Dale Earnhardt, Jr starts strong with his new team, wins Bud Shootout
Quote selected text Published February 9th, 2008 in NASCAR News
Fun.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had himself a bucketful of it Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway, kicking off his career as a Hendrick Motorsports driver in the best way possible with a victory in the Budweiser Shootout.
“I had a blast those last few laps,” Earnhardt Jr. said, speaking of the three-lap run following a late yellow in which he outdueled Tony Stewart for the victory.
“I hope the fans enjoyed that. I am so happy. It just doesn’t get any better than that.”
Earnhardt Jr., driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for the first time after spending his entire Cup career in No. 8 Chevrolets owned by Dale Earnhardt Inc. and sponsored by Budweiser, credited his new team for his first Cup victory of any kind since a win at Richmond in May 2006.
“I got some great help from my teammates,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I don’t win the race without Jimmie pushing me.”
You just can’t beat fun.
He was speaking of Jimmie Johnson, the two-time defending Cup champion, who lined up behind Earnhardt Jr. for the final restart and provided the drafting push that helped push the No. 88 to victory.
“I knew I could get some help, but I knew they wanted to win the race, too,” Earnhardt Jr. said of Johnson, who wound up third, and Jeff Gordon, who finished fourth.
“If they had the opportunity, I knew they would try to win and that’s what I would have done, too.”
More at Kentucky.com/Charlotte Observer
RESULTS:
FIN, ST, CAR, DRIVER, MAKE, SPONSOR, PTS/BNS, LAPS, STATUS
1 7 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / AMP Energy PE 70 Running
2 10 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot PE 70 Running
3 18 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s PE 70 Running
4 22 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont PE 70 Running
5 6 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target PE 70 Running
6 16 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet CARQUEST / Kellogg’s PE 70 Running
7 19 22 Dave Blaney Toyota CAT Dealers PE 70 Running
8 2 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army PE 70 Running
9 12 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express PE 70 Running
10 8 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser PE 70 Running
11 3 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS PE 70 Running
12 20 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot PE 70 Running
13 15 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS PE 70 Running
14 21 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s PE 70 Running
15 13 49 Ken Schrader Dodge Qtrax.com PE 70 Running
16 11 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV PE 70 Running
17 23 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL My Circle PE 70 Running
18 1 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite PE 70 Running
19 5 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditReport.com PE 48 Accident
20 17 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M PE 48 Accident
21 9 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker PE 47 Accident
22 4 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal Cask No. 16 PE 24 Accident
23 14 21 Bill Elliott Ford U.S. Air Force PE 15 Accident
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Great start for 2008!!
Awesome Race!!! Way 2 go Jr……Now DEI can shove it up the arse!!!!!!
What a great way to start the season!
i hope everyone that said he had no talent heard what tony stewart said in his interview after the race. i’m pretty sure it when like this “his is one of the best restrictor plate racers out their if not the best and may be better then this dad was”
hopefully this is just a taste of the wins to come this year
GO JR.
I knew it was just a matter of time before Jr was back on top, can’t wait for Daytona,
move over jeffy
Bud up to dale jr #88, I had no doubt when I saw you get up in the lead, you would win. This was the best bud shootout I ever saw. I knew you would pass tony s. You are the best. I cheered so loud, when you won, my neighbors were mad and pounded on my walls, they better get use to it,its just begun. My daughter also a fan,called me we were both crying ,and was so estatic and happy for you jr.Now all I want to say is go win the championship for 2008. This is WHY you are the most popular driver, and the best looking,and the SEXIEST!!!!! Love Linda Dubois
Well look who was second go toyota!!!!
I had a feeling that this race was gonna be great for Jr and so is this season…he’s got quite a power house backin him up, in Gordon and Johnson….Hendrick is going to be the team to beat this year!
He can win all the exhibition races with 21 competitors he wants, but until he can go out there and win with 42 other cars on the track in races that count, it doesn’t matter.
Great way to start the season off, i’m glad NASCAR is finally back, but every true NASCAR fan knows the real season
starts with the 2nd race of the year, even though I love Daytona and love the tight racing all race long holdin it
wide open the entire race just aint racin.
