Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet) is looking to build upon some momentum he created with his second-place finish last week at Talladega. The finish moved Earnhardt up four positions in the point standings to 15th, currently 45 points out of the top 12. Richmond has been one of Earnhardt’s most successful tracks, as he’s posted three wins, eight top fives and 10 top 10s there.
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ON RICHMOND
“I like Richmond a lot. We always thought we run good there ’cause it’s a lot like Myrtle Beach, where I ran a lot in the late models. There’s a lot of similarities. But I just like short-track racing. We seem to do really good on the short tracks. It’s got a lot of different grooves that you can run. You can move around. I think it puts on one of the more exciting races in the season. It ranks right up there as some of the best. “ …
ON CONSISTENCY
“We just have to finish like we did Sunday, and not have any problems. I think we’re doing a better job on pit road. I think we changed some things around with individuals. We got a little bit faster pit crew. We did a real good job this weekend. Other than that, we have a couple of good race tracks coming up. We do pretty good at Darlington. I always love running at Charlotte. I can’t wait to get there. …
ON THE SUMMER STRETCH
“We sort of started out last year running so good at the start of the year, we never were too worried about losing our position to make the Chase, and we struggled through the summer like I’ve done in the past, and we were able to get through it without really losing a whole lot of ground or putting ourselves in any jeopardy. …
ON BATTLING FOR A CHASE SPOT
“This year we started out so slow and terrible, we’re in a hole now. We’re going to be fighting our way to try to get in the Chase all year, I’m pretty sure. So we’re gonna have to step our performance up in the summer way beyond what we were capable of doing last year. That’s gonna be what decides whether we make the Chase or not.
The Final Lap Weekly 