Earnhardt Jr.: Extra 100 miles can be tough

Dale Earnhardt Jr. says that drivers definitely notice that the race this weekend has an extra 100 miles tacked onto it.


As he and his Hendrick Motorsports team prepare for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Earnhardt Jr. says that everyone is aware they are getting ready for the season's longest event.

"As a driver, you definitely notice it's another 100 miles," he said. "All of a sudden you're riding along and a switch kind of flips on you where you start to feel like you could lose focus or concentration. Physically and mentally, it's a tough race. Some races go better than others as far as that goes. There are times you get mentally exhausted, but I know I've never completely lost concentration. It's a challenge, that's for sure."

At Lowe's Motor Speedway, Earnhardt Jr. has earned four top-five and eight top-10 finishes. He has one win at the 1.5-mile track, where he claimed the 2000 all-star, non-points event. He has led 236 laps in races there.

This Sunday, the event begins in the daylight and ends late at night, requiring changes to be made to the car over the course of the race.

"I don't think I know anyone who has a real lock on how you set your car up perfectly for starting in the day and finishing at night," he said. "The track obviously gets a lot faster, and you know that you have to anticipate a lot. The good thing is that it's longer, and you have a better chance of hitting the nail on the head with the setup because you have a longer time to think about it and more opportunity to work on the car. Patience is a key, too."

To keep up with the changes that the car needs, crew chief Tony Eury Jr. says he needs constant and accurate information from his driver. That will help the team make the transition and try to stay with the leaders.

Earnhardt Jr. continues to seek his first win with Hendrick, the team he joined this season, and is riding a streak of 73 races without a victory. He didn't run as well as hoped in last week's Sprint All-Star Race, but this race is longer, and the team is bringing a new car for it.

"Driver feedback is very important to us during the race, and Dale Jr. is great at giving detailed feedback," Eury said. "He lets us know what's going on. I think we were all surprised at how much the handling of the cars changed over a 25-lap run the other night during the all-star race.

"We're going to have to build some adjustability in the race car. Saturday night the car started out tight and then went bad loose. It's going to be a tough, long race. I think people will pit at every opportunity to work on these cars. • We tested the car, and it was really fast, so I'm hopeful. I'd love to win at Charlotte; it's my hometown track."