Closing In: Dale Earnhardt Inc. Proving Relevance in 2008
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Oct. 8, 2008) – While Dale Earnhardt Inc. has yet to visit victory lane in the Sprint Cup Series in 2008, the organization has time and time again this season proven its relevance in NASCAR.
Regan Smith’s dramatic 18th-place near-victory last Sunday at Talladega is just the latest in a long list of events proving DEI is more than capable of competing at the highest level. Ironically, Smith was the only one of the organization’s four drivers to not officially lead during Sunday’s race, despite the fact that he crossed the line first on the only lap that actually matters.
“We are building great cars over here and everybody is focused on competition,” said DEI president of global operations Max Siegel. “To take the young drivers and run that well all day long, and for the cars and the teams to perform and to finish the way they started that race, it is really an indication of where we are at Dale Earnhardt Inc. At the same time, it offers a glimpse of where our program can be in the future.”
Despite running only his third restrictor plate race ever, rookie driver Aric Almirola worked the draft on Sunday like a seasoned veteran, leading the first laps of his young NASCAR career. At the same time, Paul Menard earned his career-high finish in the No. 15 Dale Earnhardt Inc. entry with a second place run, while leading six laps in the race.
“It was a great weekend and it was great to see our cars run that well,” added Siegel.
“Everyone at this company has a lot to be proud of for all four of these teams at DEI. We have some tremendously dedicated people at this organization and it’s great to see their effort and hard work rewarded.”
The youthful trio of Smith, Menard and Almirola restarted second, third and fourth on the final restart at Talladega with just two laps remaining. DEI’s other entry - the No. 1 car of Martin Truex Jr. - led early in the race, before getting caught up in a race-ending accident while running in second position. All this was the conclusion of a weekend that saw DEI place all four cars inside the top 10 of the starting lineup, with three of the cars starting top-five.
However, a quick look at the last few races shows just how in the mix Dale Earnhardt Inc. has been in 2008. Truex led 27 laps at Kansas two weeks ago and was a race favorite, before breaking a gear shifter and falling out of the race. Three weeks ago at Dover, Mark Martin’s No. 8 Chevrolet was the class of the field on the long run with Martin closing in on the race leader late in the race, before a series of cautions thwarted his chance at once again conquering the Monster Mile.
Powered by the Earnhardt Childress Racing engines at DEI, Martin has garnered six outside poles in 2008, and racked up one of the best years qualifying in his distinguished career – saying a lot for a racer with 41 career Cup poles. In addition, behind the wheel of the No. 8 DEI car, the veteran has finished in the top 10 in almost 50 percent of his starts and has more top 10 finishes than 13 drivers who have started 10 more races. Martin enters this weekend’s race at Charlotte having finished top 10 in four of his last five starts with the No. 8 team.
“We took a lot of heat last year about our engines and we made a consorted effort with the joint venture with Childress to focus on improving and to get both power and durability,” said Siegel. “I don’t think the guys at ECR have gotten the kind of credit they deserve for the job they have done this year.”
The No. 8 team - led by veteran crew chief Tony Gibson - fielded near dominate cars at both Phoenix and Pocono, leading a combined 123 laps in those two events alone. The duo of Martin and Almirola have the car sitting at 14th in Sprint Cup Owner points, less than 100 points outside of the first spot not in the Chase.
Almirola has done his part as well, completing almost 96 percent of his laps, while scoring his first career top-10 finish earlier this year at Bristol and bringing home solid top-18 place finishes in three of his last four races.
Smith has completed close to 99 percent of his laps during his rookie season, and has led the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings for the past 14 weeks, while Menard and the No. 15 team have made massive improvements over last season. The team has comfortably maintained its status inside the top 35, while making each of the races this season. Going into this week’s race at Charlotte, Menard sits just outside the top 25 in driver points, a large improvement over a year ago, when the team missed six races.
“I’m very biased and I’m proud of this company and the people that work here,” added Siegel. “If you take a step back from all the problems that we have with perception, the fact that all of our cars are inside the top 35 is validation of how strong this organization and program is.
“We made a commitment to develop the younger drivers and make a long term investment in expanding this company. Over last year we have achieved many of the objectives we set out. We may not be competing on a daily basis with the Hendricks and the Roushes of the world just yet, but we laid out our objectives and we’ve been able to meet a lot of our goals. That says a great deal about the people we have working here at Dale Earnhardt Inc. and I think it says a lot about what the future can hold for this race team.
“We have a strong infrastructure, a solid competition area and a great legacy,” said Siegel. “We just have to be patient, move the company forward and stick to our core plan and we can have a bright future here at Dale Earnhardt Inc.”
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