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DAYTONA BEACH, Florida.
Jeff Gordon grabbed the lead from Dale Earnhardt Jr., then held off Kurt Busch and Earnhardt in extra laps to win his third Daytona 500 on Sunday. |
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Tickets - Races - Concerts |
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Driver Profile
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 Born: October 10,1974, in Kannapolis, N.C. Lives in: Mooresville, N.C. Height, weight: 6-0,165 Car: No. 8 Chevrolet Car owner: Teresa Earnhardt Crew chief: Pete Rondeau Engine builder: Richie Gilmore First NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race: May 30, 1999, at Lowe's; started 8th, finished 16th
Career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup wins: 15 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup wins: 6 First NASCAR NEXTEL Cup win: April 2,I
at Texas; started 4th
Career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup poles: 6 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup poles: 0 Last NASCAR NEXTEL Cup pole: September 27,
2002, at Kansas; finished 6th Best points finish: 3rd (2003)
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WHERE HE'S FAST: Restrictor-plate tracks. Earnhardt's average finish for the four races at Daytona and Talladega was 1.75. Although Earnhardt has run well at short tracks in the past, this was a stellar year for him on those courses. In the first five short track races, Earnhardt had two wins, an average finish of 3.6 and led 697 laps. He continued to excel on flat one-milers. He won at Phoenix for the second consecutive year and finished third at New Hampshire in the fall.
WHERE HE'S SLOW: Despite Earnhardt's prowess on big, banked tracks, the big, flat tracks have been a thorn in his side. His average finish at California, Michigan and Indianapolis was 24.4. Although Earnhardt had four top fives and five top 10s on 1.5-milers, it's still hit or miss for him on those tracks. Although Earnhardt finished third in both Charlotte races, he still lacks consistency at those tracks.
STRENGTHS: On average, Earnhardt qualified in the first five rows last season. The five times he qualified 25th * or worse, he converted his weak starts to three top fives, including a win in the night race at Bristol. Earnhardt inherited his late father's ability to manipulate the wind on restric-tor-plate tracks. If Earnhardt gets the lead, he's gone.
WEAKNESSES: Earnhardt has a tendency to psyche himself out of a race before the checkered flag falls. He started the doom-and-gloom statements last year after testing at Homestead and never recovered once the team arrived at the track. He must work hard to communicate with his new crew.
IN THE PITS: Although the offseason shakeup caught many by surprise-Earnhardt essentially swapped crews with teammate Michael Waltrip-there were discussions about change as early as last July. The communication between Earnhardt and Tony Eury Sr. and Tony Eury Jr. never improved. Despite the seven years this trio spent together, they didn't speak a common language for describing problems with the car and fixing those problems throughout the course of a race.
BOTTOM LINE: It's hard to believe that 2004 was the first season Earnhardt led the points in his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup career. Had Earnhardt and the team not suffered through such a rough stretch in late July and early August, when he was recovering from burns suffered in a non-NASCAR event, the season might have turned out differently. As it was, Earnhardt finished fifth in points. Will change be good in 2005? Not unless Earnhardt and his new crew figure out how to make the bad days better. |
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Pete Rondeau (top left) served as
Michael Waltrip's crew chief for the final
six races of last season and was moved
to Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team in the same
role during the offseason. Waltrip's No, 15
team and Earnhardt's No. 8 basically
swapped crews. Earnhardt and Rondeau
teamed up in the NASCAR Busch Series
to win a race in 2004.
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