Summary:
Earnhardt finishes 25th in Darlington Mar. 21
 Dale
Earnhardt finished 25th in the rain-disturbed TranSouth Financial 400 in Darlington.
This is the third race of the season that rain has interfered with. The 293-lap
event was cut short after only 164 laps. Ironically, Earnhardt has wrecked in all
three events this season that have had rain delays: Rockingham, Atlanta and now
Darlington. Early in the race, around lap four, Dale got caught up in a wreck
triggered when Rick Mast got a flat tire. Ken Schrader checked up and received a
slight bump from Steve Park, sending Schrader out of control. As Schrader was
sliding down the track, Earnhardt hit him. Earnhardt's damage was minor; mainly a
kicked in grill and some minor sheet metal damage. During the first rain delay the
crew made a plastic cover to place over the grill and help the damaged aerodynamics of the
car. Later in the race a second red-flag came out again for rain. The race was
called after this flag and Dale finished 25th. Jeff Burton came away as the winner.
More to follow.
Earnhardt is 10th in Saturday practice Mar. 20
Dale Earnhardt may have found a setup that will allow
him to run up front this weekend. During the first practice session on Saturday Dale
posted the 10th quickest lap with a speed of 164.865 MPH. Jeff Gordon was ninth
quickest during that practice. Yesterday Earnhardt struggled in qualifying.
Today, he choose not to re-qualify in second-round and will start the race from
30th. Dale will however be forced to pit on the backstretch pits.
Earnhardt qualifies 30th in Darlington Mar. 19
Earnhardt qualified 30th on Friday during first-round
qualifying for Sunday's TranSouth Financial 400 in Darlington with a lap of 170.324 MPH.
According to team owner, Richard Childress, the key to any good
run at Darlington is getting a good lap in time trials. "Qualifying, qualifying,
qualifying," said Childress. "I haven't said that enough this week. To have a
great Sunday, you have to have a good Friday, and by that I mean making a Top 20 starting
position. Things happen very quick at Darlington, and the further back you start the more
likely you're going to get into trouble. We've had our share of trouble already."
"This is a long season, and every lap counts," said Earnhardt, who
wrecked last weekend at Atlanta finishing 33rd. "We've had two Top 10 finishes and
two not so good finishes. We need to get back in the Top 10 and Top 5 finishes on a
consistent basis, that's the only way to win the championship."
Earlier on Friday Earnhardt had posted the 20th quickest speed in first practice
and 28th quickest in second practice. Second-round qualifying and two more sessions
of practice will be held on Saturday at the track. The TranSouth Financial 400
begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Earnhardt, Darlington made for each other Mar. 18
Romeo and Juliet? Nah. Bonnie and Clyde? Closer. Dale
Earnhardt and Darlington? Perfect fit. Full
Story.
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