Summary:
Earnhardt finishes eighth in Texas Mar. 28
Dale Earnhardt had his work cut out for him on Sunday for the PRIMESTAR 500 at the Texas Motor
Speedway.
After all, the "Intimidator" ran poorly in qualification on Friday and
started 38th today out of forty-three drivers.
Before the race even began, Earnhardt knew that his chances for victory were slim.
"We're going to need a lot of magic to do well today," Earnhardt said. "We
didn't do well in qualifying, and hopefully we'll get some breaks today."
"We have to stay out of trouble and make something happen."
Fortunately for his GM Goodwrench Service Plus team and their Chevrolet racer, Earnhardt
was able to avoid the accidents that ended the day for three of the top five drivers in
Winston Cup points standings -- Jeff Gordon, Mike Skinner and Mark Martin all were involved in single car
accidents.
Earnhardt was quiet at the start of the race, slowing moving up through the field
on the one-groove track. Later in the race the groove widened some. Following
a few single car accidents and one rather big accident on the frontstretch, Earnhardt was
into the top-15. From there he inched his way to an eighth-place finish, his
third-best finish of the season. Dale was one of 11 cars that finished on the lead
lap.
Earnhardt is 38th in Texas qualifying Mar. 26
Earnhardt could only muster the 38th quickest lap in first-round
qualifying on Friday. Dale did not re-qualify in second-round qualifying on Saturday
-- he used a provisional and will start the PRIMESTAR 500 from 38th. Check in after
the race on Sunday for a full report on Dale's run. Also, be sure to join the chat room after this Sunday's and every race.
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Earnhardt makes top-40 in Texas! Mar. 26
(This article expresses the opinion of its author. It
does not express the opinion of The Earnhardt Connection. The article looks at
Dale's misfortunes in a somewhat positive way.)
There were many doubters saying he couldn't do it; saying Earnhardt wouldn't crack
the top-40 in first-round qualifying on Friday. They learned once again never to
count out Earnhardt. Dale flashed through qualifying with an awesome lap of 185.707
MPH, grabbing 38th spot! Dale beat many big names in the sport, such as Geoffrey
Bodine, Derrike Cope and even Darrell Waltrip! Dale's speed should give him a
starting spot that enables him to be in great position for, maybe, another top-25 finish
on Sunday!
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Earnhardt can find no relief Mar.
26
Dale Earnhardt was hoping for a return to the top of NASCAR in
1999. At the beginning of the season his odds of winning an eighth title looked
excellent. Dale won his 10th-straight Twin 125's race, won the opening IROC event and
finished second to Jeff Gordon in the Daytona 500.
However, Dale's fortunes came to an end after the series left Daytona. The
1999 season starting to become another struggle for Earnhardt, just as the past few
seasons have been. Dale wrecked and finished 41st in Rockingham. At the next
race, in Vegas, Dale qualified poorly but managed a 7th place finish. In the next
two races, Atlanta and Darlington, Dale and the No. 3 team finished 40th and 25th, showing
no sign of competitiveness. Instead of being on top of the points running for an
eighth title, Earnhardt currently sits 20th in points.
This week the series returns to Texas. Earnhardt's struggle continued in the
first two practice sessions. In session one Dale ran the 41st quickest lap. In
second practice Dale ran only the 45th quickest lap.
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