Dale Earnhardt Jr. is pumped heading into Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. And he should be – for a couple of reasons. Earnhardt nearly won the race a year ago, coming up a few hundred yards and less than a gallon of Sunoco Green E15 racing fuel short of winning his NASCAR Sprint Cup points race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He coasted across the line out of gas in seventh place.
Momentum – from a fifth-place finish in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race after winning the Sprint Showdown with a perfect 150.0 Driver Rating.
"Oh yeah, I mean when you run like this the week before it really makes you feel good. It really makes you look forward to it, not as many unknowns," said Earnhardt. "I think we showed what we are capable of doing here next weekend. We are probably going to bring the same car. We have a couple of ideas on how to make the car even faster, especially for qualifying that I hope will work out."
Earnhardt’s best 600 finish with Hendrick Motorsports – fifth – came in 2008, his first season with the organization. His top performance in the race, a fourth-place from his only Charlotte Coors Light Pole, came in 2000. Earnhardt’s best CMS finish, third, was recorded in the fall of 2004.
The Sprint All-Star Race helped erase the sting of a 17th-place finish at Darlington that ended a six-race run of top-10 finishes that matched Earnhardt’s career best. Nonetheless, Earnhardt, who enters the race third in NASCAR Sprint Cup points, appears closer each week to ending a winless drought now at 140 races dating to June 15, 2008.
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