No. 88 driver focused on earning first career Coca-Cola 600 win
RELATED: Junior goes from ‘big trouble’ to top 5 | Johnson gambles, wins
Although the Kansas race made Dale Earnhardt Jr. panic at one point late Saturday night, the No. 88 Hendrick Chevrolet’s fast finish to third in the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 has him excited about coming to Charlotte.
Junior said in this weeks “Dale Jr. Dowload” on Dirty Mo radio that the No. 88 team was confident coming off the truck at Kansas and started the soggy Cup race well, then things fell apart.
“Everybody was real loose. It was a bit of a shock, I think, for everyone how loose the track was. So everybody was skating around, having trouble. We were, too, but not as bad as most guys.
“Then the next run it got worse. The next it got worse. We’re working on the car, and it’s getting worse. So I was freaking out. I’m panicking because we’re trying to fix the car, doing some pretty big stuff, and it’s getting worse.”
A rain delay of 2 hours and 16 minutes wound up being a saving grace for Junior and the No. 88 crew. Junior said he climbed up on the pit box during the rain delay and let his emotion fly with crew chief Greg Ives.
“I’m about to go nuts, what are we gonna do, Greg?” Junior recalls saying at the start of the rain delay. “Greg said it was good I pushed him, but I think I aggravated him more than anything.
“He made some great changes. Him and Kevin and the guys put their heads together and did some good things.”
Junior said the car was more like he expected after the race restarted, with good handling and great speed.
“So we took off haulin’ ass there, everything’s going good, passing cars,” Junior said on Tuesday’s radio show, which took a few times to record because Gus Earnhardt was barking a lot as his master fired up the grill.
“Fun restarts on the outside, especially following Kyle Larson around the top. Me and him must have passed 10 cars on that one restart. The kid’s got some talent.”
Larson wound up finishing 15th in the SpongeBob SquarePants 400, moving the Chip Ganassi Racing driver up two spots in the points standings to 22nd place. Earnhardt Jr. remains in fifth place, trailing leader Kevin Harvick by 77 points and Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson by 29 points.
Junior said he thought he might have been able to steal the win from Johnson had he started on the outside rather than behind Johnson on the inside on Saturday’s final restart.
But now his attention turns to the races at Charlotte, where he believes his strong finish last weekend bodes well.
“It’s got me excited for Charlotte. We’re going to another track for the first time with Greg Ives. We got a lot of stuff that we feel like worked there in the past. Bring on his new ideas and see what happens.”
RELATED: Sprint All-Star Race format | Who’s eligible
Junior says he feels no pressure in running the Sprint All-Star Race, because it’s all or nothing with the $1 million on the line for the winner. He’s much more intense about the Coca-Cola 600.
“What I’m really wanting to focus on is the 600. I want to win that 600. I’d rather win the 600 than the All-Star Race. I just would. It’s just a much more important race for me.”
Junior finished 19th in the Coca-Cola 600 last year. He never has won the 600, his best finish of fourth coming in 2000. He won the All-Star event as a rookie in 2000.
VOTE: Show your support for your favorite driver in the Sprint Fan Vote