Brickyard400 Recap

DALE EARNHARDT JR.
NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET
POST-RACE RECAP/INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

DATE: July 26, 2009
RACE: Brickyard 400
START: Third
FINISH: 36th
POINTS POSITION: 22nd

RECAPPING THE RACE:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. kept his No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet inside the top nine during Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but his strong run was cut short when engine woes sidelined the team 33 laps shy of the checkered flag. Earnhardt finished 36th.

Earnhardt opened the weekend on a promising note. During Saturday afternoon's qualifying session, Earnhardt circled the famed 2.5-mile oval in 49.843 seconds (180.567 mph), posting his best qualifying effort of the season and earning the third starting spot for the 400-mile event.

Earnhardt took the green flag behind pole sitter and teammate Mark Martin and quickly moved into the second spot on Lap 5.The following lap Earnhardt notified interim crew chief Lance McGrew that the green-and-white Chevy needed an adjustment to help it turn better through the corners.

Green-flag pit stops began on Lap 29, and two laps later Earnhardt came to pit road for four tires, fuel and air pressure and chassis adjustments. Once the field cycled through on Lap 34, Earnhardt was scored sixth on the scoring pylon.

McGrew and Earnhardt continued to work to get the No. 88 Chevy dialed in throughout the middle stages of the race.

The final round of green-flag pit stops began on Lap 123, with Earnhardt running ninth and posting some of the fastest lap times in the field. McGrew called his driver down pit road for a final round of adjustments on Lap 125. The crew quickly added four fresh tires, fuel and made air pressure and chassis adjustments. As Earnhardt exited his pit stall, he radioed that something was wrong with the motor.

The crew hoped the No. 88 Chevy would hold out and Earnhardt would take the checkered flag. But on Lap 127, the engine expired and McGrew told his driver to coast the AMP Energy/National Guard Chevy back to the garage. He finished 36th.

Earnhardt's Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin crossed the finish line first and second, respectively.

QUOTING DALE EARNHARDT JR.:

EARNHARDT (ON HIS RACE.): "The AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet was competitive today, and we were making some gains and kind of adjusting back and forth trying to get the thing right; getting it too tight and getting it too loose. I was pretty happy with it at the end of that last run. We were just in our window to make it to the end. We felt like we were in good shape to get a good finish. I just hate it for my guys. They've been working really hard. This is a brand new car, and we're going to take it to Pocono and keep working at it."