Fisha695 wrote:
you DO realize he was racing the BEST 23 cars from last season right???? I mean if he can beat them he can handle the “other 42″ cars…
and just to correct you because i feel like it, there were 23 cars in the race not 22 and it would be another 20 not another 42 cars.
Great Job Jimmie Johnson. You got Jr. his first win in two years. Now, it’s time for you to win the one that counts, Jimmie.
ganjadude wrote:
No he wasn’t. He was Racing the POLE winners from last year and previous shootout winners, not the best from last year, just the ones that could run the fastest lap on Fridays.
And when I referred to the other 42 cars, I was right, 43 cars start a race, 43 cars minus Jrs car = 42 cars.
either way you look at it JR won his first race with his new team, things are lookin good for this season
Fisha695 wrote:
Fishy your just a sore loser, live with it
A sore loser for what? I didn’t have any money on the race, the only drivers merchandise I buy is from the drivers at my local track, the only drivers I support and the drivers from my local track/area and right now there is none of them in the top 3 NASCAR series (but there is one in the IRL) I have nothing to be a sore loser about, I just like to hear all the reasons these superfans come up with as to why their driver is better then god…. l0l
Top 4 most talked about drivers finished in the top 4.. hmm.
Fisha695 wrote:
NOT ONE FAN HAS SAID THAT FISHY AND YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!
Well fisha when and if one of your favorite local drivers makes it into one the top three nascar series then we can talk about that but until then it’s not worth talking about and also off topic
Fisha695 wrote:
haters jr has not won since o6 give us a minute would ya.. If jr keeps winning its the team that made jeffy a winner more than his ability. If jr cannot win again u guys will bash the jr nation for the whole year.
Well, I can say this…im not a big fan of Junior but damn it you can’t help but smile and think that his daddy is looking down at his son and beaming and Teresa is pissed off cuz she couldn’t keep him. I don’t think that all of this pressure thats on him is fair but if he can pull out a helluva season and contend for the cup then give em hell junior!!! By the way, im a Stewart and Montoya fan myself!! LMAO so let the bashing begin…just kidding! Awesome Race last night Junebug!!
i was there at the race last night and let me tell ya. us jr fans was up on are feet all night long and when he crossed the finish line we all went crazy lol. what a way too start the 2008 season i see more wins coming from jr maybe even a championship this year wooohooo IM A HAPPY JR FAN NOW HMS ROCKS
Fisha695 wrote:
well its not hard to be better than a fictional character created to keep men in line… but thats for another forum
My predictions for the 500 include Jr on top Waltrip in the top 5 and truex in the top 5. thats all i got in mind though.
Way To Go, Jr, Nice to See You up Front and Run Wide Open. Thanks Hendrick for Everything !!!!!! Thanks TEAM. Thank You Fans for Your Staying Power. !!!
Jr is BACK. !!!!!!!!!!!!
That Jr, Hendrick Team will Rock this YEAR
hey guys we should be nice to the fish, she is just like my step kid. a 20 year old know it all.
Well I don’t really care what the Jr haters say or think…all I care about is the fact that Jr is showing his stuff! He was awesome Sat. night and I am going to absolutely love this whole season. I’ve been ready for this for almost a year now and I couldn’t wait for this awesome experience to begin. After this year I am sure there are going to be alot more Jr haters than there is now…but only because he is going to kick butt. He is going to show everyone what he is made off and I’m going to be sitting back laughing and enjoying every moment. You try to bottle up all of that excitement that he had Sat. night and you end up with what Teresa had last year. An emotionally sad driver who can’t be who he is! He has more passion in his little finger than most of us have in our whoile bodies. That passion is going to shine through this year and although there will be alot more haters…well just put it this way…you think he was #1 fan favorite in the past 5 years…you just watch what can happen when he shows all his passion!!!! Jr is awesome and this going to be a great year! ROCK ON DALE JR!!!!!
hot rod todd wrote:
I didn’t know that fish was a female. oops!
ganjadude wrote:
blah blah blah …. waltrip top 5 “wrecks ” maybe truex top 20