trying to catch him. If I could get to him, I thought I would be able to get by him. We just couldn’t do it.”
Starting on the pole for the second time this season, the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet was one of the quickest all weekend. It led the first 25 laps of the race before Earnhardt Jr. before briefly swapping the lead with point leader Matt Kenseth. Still searching for his first win of 2013, Earnhardt Jr. was in firm control until green flag pit stops began.
He missed the entrance to pit road, knowing he couldn’t pit since he wasn’t able to get all four tires inside the commitment zone, and had to wait an extra lap to come down for service. Later in the race he came down much slower than the rest of the leaders, which again cost him the lead.
“If you really look at the race as a whole, they did cost us a little bit, at least the mistake I made missing pit road completely,” he noted about his pit road miscues. “We had the lead, gave up the lead. Jimmie had the lead and was able to take advantage of that clean air when it counted. If I had not given up that track position, had a smart enough race to keep the lead when it counted right at the end, we might have won the race. It would have been hard to get by us, just like it was hard to get by Jimmie.”
Coming in slow wasn’t as big a factor Earnhardt Jr. felt, as missing pit road. He came on pit road just as hard as he had been all day but Mark Martin in front of him held him up when he entered much slower than the 88.
It capped two weeks of “awesome” cars for Earnhardt Jr., who had a chance to win both races. Sunday after leading 77 laps, he thought for sure four tires against Johnson’s two would be the winning strategy.
“I feel like in the last couple of weeks, we’ve been able to really show what our team’s capable of. We’ve been really quick on the sheet every day, fast in practice,” he said as he moved to 10th in points but still remains over a full race behind the leaders. “The changes we’re making, everything seems to be working right, going in the direction you want. I feel like when we get it right, we can compete and we can win.
“We came really close today. I don’t feel like today was a highlight for us. I think this is how it’s supposed to be every week. I know that competition’s difficult and tough, Jimmie being one of the best driver’s the sport has ever seen. Running at one of his better racetracks, it was going to be a challenge. But I felt like we had enough car and tires for sure to beat him.”
Johnson Earns Record Breaking Win at Dover
DOVER, Del. – Jimmie Johnson has already written a few pages in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history book and Sunday afternoon at Dover in the AAA 400 he added one more.
Johnson won for the eighth time at the Monster Mile to take first place on the all-time win’s list, breaking a tie with Bobby Allison and Richard Petty. It was Johnson’s fifth win of the season, his first since Daytona in July, and 65th of his career. He held off a hard charging and hungry teammate in Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“Two [tires] worked good for us in practice. And believe me; I wanted to see four tires line up in the fourth or fifth row. When they lined up right behind me, I thought I was going to have my hands full,” Johnson said about the series of events. “And I really did. Junior drove a whale of a race and track position really gave me the advantage I needed to hold him off.”
Earnhardt Jr. started the day on the pole and led 77 laps but didn’t have enough for Johnson at the end. Even after lining up first among those off pit road with four tires on the final pit stop. Johnson led a race high 243 of 400 laps to clinch the record.
“It’s incredible. To do anything that Bobby or Richard has done is quite an accomplishment,” Johnson said. “We’ve a few sneak away from us here, too, over the years. I’m just so happy to get that done and be the sole leader of race wins here. It’s a very special day.”
The win also moved Johnson to second in points, only eight markers behind Matt Kenseth who finished seventh. Kenseth led early as he looked for his third straight win to open the Chase but lost the handling of his car late. The same affected his teammate, Kyle Busch, who finished fifth and slipped to third in points.
There were only four cautions on the day – three for debris and one for fluid from Brad Keselowski’s car – which allowed for long green flag runs and green flag pit stops. Earnhardt Jr. missed pit road during one and came in slow on another, costing him plenty of time on track both occasions. He overcame those problems for second place but found no solace in it afterwards.
“I’ll be honest with you, it sucks to lose regardless of who wins. It’s probably harder to run second than it is fifth or tenth,” he said afterwards. “When you have a car like we had today, you don’t get good cars every week, you like to capitalize.”
Joey Logano finished third and Jeff Gordon fourth to move to fifth in points and tied with Kevin Harvick.
The NSCS heads to Kansas next weekend where Kenseth won earlier this season. Seven races remain in the NSCS season.
Johnson re-writes history at Dover
The AAA 400 is over at Dover International Speedway. After a beautiful day of racing in the first state Jimmie Johnson was able to hold on Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Junior for the win. Johnson has put his name in NASCAR record books as he becomes the all-time wins leader at the tough “Monster Mile”.
After a drama building sequence when we didn’t think the leaders were good on fuel a caution flew for debris. The caution allowed the few left on the lead lap to hit pit road. Dale Junior’s team elected to take four tires rather then two like Jimmie Johnson. Joey Logano and Jeff Gordon.
The final restart featured a good ole’ 25 lap shootout. The fan favorite Dale Jr. restarted 4th and quickly shot by Jeff Gordon and Logano to take the 2nd position. Dale then faced Jimmie Johnson, one on one. Dale closed to the rear of the No. 48 Chevrolet, but a bad move when he tried to use the high side cost him the race as he fell back about half a second and never recovered.
Jimmie Johnson took the win while leading the most laps, Dale Junior was very disappointed after the race as he felt he had a chance to win.
“Junior ran a whale of a race,” Johnson said. “The track position gave me the advantage to hold him off. … It’s awfully timely in the scheme of things.”
“That’s real disappointing there, but Jimmie is just that fast,” a disappointed Earnhardt said afterward. “He’s really good at this place. I just couldn’t even get to him.”
