Thank You Dale Earnhardt Jr., Damn that was fun!

Dale Jr. brought it strong!

I've always felt a sort of camaraderie with Dale Earnhardt Jr. despite not knowing him personally. When I heard he has an Elvis Presley room because his mother liked him, that was all I needed.

At the time Junior was just starting to make a name for himself rather than being Dale Earnhardt's son, I wasn't too cozy with Junior. I thought he might have a silver spoon and was just given good cars, beginning with the Busch Series and then later in Cup. From 2000-2004, he won 15 of his 26 career Cup races and do so driving the No. 8 car his Daddy built for him.

In his 2004 season, I got to see first hand his hold over NASCAR Nation as he won the Daytona 500. I remember it well because President George W. Bush had his motorcade drive up to the concourse where I was in a beer line and I had to stay there for 70 minutes. At least there was a TV above the beer stand. Junior dominated that day, as was the case on most restrictor-plate race tracks with Dale Earnhardt Inc. performers.

My most fantastic Junior moment came in the 2001 season when he won the July Daytona race, the first NASCAR race there since his father passed there. It was magical. It had to happen that way to build his legend, and it grew even larger. He's the NASCAR Prince.

But Dale's wife, Junior's step-mom Theresa, had other plans for a successful team. She found a PR person to help run the team into the ground. And in the process, they lost their golden child who flew away to Hendrick Motorsports.

But from 2007 on until his retirement at the end of Sunday's Homestead race, he had won only nine more races and seven of them came in 2014-15. Teammate Jimmie Johnson was dominating the series, but his rub somehow never happened in the garages.

The thing I'll always remember about Junior is his enormous fan base everywhere I went on the Cup circuit. They were so friendly and honest about reality. Great BBQ. They loved their driver, thick and thin. And I had some of the best parties ever with Junior Nation in 2004 and 2014. He's a powerful force. He's NASCAR Royalty and people just smile when they talk about him. Love that.

I am pleasured to say I saw his 2004 Daytona 500 win, him helping Michael Waltrip get his first win in the tragic 2001 race, and also him just being the public's driver. I feel vested in emotions spent on Dale Jr. and I'm okay with that.

Dale Jr. brings it wherever he goes. He's the guy that has theme music following around just so his entrances are done with justice. I'd like to think it was the Elvis intro to C.C. Rider.

The best thing about Dale Jr. doing broadcasting next year is that his fans will watch just to hear him say anything, and we all know he's going to be cool as hell with social stuff on his mind coming in at a relatable way. For not jumping into Twitter until lately, the dude has the hang of it now.

I'm not sitting well with the new era of drivers, but just like all of them, I'm moving on as a fan as well. I'll always be there keeping my charts, figuring out who the best is at each track, in each practice, but I cannot deny that something is really different with NASCAR 2017. People? Attendance? Passion? Rivalries?

Who knows, but I'll be watching the 60th Daytona 500 in February just because of family tradition.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes final start of 2017 and full-time Cup career

It's been a long road, but so fun with Junior. His fans made live races great.

Jimmie Johnson on Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“I’ve known Dale a long time, well before he joined Hendrick Motorsports and even before I was a stock car driver. To have him as a teammate, I’ve been able to get to know him behind the scenes and behind the steering wheel – our friendship has gone to deeper levels. I really have enjoyed my friendship with him. It will be sad to see the No. 88 go away, but I’m so proud of him for everything he has accomplished. I can’t wait to see him as a dad, to compare notes (laughs) and am just so happy for him and Amy. I’m excited to see what this next chapter has in store for him.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his emotions leading into Homestead
“I am not sure that I’m ready to be going through all of the emotion that I will have in Homestead, but it’s coming. I hope that I can handle it well, but it’s definitely going to be interesting to see how that feels. All these videos and all these things that our partners are creating, this content has just been incredible. It makes you feel so good in your heart. The comments from fans … it is more than you can process and I’m sure that Homestead is just going to be like the cork coming out of the bottle. I’m lucky that Amy (Earnhardt) is going to be there, I’m lucky my family will be there, and my team. I will have so much support and I want to support them. It’s going to be emotional for them and our fans.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on racing at Homestead
“I’m trying to run hard, trying to do well, trying to figure out our cars and get as good a finish as we can. We’re going to have a lot of things going on this week. Going in there and trying to do as well as we can is at the top of the list, but there are a ton of other things happening. We will just take it one day at a time. It’s going to be a busy weekend.”

