www.MotorCityOil.com
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has spent this season trying to convince everyone that he drives for a title-contending team.
He'll get a last chance to prove that point tomorrow night when the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 (ESPN, 7:30 p.m.) at Richmond International Raceway finalizes the 12-driver field for the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
Racing on one of his favorite tracks - Junior has won three Cup races on the three-quarters-of-a-mile Virginia oval - he will need to overcome long odds to keep his championship hopes alive.
Earnhardt trails 12th-place Kevin Harvick by 128 points, and must finish fifth or higher to have any mathematical chance of gaining a berth in NASCAR's 10-race playoff.
"I know we're a long way back," Earnhardt said. "We're going to worry about things within our own control. We know it's the longest of long shots."
He added, however, that he and the team were "giving it everything we've got. My attitude is, 'Let's be as aggressive as we can be, lead all the laps, and win the thing.' "
His assessment is not far off.
Ninth-place Clint Bowyer and 10th-place Martin Truex Jr. will clinch spots in the Chase just by starting tomorrow night's race, while 11th-place Kurt Busch will be in with a finish of 36th or better.
Harvick, who won this race last season, can lock himself in by placing 32d or better. One scenario under which Junior would qualify is if he leads the most laps and finishes fifth or better - and Harvick ends up last in the 43-car field.
Heading to Manhattan. The dozen drivers that qualify for the Chase will take a parade lap through the streets of New York City on Thursday morning before making a noon appearance at the ESPN Zone, at 42d Street and Broadway.
The title run will begin Sept. 16 at the New Hampshire International Speedway.
In the area. Kasey Kahne met with 175 military personnel Wednesday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on behalf of Dodge, which donated 3,000 tickets to the USO for the Dodge Dealers 400. The race will take place Sept. 23 at Dover International Speedway.
The USO will distribute the tickets to military personnel and their families throughout the Philadelphia and South Jersey area, as well as in Dover and the Virginia USO centers in Fort Myer and Hampton Roads.
Title time. The Indy Racing League will crown a champion at Sunday's season-ending Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 (Channel 6, 4 p.m.) at Chicagoland Speedway.
Dario Franchitti, in search of his first IndyCar Series championship, holds a three-point lead over the 2003 series champion, Scott Dixon.
Tony Kanaan, the 2004 series champion, has won three of the last four races and leads the series with five victories this season, but trails Franchitti, his Andretti Green Racing teammate, by 39 points.
None of the three contenders has ever won on Chicagoland's 1.5-mile oval.
This Article Is Sponsored By:
www.MotorCityOil.com
For More Information About This Article Please Email:
Trevor@MotorCityAutoParts.com
Article Number: 000032
No comments:
Post a Comment