Sonoma Preview

EARNHARDT AT SONOMA: In nine NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., Dale Earnhardt Jr. has scored four top-15 finishes. Earnhardt, driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, has completed 97.7 percent of all the laps he’s attempted there (973 laps of 996).


POINTING UP: After securing a 14th-place finish at Michigan International Speedway, Earnhardt gained two positions in the driver standings, improving to 18th. He trails 12th-place Jeff Burton by 255 points.

CHASSIS CHOICE: This weekend, crew chief Lance McGrew and the No. 88 engineers will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-514. Earnhardt debuted this car last season at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, where he led 33 laps and finished 22nd at the upstate New York road course.

GOLDEN STATE NATIVE: Team engineer H.A. Mergen, in his first year with Hendrick Motorsports, hails from Sacramento, Calif., which is about 70 miles northeast of Sonoma. Mergen, who started racing quarter midgets at age 3, won two dirt track championships and later raced stock cars and late models with his dad around California. Mergen earned multiple engineering degrees at California State University, Sacramento before gaining his Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis by studying hybrid vehicles. During his college years, he worked at McClellan Air Force Base on electric vehicles. After graduating in 1998, he moved to North Carolina and has been working in the racing industry ever since.

HENDRICK AT SONOMA: Jeff Gordon has accounted for all five of Hendrick Motorsports’ wins at Sonoma. Hendrick Motorsports, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this season, has 22 top-five finishes and 31 top-10s in 20 Cup events (66 starts) at the California road course.

ROAD COURSE TESTING: Last month, Earnhardt and the No. 88 team had two test sessions at Virginia International Raceway in preparation for the race this weekend. The tests gave Earnhardt the opportunity to reacquaint himself with road course shifting and making both left and right turns.

AMPENERGY.COM RELAUNCH: A brand new AMPEnergy.com Web site has been launched. The site features an online magazine with the latest content, events and experiences surrounding Earnhardt and AMP Energy Racing. Its dynamic content is constantly changing, and the integration of Twitter, YouTube and Flickr feeds provides up-to-the-second updates. Check out the new site, including the “Shotgun” video directed by Stacy Peralta, at www.AMPEnergy.com.

SERVING AMERICA: Next month at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Earnhardt will run the No. 88 National Guard “Serving America”/AMP Energy Chevrolet. It is a special paint scheme to honor National Guard soldiers who dedicate a portion of their time to serving their nation, state and local communities. Since first muster in 1636, National Guard soldiers have brought glory and honor upon themselves and the Guard through quiet and selfless service. Approximately 363,000 soldiers strong, the Army National Guard is the oldest component of the Armed Forces of the United States and celebrated its 372nd birthday in December 2008. To learn more on how you can serve your country with the Guard, visit www.NATIONALGUARD.com.

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DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON TESTING AT VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY LAST MONTH.): “We tested there last month, and we got some good information and ideas for setting up the car at Sonoma. That will be especially helpful since Lance (McGrew) is now calling the shots, and he has never really run at a road course with us. It’ll be good for him to have some statistics, some background information on how we did at VIR to look at for Sonoma. And hopefully that will put us closer to being on the same page because this will be a tough weekend. Sonoma is one of the toughest tracks we face.”

EARNHARDT (ON ASKING TEAMMATE JEFF GORDON FOR ADVICE.): “You know, you look at my teammates, and there is a lot of talent there; a lot of great drivers to lean on. Jeff has a knack for road courses. He’s great at them. So I’ll try to take advantage of that by asking him for advice and guidance. I definitely plan to find out how his team is setting up their car for Sonoma. We’ve tested and whatnot, but it will help to see what he’s going to do. When you’ve got a teammate who has been as successful as he has been there, it doesn’t make any sense for us to fumble around for the right combination. We can lean on him for advice. Who knows? Maybe we’ll unlock something.”

LANCE McGREW, INTERIM CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON ROAD COURSE RACING.): “I think they should be on the schedule because you should be matching wits with the best drivers in the United States or the world if you want to go to that scope. It mixes it up where you have to be very talented at different venues â€" short tracks, superspeedways, and why not road courses, too. I’d actually like to run more of them. It’s a different mindset to call the race backwards and try to luck your way through some late-race cautions to make it on fuel. It turns into such a strategy. I think that, to me, is why it’s a little more challenging.”

McGREW (ON PIT STRATEGY.): “It’s totally pit strategy. It’s really not about the speed of the car at all â€" it’s being able to put yourself in position to be at the front at the end of the race. Whether that’s pitting way before you can make it on fuel and praying for cautions and just staying out, or happening to hit the cautions just right where it works out great. It’s definitely more of a chess match than any place we go.”

McGREW (ON ADDING ANOTHER ROAD COURSE TO THE SCHEDULE.): “Maybe some more of the traditional road courses like Mid-Ohio or Laguna Seca (Calif.) Raceway â€" places that have a lot of tradition. I know the Nationwide (Series) cars go to Montreal, and that track looks interesting. If you are going to mix it up, let’s mix it up.”

McGREW (ON ENJOYING NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.): “I’m not a big wine drinker, but I’ve enjoyed going to San Francisco and just cruising around. It’s always cool the first time you see the Golden Gate Bridge, and I enjoy the historic value of the town â€" the street cars. I’ve enjoyed going to San Francisco.”