No. 88 team crew chief Greg Ives on his relationship with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"Throughout the years, my relationship to Dale has gone through many phases. In his early years I was a fan, watching him win races and championships in the iconic AC Delco paint scheme. It was so cool that we had the privilege to run a throwback to that scheme at Darlington this year. In 2004 when I started at Hendrick Motorsports, he was a competitor that we had to go out there and race each weekend, especially at the superspeedway races where he was so strong.

"When he made the move to Hendrick in 2008, we began a pretty neat relationship. Dale and I are pretty calm and quiet in our personal environment, but when it comes to competition we are extremely focused and competitive. The fantasy football league was where we had our first encounter of determination. The unique battle we had formed a bond that we can still talk about today.

"Moving to JR Motorsports in 2013, Dale became my boss as I tried to help lead his company back to winning races and eventually a championship. Every time Dale came to my office, he asked what he could do for me to help the teams get better - never to tell me how to do my job. There are plenty of Monday morning crew chiefs, but he was never one of them.

"Then in 2015, I got the call to be his crew chief. It was an honor to accept the challenge because I knew we could have quick success with the relationships we had already established. That held true for the 2015 season and 2016 was going to be even better. Putting more focus on winning and being perfect, we were so close in 2015, so why not? When Dale got hurt in 2016, I took a lot of the responsibility on myself. We had to work through the tough times together, had to confide in each other, and ultimately developed our best relationship – our friendship."

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS, will be available to members of the media on Friday, Nov. 16, at 10:20 a.m. local time in the Homestead-Miami Speedway media center.

APPRECI88ION TOUR SUCCESS: In June, Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced a five-month campaign called the JR Nation Appreci88ion Tour, which started at the July Daytona event and has carried through to the end of the 2017 season, his last as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver. The Appreci88ion campaign gave Earnhardt’s fans, his partners and the NASCAR industry a way to celebrate his historic career while offering the driver an opportunity to make gestures of gratitude to everyone who made the ride possible. Throughout, the fans have joined the celebration by using the #Appreci88ion hashtag on social media. Earnhardt himself used it to share weekly videos recounting memories and milestones from each of the tracks on the NASCAR circuit. The gestures of appreciation from the entire industry were overwhelming, and many will create a lasting impact on local communities across the country, celebrating the legacy Earnhardt has created.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: The 2017 season marked Earnhardt’s 18th full-time year in the Cup Series. The native of Kannapolis, North Carolina, has earned 26 career victories, including the 2004 and 2014 Daytona 500s. His 26 victories tie him for 29th on NASCAR’s all-time race winners list. He also has 15 pole positions and eight non-points wins (five in the Daytona 500 qualifying Duel, two in the Clash and one All-Star Race victory). Overall, Earnhardt has qualified for the NASCAR playoffs eight times (2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015). He is the only third-generation NASCAR champion, achieved when he won the 1998 and 1999 NASCAR XFINITY Series titles. He follows his legendary father Dale Earnhardt Sr., a seven-time Cup champion and winner of 76 races, and his grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, the 1956 NASCAR Sportsman champion. The three Earnhardts combine for 10 NASCAR championships.

AT HOMESTEAD: Earnhardt, who has yet to earn his first win at Homestead, has been on the upswing in his most recent visits to the 1.5-mile oval. While Earnhardt has a total of one top-five and two top-10 finishes in his 16 starts at the facility, the Kannapolis, North Carolina, native has finished inside of the top 15 in four of his last five trips to Homestead-Miami Speedway, including a career-best third-place finish in the 2013 event. According to NASCAR's loop data statistics, Earnhardt ranks near the top of the fastest laps run category. The driver of the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS is fourth among active drivers at Homestead since 2005 with 150 fastest laps run, some of which have been during the 121 laps he’s led in his 16 starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

ROOKIE SCHEME: Earnhardt’s No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS, originally unveiled live on QVC on Aug. 2 from Axalta’s Customer Experience Center, will be red with black and white stripes, paying homage to the driver’s very first paint scheme, which debuted in 1999 when he competed in his first career Cup Series race. Click here to see how the scheme came to life.

