Summary:
Earnhardt finishes sixth in Charlotte May 30
Dale Earnhardt drove to his seventh top-10
finish of the season in the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night.
Earnhardt, who started 15th in the 43-car field, moved into the top-5 in the first
30 laps of the 400 laps event at Lowe's Motor Speedway and stayed there until crunch time.
Earnhardt moved past Mark Martin for fourth place with 82 laps remaining, but his
tires soon went away from him and the Intimidator dropped to sixth, where he finished.
Jeff Burton led 199 laps en route to his third victory of the season and 10th of
his Winston Cup career. Burton held off Bobby Labonte over the final 20 laps to secure the
victory and the Winston No Bull 5 $1 million bonus.
Labonte, also eligible for the bonus, finished second, followed by Martin.
Tony Stewart, a Winston Cup rookie who had finished in the top-10 at the
Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day, put two Joe Gibbs Pontiacs in the top-5 with a fourth
place finish. Winston Cup points leader Dale Jarrett was fifth.
Memorial Day was indeed one to remember for Earnhardt. His son, Dale Jr., made the
first Winston Cup start of his career. "Little E" wound up a respectable 16th.
Dale, Jr. was patient and steady through most of the race, and he avoided any
trouble. His first stop after the race was at his father's hauler.
"I just wanted to make sure he was OK with how I ran as car-owner and
father," Junior said.
"It was a decent night,'' Dale Sr., assessed. "We stayed out of trouble
and Dale Jr., didn't collect me up there at the end."
Earnhardt's sixth place finish also moved him up two positions in the points, from
ninth to seventh. Earnhardt is just three points behind Ward Burton, who is sixth
place in the points.
Memorial Day Weekend, Earnhardt
style
Earnhardt to start 15th, Jr.
8th! May 25
Dale Earnhardt Sr. will start in 15th place in
Saturday night's Coca Cola 600, seven spots behind his son Dale Jr., who had a solid
showing in Bud qualifying Wednesday night.
Bobby Labonte won the pole for NASCAR's longest race with a fast lap of 185.230
mph, while Earnhardt Jr., trying to make the field for his well-publicized and
much-anticipated first Winston Cup race, had a 184.407 in his only allotted lap around
Lowe's Motor Speedway at Charlotte.
"I ain't never been that nervous in my life," said Earnhardt Jr., whose
lap guaranteed him the eighth starting spot in Sunday's 43-car field. It also put him
seven spots ahead of his father, seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt.
"In 600 miles we're bound to run into each other sooner or later - not
literally, I hope," said Earnhardt, 24, who heightened expectations for his move up
to NASCAR's top circuit by winning NASCAR's Busch Grand National title last year as a
rookie.
As Earnhardt was being peppered with questions by a swarm of reporters, his father,
who 24 years earlier made his Winston Cup debut at Charlotte, was out making his
qualifying run for the latest version of NASCAR's longest race.
Earnhardt, 48, didn't fare nearly as well as his son. A lap of 183.692 was the best
he could do, putting him 15th on the starting grid and four rows behind his son.
"We'll have a lot of fun with it," said the younger Earnhardt. "I'm
sure he's going to have a lot of laughs watching me try to wheel that thing around
here."
On Saturday is the Busch Series race, followed by Winston Cup "Happy
Hour." The race is Sunday night at 6:15 p.m. ET, televised by TBS. Richard Childress
will drive the 2000 Monte Carlo pace car in
the race.
Earnhardt in Speed Street 600
Festival May 29
Dale Earnhardt set the tone of the evening
on Friday in downtown Charlotte. Fielding questions from the throng of fans gathered for
the Speed Street 600 Festival, the seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion was asked
a question that wasn't exactly flattering to his longtime rival Rusty Wallace ... Full Story.
2000 Monte Carlo to pace
Coca-Cola 600 May 13
Going into the 1999 season, Chevrolet hoped
to debut its redesigned 2000 Monte Carlo for racing at the Coca-Cola 600 in May.
Unfortunately, the debut of the racecar was pushed back to next season, but that doesn't
mean the street model's debut has been delayed. The new Monte Carlos are already in
production, and one will be driven by Richard Childress as the pace car for the Coca-Cola
600 later this month. Full Story.
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