California Preview

PREVIEW: DALE EARNHARDT JR. (NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET)
VENUE: AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY (TWO-MILE D-SHAPED OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (RACE 30 OF 36)
DATE: OCT. 11, 2009 (250 LAPS, 500 MILES)

*****

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, will celebrate his 35th birthday on Saturday. In 11 years of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing, Earnhardt has tallied 18 wins, 88 top-five finishes and 142 top-10s.

AT FONTANA: In 15 Sprint Cup Series starts at Auto Club Speedway, Earnhardt has scored three top-five finishes and four top-10s and led 25 laps. Earnhardt nearly notched his fifth top-10 when he crossed the line 11th in the Pepsi 500 in August 2008.

CHASSIS CHOICE: Interim crew chief Lance McGrew and the No. 88 engineers will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-599 for this weekend's 500-mile event at Auto Club Speedway. This is the second chassis that McGrew has built from the ground up for Earnhardt, and it first was used at Atlanta Motor Speedway in September.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Before the conclusion of Sunday's 500-mile event at Auto Club Speedway, team transporter drivers Dave Radney and Rich Pickrell will have logged nearly 5,000 miles and spent two weeks on the road traveling from Concord, N.C., to Kansas City, Kan., and then on to Fontana, Calif., before returning home to Concord. A second transporter met up in Kansas to swap the Kansas Speedway cars with the ones the team will run at Auto Club Speedway.

HENDRICK AT FONTANA: In 18 Cup events (70 starts) at Auto Club Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports has earned seven wins, 22 top-five finishes and 31 top-10s and led 1,503 laps. The organization, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this season, has scored a top-five finish in 15 of those 18 events.

CHEVY CROWN: With seven races left in the 2009 Sprint Cup season, Chevrolet now has collected its record-extending 33rd manufacturers' championship. Martin leads all Chevy drivers with five wins, and Hendrick Motorsports has contributed 10 of the 15 Chevrolet victories thus far this season.

CHEVY SALUTES AMERICAN HEROES: On Oct. 5, Chevy unveiled the top-five stories submitted by friends and family members who shared why their current soldier is an inspiration and a hero to them on www.youreverydayhero.com. The public can visit the Web site to select its favorite story until Oct. 22, and the soldier with the most votes will win a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox and will be a VIP guest at the Nov. 11 CMA awards.

'TOGETHER' TO AIR SUNDAY: "TOGETHER: The Hendrick Motorsports Story," NASCAR Media Group's documentary-style film chronicling the history of the eight-time Sprint Cup championship team, will air Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Narrated by three-time Academy Award nominee Tom Cruise and presented by Pepsi, "TOGETHER" employs exclusive interviews, never-before-seen archival footage, thrilling racing sequences and rare family photography to detail the personal relationships and emotional events that have shaped one of NASCAR's most decorated organizations. The official "TOGETHER" trailer is available at www.refresheverything.com/hendrick.

ROCKIN' THE RIVER CONCERT SERIES: The Dale Jr. Foundation continues to host the "Rockin' the River" Concert Series every Thursday night in October at Whisky River in uptown Charlotte. Five weekly concerts remain in the lineup and include the Carter Twins, Gavin DeGraw, Rehab, Blake Shelton and Phil Vassar. The fundraising effort benefits The Dale Jr. Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation and Victory Junction Gang Camp. For more information, visit http://whiskyriver.tickets.musictoday.com.

*****

DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER, NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY.): "I haven't been too good at California. The track will change a little with the temperatures being cooler in October and have some more grip. Working with Lance (McGrew, interim crew chief), I think we are improving on our intermediate program so hopefully we can have some good results this weekend."

LANCE McGREW, INTERIM CREW CHIEF, NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/ NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON CHALLENGES AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY.): "The biggest challenge is that as the track has aged it has lost a lot of grip, which is not really uncharacteristic to do. Your corner entry speeds at California are so fast that it's hard to get your driver comfortable on corner entry and still have the car turn the center like it needs to."

McGREW (ON THE CHANGES TO THE TRACK WITH THE RACE IN OCTOBER.): "I think it will make it a little easier because the warmer track temperatures make the track slicker so with the tire that Goodyear is bringing and the weather being a little cooler, hopefully the track will have a little more grip in it."

Credit: Hendrick Motorsports PR