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER: On Tuesday, Nov. 28, NASCAR and Nationwide will bring together fans, family, friends, key influencers in his racing life and a few surprise guests to join Earnhardt to tell stories at Rose. Rabbit. Lie. at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas at 9 p.m. PST. Hosted by Earnhardt himself, this once-in-a-lifetime fan experience will tell the tales of NASCAR’s reigning most popular driver. The best part is all the proceeds from the event will benefit Nationwide Children’s Hospital including the great work being done in the Dale and Amy Earnhardt Activity Room. For tickets and more information, click here.

IT’S NOT GOODBYE, IT’S SEE YOU LATER: While Earnhardt is retiring from full-time Cup racing, he will still be a very visible presence in the sport. He will drive in two NASCAR XFINITY Series races for his JR Motorsports team in 2018, be active in his role as an owner of that team, and, in the second half of the season, he will join the NBC Sports group in the Cup broadcast booth. In short, the man who has been voted by fans as NASCAR’s most popular driver for 14 consecutive years isn’t really going anywhere.

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2017 Season 21st in standings 35 starts 0 race wins 0 stage wins 2 pole positions 1 top-five finish 8 top-10 finishes 47 laps led     Career 630 starts 26 wins 15 pole positions 149 top-five finishes 260 top-10 finishes 8,234 laps led     Track Career  16 starts 0 wins 0 pole positions 1 top-five finish 2 top-10 finishes 121 laps led

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Dale Earnhardt Jr to possibly make final Daytona start Saturday

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 8/1 to win Coke Zero 400.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on heading to Daytona, #Appreci88ion
“I have great memories at all of these tracks, Daytona included. I am going to be coming back to these tracks whether I’m driving or not, and I want to continue to be part of the sport. It’s hard for me to put into words what it being my last Cup race at Daytona might feel like because I don’t know what that is going to feel like, and you never say never. Our whole idea on finishing up the season is to try to show our appreciation and express that to our fans and everyone in the industry on making this an incredibly enjoyable ride."

Earnhardt on his legacy
“I think the wins are great. I enjoyed celebrating those, but long after your career, guys come along and win races and some of your accomplishments on the track sort of get forgotten. But, who you are as a person never gets forgotten. People never forget who you were. I hope people just thought I was good and honest and represented the sport well. I hope people that work with me enjoyed working with me, whether it was in the Late Model ranks or whatever; and I hope the guys I raced against enjoyed racing with me. That’s really all that will matter. Hopefully I left a good impression. I’ve had a lot of fun.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS, will visit the Daytona International Speedway media center at 1 p.m. local time on Friday, June 30.

DAYTONA LEGACY: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had his share of success at Daytona International Speedway, adding to the Earnhardt family legacy at the historic track. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native has four wins – the most of any active driver – including two Daytona 500 victories (2004 and 2014). He also has earned seven non-points victories at the speedway. He is tied for the most top-five finishes (13) among active drivers and leads active drivers in top-10 finishes (19), laps led (601) and best average starting position (10.2) at the track. Earnhardt is in a five-way tie for seventh on the Daytona all-time wins list. His most recent victory at Daytona came in the summer race two years ago on July 5, 2015.

LOOP DATA: Along with his all-time statistics, Earnhardt ranks high in NASCAR’s loop data stats among active drivers since 2005 at the 2.5-mile, D-shaped oval. He leads in laps run in the top 15 (2,917) and speed on restarts (177.290 mph); he ranks second in average running position (13.634) and driver rating (94.2); third in green-flag passes (5,214) and quality passes (3,522); and fourth in fastest laps run (100).