Joey Logano was the highest finishing Ford as he captured the 3rd position. Kyle Busch finished a solid 5th after having a ill handling race car. Matt Kenseth rides out of Dove as the points leader with a all around fine day after finishing 7th.
NASCAR BTS: The Story Behind Yoga With Clint Bowyer
While the NASCAR media corps, social media, and race fans at the Monster Mile were all abuzz about the 5-Hour Energy promotion, Yoga with Clint Bowyer, this NASCAR Behind the Scenes will focus on the story behind the story, calling attention to the important cause of breast cancer.
This year, the Yoga with Clint Bowyer event was all about an organization called Living Beyond Breast Cancer, a cause near and dear to Bowyer’s sponsor, 5-Hour Energy.
“Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) was founded a little over twenty years ago in suburban Philadelphia by a small group of women who realized that after treatment for breast cancer, there really weren’t a lot of available resources,” Kevin Gianotto, Director of Marketing, Living Beyond Breast Cancer, said. “So, they banded together to make sure that they had not only education but also support amongst one another.”
“It sort of ballooned from there as more and more women joined the organization who were at all stages of diagnosis,” Gianotto continued. “That’s the thing that really defines LBBC.”
“There are amazing breast cancer organizations out there that are specifically about research or detection or early prevention, but LBBC is all about diagnosis,” Gianotto said. “So, regardless of your age or the stage of your diagnosis, we are here with you for education and support.”
“We have a breast cancer helpline so no matter where you are in the country, it is toll free, 1-888-753-5222,” Gianotto continued. “A woman can call at any time, be hooked up with another woman who’s been diagnosed with breast cancer but also trained to help her get to the next place in her breast cancer journey.”
“We also have a website, www.lbbc.org, with a tons of information, especially for special populations such as African-American women, young women, and women who have been diagnosed with metastatic disease.”
For Living Beyond Breast Cancer, the partnership between their organization and NASCAR sponsor 5-Hour Energy is a dream come true, as well as being transformational for the nonprofit in terms of awareness and fundraising.
“LBBC and 5-Hour Energy entered into a partnership early in the spring where a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of a new flavor, red raspberry, would be donated to LBBC,” Gianotto said. “We got to know them and there were great synergies between the organizations.”
“Several months ago, they called and asked if it would be alright if they put our name in their Saturday NASCAR race,” Gianotto continued. “As a marketing person, that was like the Holy Grail, from my lips to God’s ears.”
“I literally was sitting at my desk and I had to put my head between my legs for a couple seconds,” Gianotto said. “A partnership like this is transformative for an organization like ours.”
“The opportunity to reach so many new women who may be out there and may not know where to turn or what resources or who may not have a support system around them, that’s what makes this opportunity so amazing.”
Gianotto had nothing but praise for 5-Hour Energy and the feeling was definitely mutual for the NASCAR sponsor, who just recently announced that their partnership with Clint Bowyer would remain intact.
“I need to give thanks to 5-Hour Energy because we could never have dreamed of being able to share the power of the message that we are able to convey that there are resources and support out there for all of these women who need us,” Gianotto said.
“Living Beyond Breast Cancer is really a tremendous organization,” Melissa Skabich, Director of Communications, 5-Hour Energy, said. “They do such great work.”
“So, it’s really a no brainer for us to partner with them,” Skabich continued. “This is our first event that we’re putting on with them which was a great success.”
“Clint Bowyer enjoyed doing yoga and he was a good sport,” Skabich said. “We had a great turnout and we wanted to just raise awareness which we did successfully.”
“Also, our new raspberry flavored 5-Hour Energy is tied to LBBC as for every bottle sold, five cents goes to the organization,” Skabich continued. “So, we’re raising awareness and funds for them which is great.”
“NASCAR fans are passionate so it was a great fit as we are a fun brand and NASCAR is a fun sport.”
Jessica Coyne, the Yoga Instructor for the event, was equally effusive about her involvement, especially as a NASCAR fan herself.
“I do know who Clint Bowyer is as I am a NASCAR fan and we live just down the road here in Dover so we are quite used to having NASCAR around,” Coyne said. “This is a very good opportunity and I’m very excited.”
“I am a local yoga instructor and I was called by the Living Beyond Breast Cancer organization who asked me to be a part of this.”
“I think the cause is fantastic,” the founder of www.higherpoweryogadelaware.com said. “My family has been touched by breast cancer so it’s very near and dear to my heart.”
“People that have breast cancer are very fortunate to have groups like this available to them and all the resources that they need during this challenging time,” Coyne continued. “So, I’m very honored to do this.”
Coyne believes that yoga is also critical to the health and well-being of those women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, which is just another reason for her passion for the event. And she even brought her family along for good measure as well.
“Studies have shown that the clarity of mind and relaxation really helps to boost your immune system and it really helps anyone battling any type of serious illness,” Coyne said. “My daughter does kid’s yoga with me and my husband, not so much, but we’re working on it.”
“Eventually we will have him doing all the poses.”
Coyne knew that Bowyer might be a handful as she attempted to instruct him on the various moves. But the diminutive yoga instructor held her own throughout the Yoga with Clint event.
“I didn’t have Clint do too many difficult poses,” Coyne said. “We’re just took it a bit easy as it was an early morning.”
“He gave me a bit of hard time, but I just gave it right back,” Coyne continued. “He is quite a card, but I mellowed him right out.”
Bowyer did at least mellow out, for just a bit anyway, as he worked with Coyne and crowd to achieve the various poses, including balancing skills, stretching and breathing.
“I have no idea how the hell I got into this but we got through it,” Bowyer said. “When I saw yoga was on my schedule, that was really a first.”
“Obviously I want to say thank you to 5-Hour Energy for this,” Bowyer continued. “But it is official, my man card is done.”
