Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Dale Earnhardt Jr. looking for return to Pocono victory lane

Junior swept Pocono last season and is 12/1 to win Sunday.
No. 88 Microsoft Chevrolet SS / Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Driver: Dale Earnhardt Jr. 
Hometown: Kannapolis, North Carolina
Age: 40 
Resides: Mooresville, North Carolina

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on racing at Pocono
“You’ve got to be real aggressive on the pit calls and I think that is what is going to put you in position to win. You call this race in reverse, like a road course, and put yourself up front like we did last year. Everything has kind of got to fall in the right place to allow you to make those choices. It worked out great for us last year. We also had a fast car.”

POCONO SWEEP: Dale Earnhardt Jr. captured his first career Pocono Raceway win last spring and followed it up with another victory there in the fall to sweep the track in 2014. He will attempt to take the checkered flag for the third time on Sunday in the Windows 10 400.

AT POCONO: In 31 Sprint Cup starts at Pocono Raceway, Earnhardt has completed 97.4 percent of all the laps he's attempted (5,596 laps of 5,747 total) and has led a total of 178 laps at the 2.5-mile track. Earnhardt, the defending fall race-winner at Pocono, has had an average finish of 4.2 over the last five races.

POCONO POLE POSITION: Earnhardt earned his first and only Pocono Sprint Cup pole position in August 2007 and went on to lead eight laps there for a second-place finish.

MICROSOFT WINDOWS 10: A global leader in technology and innovation, Microsoft will support the upcoming launch of Windows 10 with primary sponsorship of Earnhardt's No. 88 Chevrolet SS. Microsoft will utilize the two-time Daytona 500 champion as a spokesperson to promote Windows 10, which will be available July 29 as a free upgrade for qualified Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 devices. In addition, its new multi-year partnership with Hendrick Motorsports will incorporate technology solutions and training across the team, including competition, business and IT functions.

STREAKY TRIANGLE: Hendrick Motorsports has fielded a winner in at least one Sprint Cup race at Pocono in each of the past four years, including season sweeps in 2013 (Johnson and Kahne) and 2014 (Earnhardt). In total, Hendrick Motorsports has 17 wins, 12 pole positions, 63 top-five finishes and 110 top-10s at the 2.5-mile triangle.

POCONO PROWESS: Hendrick Motorsports’ 17 Sprint Cup victories at Pocono have come with seven different drivers: Gordon (6), Johnson (3), Tim Richmond (3), Earnhardt (2), Geoffrey Bodine, Terry Labonte and Kahne.

ORGANIZATION STATS: To date, Hendrick Motorsports has totals of 237 victories, 204 pole positions, 966 top-five finishes and 1,604 top-10 finishes in Sprint Cup competition. Its teams have led 64,722 laps since 1984.


 

2015 Season

  • 3rd in standings
  • 20 starts
  • 2 wins
  • 0 pole positions
  • 10 top-five finishes
  • 12 top-10 finishes
  • 204 laps led
 
 

Career

  • 561 starts
  • 25 wins
  • 13 pole positions
  • 137 top-five finishes
  • 236 top-10 finishes
  • 8,051 laps led
 
 

Track Career 

  • 31 starts
  • 2 wins
  • 1 pole position
  • 9 top-five finishes
  • 13 top-10 finishes
  • 178 laps led
 

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