#APPRECI88ION TOUR: On Tuesday, Earnhardt announced a five-month campaign called JR Nation Appreci88ion, which will start this weekend at Daytona and carry through the end of the 2017 season, his last as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver. The Appreci88ion campaign will celebrate Earnhardt’s historic career while offering gestures of gratitude to everyone who made the ride possible. Throughout, fans can join the celebration by using the #Appreci88ion hashtag on social media. Earnhardt himself will be using it to share weekly videos recounting memories and milestones from each of the upcoming tracks the remainder of the season. JR Nation Appreci88ion merchandise will be available at the Dale Earnhardt Jr. souvenir trailers at the track and at ShopJRNation.com. More information on the Appreci88ion campaign can be found at DaleJr.com.

PINK GLOVES: During the month of July, Earnhardt will be wearing gloves accented in pink to represent Therapeutic Recreation Week as part of The Dale Jr. Foundation’s ongoing Driven to Give Gloves program. Earnhardt’s race-worn gloves will be auctioned off to raise funds for Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s clinical and research programs. Nationwide Children’s is America’s largest pediatric hospital and research center with all care provided regardless of a family’s ability to pay.

PATIENT CHAMPION AND FRIEND: Maddie Delaney will have her name above the passenger door of Earnhardt’s No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS this weekend at Daytona through Nationwide’s Patient Champion program, which is paired with The Dale Jr. Foundation's Driven to Give Gloves. Maddie, 10, has cerebral palsy. When Maddie was just 2, she underwent a six-hour spinal surgery to release the built-up tension in her legs. She spent almost an entire month on the PT floor at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. But, through it all, Maddie never gave up and maintained a positive, upbeat attitude. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious and she inevitably brightens the day of everyone she meets – including the Earnhardts. On one of his first trips to Nationwide Children’s, Earnhardt met Maddie – she subsequently beat him in a Wii game – and in every visit since, both Earnhardt and his wife Amy make sure to stop by and play a video game or hang out with Maddie. Maddie is currently pursuing her black belt in Tae Kwon Do and enjoys swimming, singing and acting.

NATIONWIDE PET PROMOTION: Pet owners can visit www.pawsandracing.com to learn more about Nationwide’s pet insurance and submit a photo of their pet(s) to enter to win a VIP race experience including travel to the Sept. 24 race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a meet-and-greet with Gus and Earnhardt and their pet’s image will be featured on the TV panel of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS during the Sept. 24 race weekend. Additional first prize winners will receive a Nationwide Pet Accessory Kit plus a No. 88 Nationwide die-cast car signed by Earnhardt.

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2017 Season 22nd in standings 16 starts 0 race wins 0 stage wins 0 pole positions 1 top-five finish 4 top-10 finishes 10 laps led     Career 611 starts 26 wins 13 pole positions 149 top-five finishes 256 top-10 finishes 8,197 laps led     Track Career  35 starts 4 wins 1 pole position 13 top-five finishes 19 top-10 finishes 601 laps led

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Dale Earnhardt Jr has 20.2 average finish, no wins, in 33 road races

Dale Earnhardt Jr is 40/1 to win his first road course race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on racing at Sonoma
“We’ve had great race cars at the road courses the last few years, which has helped me a lot. Sonoma is the most challenging track that I race at. We’ve just got to take care of our car and make it through to the end.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS, will visit the Sonoma Raceway media center at 2:30 p.m. local time on Friday, June 23.

HEADING IN THE 'RIGHT' DIRECTION: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has mentioned time and again that he is not as confident on road courses as he is on the ovals that make up the bread-and-butter of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. But, don’t let the 42-year-old veteran fool you – he has stepped up his game when it comes to tackling both left- and right-hand turns. In his first 14 starts at Sonoma Raceway, he never finished inside the top 10, although he did have six top-15 finishes. In his most recent three starts at the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course, the driver of the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS has earned two top-10s, finishing third in 2014 and seventh in 2015. Last summer, he ran inside the top 10 for a majority of the race, but a late-race incident caused him to lose spots and he finished 13th. Earnhardt’s best start at Sonoma came in 2007 when he qualified third. He has finished on the lead lap in 14 of 17 races.

MAKING PASSES: Earnhardt is scored near the top of the board in making passes at the California road course, according to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, which cover active drivers in events from 2005 to the present. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native ranks first in the green-flag passes category with 731 and he’s seventh on the quality passes list with 224. Earnhardt is 11th in fastest laps run (27), green-flag speed (89.754 mph) and laps spent in the top 15 (558).

