RELATED: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s complete history at Charlotte Motor Speedway
For his final full-time season as a driver, NASCAR.com will offer an analytical preview on Dale Earnhardt Jr. ahead of every remaining Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.
Race: Bank of America 500
Date: Sunday, Oct. 8, 1 p.m. ET (NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Previous five results at Charlotte: 10th, 14th, 28th, third, 20th
RELATED: All of Earnhardt’s Monster Energy Series wins
Notable: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has never scored a points-paying Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Sunday afternoon at the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval will be Earnhardt’s final opportunity to make it happen. In 34 races, NASCAR’s 14-time Most Popular Driver has earned six top fives and 13 top-10 finishes — which equates to an average finish of 18.8.
Memorable: Although Earnhardt has never won a points race at Charlotte, he is still familiar with Victory Lane at his home track. Earnhardt’s first Monster Energy Series victory came during his rookie season at Texas Motor Speedway in April 2000, which locked him into the All-Star Race at Charlotte. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native went on to have a special night on May 20, 2000 by winning the event. After making a late-race pit stop, Earnhardt rocketed to the front of the field in his No. 8 Chevrolet, passing Dale Jarrett with two laps remaining to take the checkered flag. His father, seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt, was there to greet him in Victory Lane after the race.
Quotable: “The challenge at Charlotte is not landing too tight in Turns 1 and 2 and being too tight in the center there,” Earnhardt said in a team release. “Something that I think we all fight and we all have to work on there is trying to get your car to roll the middle of the corner, have that front grip and keep the car turning in the middle. You get into the corner so fast in Turn 1 and transitioning into that banking, the car really lands hard and gets tight, so trying to make that transition is a real challenge. Charlotte is our home track and I haven’t won a points race there yet, so that’s certainly something I would like to do. We have been seeing some improvements in our performance and our speed, so I’m looking forward to Charlotte.”