AXALTA COLORS: The No. 88 Chevrolet SS will be back in the bright Axalta colors this weekend. It marks Axalta’s seventh of 13 races as the primary partner on Earnhardt’s Chevrolet this season.

NATIONWIDE PET PROMOTION: Earlier in June, Nationwide launched a social media sweepstakes encouraging pet owners to enter for a chance to have a photo of their pet featured on the TV panel of Earnhardt’s No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS during the Sept. 24 race weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. As Nationwide’s current ad campaign highlights, Earnhardt knows how important it is to insure and protect his “many sides” including his car, his small business and his home. He takes that same protective approach to his beloved dogs, Gus and Junebug. That’s where Nationwide pet insurance can come in handy, by helping defray costs of visits, treatments and, in case of a more serious disease, it will help cover the cost of surgical procedures. Pet owners can visitwww.pawsandracing.com to learn more about Nationwide’s pet insurance and submit a photo of their pet(s) to enter to win a VIP race experience including travel, a meet & greet with Gus and Dale Jr. and their pet’s image will be featured on the No. 88 Chevrolet. Additional first-prize winners will receive a Nationwide Pet Accessory Kit plus a No. 88 Nationwide die-cast car signed by Earnhardt.

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2017 Season 23rd in standings 15 starts 0 race wins 0 stage wins 0 pole positions 1 top-five finish 3 top-10 finishes 10 laps led     Career 610 starts 26 wins 13 pole positions 149 top-five finishes 255 top-10 finishes 8,197 laps led     Track Career  17 starts 0 wins 0 pole positions 1 top-five finish 2 top-10 finishes 9 laps led

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Dale Earnhardt Jr seeing positives of fast car for Michigan

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 80/1 to win at Michigan; so is Kasey Kahne.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on racing at Michigan
“We had a really fast car at Pocono, running top-five lap times. I was happy with the speed of the car, so hopefully we can carry that to Michigan. It’s typically a really good track for us. We’re back in the simulator this week preparing for it – we’ve just got to stay on it and keep working toward success.”


VICTORY IN THE IRISH HILLS: Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s most recent victory at Michigan International Speedway came on June 17, 2012, when he started 17th and led 95 laps before crossing the stripe with a 5.393-second lead to earn the victory. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native has also earned two pole-position starts at the two-mile track, tying his career bests. He also has two poles at Texas Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.

DRIVER RATING AND LOOP DATA: Earnhardt ranks fifth in the driver rating category among active drivers at Michigan with an average of 96.0 since 2005. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The maximum a driver can earn in each race is 150 points. The driver rating number is used pre-race as a prediction tool and post-race as a performance evaluator. He also ranks in the top five in many other loop data categories, such as fastest laps run (fourth – 205 laps), green-flag speed (fifth – 179.850 mph), laps in the top 15 (third – 2,977 laps), laps led (fifth – 289), and quality passes (second – 933 passes) during that span.

MOUNTAIN DEW: The No. 88 Chevrolet SS will sport the green colors of Mountain Dew this weekend. Michigan marks the second of three races where Mountain Dew will be the primary sponsor on Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevy. Check out this article for a closer look at the Dew scheme.

IVES RETURNS TO HOME STATE: No. 88 team crew chief Greg Ives hails from Bark River, Michigan, and grew up working with his father and older brother at the local racetracks. He spent eight years behind the wheel before finding his true calling under the hood. After earning a mechanical engineering degree from Michigan Tech, Ives résumé ended up in the hands of Hendrick Motorsports team manager Brian Whitesell, who invited the aspiring engineer to meet at Daytona International Speedway during the 2004 Daytona 500 race weekend. To make the appointment, the self-described “grease monkey” drove from Michigan to Florida, sleeping in his car in the process, and subsequently landed a formal interview a few weeks later. He then joined the No. 24 team as a shop mechanic before getting the opportunity to be the race engineer on the No. 48 team. After recording five championships with Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 group, Ives went to JR Motorsports to crew chief, first with Regan Smith’s No. 7 NASCAR XFINITY Series entry in 2013, then guiding Chase Elliott to an XFINITY championship in 2014 before returning to Hendrick Motorsports to lead the No. 88 team in 2015. You can read more about Ives’ background here.

MORE MICHIGANDERS: In addition to Ives, several members of the No. 88 Mountain Dew team also have ties to Michigan. Doug Wojcik, a Wisconsinite and a race engineer for the No. 88 team, attended Michigan Tech to get his engineering degree. In the summer of 2014, following his junior year, Wojcik interned at Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports for the summer, where he got to know Ives. Wojcik interned at Hendrick Motorsports on the setup plate while finishing his classes at UNC Charlotte and had his credits transferred back to Michigan Tech so that he could graduate in May 2015. He began traveling with the No. 88 team as a race engineer in the fall of 2015. Andy “Squigz” Quillan, hauler driver for the No. 88 team, was born and raised in Orleans, Michigan, which is approximately two hours from the racetrack. He has had a passion for motor sports since he watched a NASCAR race at his home track as a kid. Quillan started his racing career as a car chief in the ARCA series 10 years ago before joining Hendrick Motorsports. Scott Brzozowski, the front-tire changer for the No. 88 team, grew up in Sterling Heights, Michigan, which is outside of Detroit. He was a member of the No. 24 team's over-the-wall crew before he switched to the No. 88 team last fall. Brzozowski lists Jeff Gordon’s victory in the 2014 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as his favorite moment in racing to date.

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2017 Season 23rd in standings 14 starts 0 race wins 0 stage wins 0 pole positions 1 top-five finish 2 top-10 finishes 10 laps led     Career 609 starts 26 wins 13 pole positions 149 top-five finishes 254 top-10 finishes 8,197 laps led     Track Career  34 starts 2 wins 2 pole positions 8 top-five finishes 14 top-10 finishes 353 laps led

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Dale Earnhardt Jr has 3.8 average finish in past seven Pocono starts

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 30/1 to win on one of his best tracks.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on racing at Pocono
“Pocono is a good track for us. I like both Pocono and Michigan, so we have some solid tracks coming up for the No. 88 gang. We were in the simulator this week working on Pocono. We’ve been working really, really hard the last three weeks. It’s been going great – the cars have gotten better in practice and we’re seeing some good improvements, so we’re going to keep grinding. We’re going in the right direction.”

DOVER RECAP: After an up-and-down day for the No. 88 team at Dover International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. came home with an 11th-place finish after missing a multiple-car incident on the final lap. His last two results – the Dover finish and the top-10 finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway the prior week – have helped Earnhardt move up three spots in the championship points standings, from 25th to 22nd.

FRONT-RUNNER AT POCONO: Earnhardt swept both NASCAR Cup Series events in 2014 to earn his two career victories at Pocono Raceway. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native has also finished in the top five in a third (33.3 percent) of the races he’s competed in at the “Tricky Triangle,” including his most recent trip to the 2.5-mile facility last spring, when he earned a runner-up finish. The driver of the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS also has one pole at the Pennsylvania track, which he earned in August 2007.

LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR's loop data statistics, Earnhardt has the sixth-best driver rating among active drivers since 2005 at Pocono with a 93.9 average rating. The driver rating is a formula that combines wins, top-15 finishes, average running position while on the lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes. The driver of the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS ranks seventh in average speed early in a run (164.905 mph), average speed late in a run (162.737 mph), green-flag speed (163.311 mph), quality passes (823) and laps in the top 15 (2,646) in that span. He ranks eighth in fastest laps run (112 laps) and laps led (93 laps).

PRESENTED BY: Earnhardt’s primary sponsor at Pocono will also be the presenting sponsor of the 400-mile Cup event, a race it has sponsored for three consecutive years. Axalta presents the Pocono 400, which will air live on FOX Sports 1 on Sunday, June 11, at 3 p.m. ET. Use #AxaltaPocono400 to join in the conversation on race weekend.

HOMETOWN CONNECTION: The shock specialist for the No. 88 Axalta team, Jason Seitzinger, hails from Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, which is just over an hour southwest of Pocono Raceway. Nicknamed “Penske” for his first job in racing – he worked in the parts room at Penske Racing Shocks in Reading, Pennsylvania – Seitzinger has been with Hendrick Motorsports for more than 15 years. He initially started at Hendrick Motorsports as a shock specialist on the No. 24 team and was part of Jeff Gordon’s 2004 Brickyard 400 victory.

 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. to make final All-Star Race start

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his first All-Star Race start in 2000

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on winning his first All-Star Race
“It was just really hard to believe that we won that race. I was sitting there in Victory Lane and just couldn’t believe that we had won. I could not wait to see my dad – I remember passing him in that last stage, and that’s something you just dream about. He was thrilled, so that was a real special moment to spend with him – we just couldn’t believe it.”

Earnhardt on running his last All-Star Race
“The All-Star Race to me has always been very important. As a kid watching that race and watching my father run it, hearing him talk about it and explain how important it was to him, what it meant to him and how hard he tried to win it, that really cemented in my mind what it means to the sport.

“It certainly stands alone and has a special meaning, and I’m going to miss the process of the All-Star weekend – the buildup to the race and the preparation and the practice and all the scheming in the garage and the strategies – they change the format every year so it’s somewhat new. I’m going to just miss being a competitor in that atmosphere because you get competitive in the event, but there is also a lot of pride to be in that race and to get that invitation, so to speak. I’ll miss that feeling of accomplishment. Those races are a lot less pressure because there aren’t any points on the line, but it’s a different style of pressure. They are going to have a soft tire, which should be interesting to see just how much better that is and whether that is really going to make a big difference versus the guys that are on a hard tire. It should be a fun weekend. It seems like all the guys on the team really enjoy the pre-race and driver intros. They really include the teams and it’s fun for the drivers to have our guys there with us.”

ALL-STAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned a victory as a rookie in his first start in the NASCAR All-Star Race on May 20, 2000. It was a 70-lap event, and he took the lead from Dale Jarrett with two laps to go to win the race. Earnhardt has made every All-Star Race since 2000, although he has had to run The Open qualifier twice. Both times, Earnhardt transferred to the All-Star Race – once by winning the fan vote (2011) and once by winning The Open (2012). In the last four All-Star events, the Kannapolis, North Carolina, native has earned a best finish of third (2016) and a worst finish of 10th (2015).

AXALTA GRAND OPENING: On Tuesday, Axalta Coating Systems hosted a grand opening event at the new Customer Experience Center on the Hendrick Motorsports campus. The Customer Experience Center is a 36,000-square-foot training and conference complex designed to serve Axalta’s refinish, transportation OEM, and industrial customers. The Customer Experience Center boasts two state-of-the-art paint application centers, a collaborative mixing lab and an exhibit lobby where visitors can witness the breadth and depth of Axalta’s coating systems and technology.

AXALTA AND MAACO: Maaco, North America’s No. 1 bodyshop and a member of the Charlotte-based Driven Brands family, will make its debut in the All-Star Race on the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS. The opportunity is thanks to a joint promotion with Maaco’s paint partner Axalta Coatings Systems. The Maaco logo will have distinctive visibility on the Axalta paint scheme under the lights for the night race. Earnhardt will participate in a press event on Thursday to promote the partnership. For information, please contact Tiffany Daniels or Debby Robinson.

NATIONWIDE UNVEILS 600 CAR: Nationwide unveiled the brand new, patriotic paint scheme that Earnhardt will pilot for Memorial Day weekend’s 600-mile race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Watch the red, white and blue No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS come to life by clicking here.

COMMERCIAL BREAK: In case you missed it, Earnhardt has played the leading role in recently debuted ad spots for two of his partners, Mountain Dew and Nationwide. For Mountain Dew, NASCAR’s 14-time most popular driver serves as a pitchman for Dew’s newest product, DEW-S-A. In Nationwide’s new commercial, the insurance company looks at another side of Earnhardt – “Golden Years Dale” – to promote its retirement planning services.

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2017 Season 25th in standings 11 starts 0 race wins 0 stage wins 0 pole positions 1 top-five finish 1 top-10 finish 10 laps led     Career 606 starts 26 wins 13 pole positions 149 top-five finishes 253 top-10 finishes 8,197 laps led     All-Star Career  17 starts 1 win 0 pole positions 6 top-five finishes 14 top-10 finishes 44 laps led

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