Earnhardt to make 300th straight start

DOVER, Del. (May 31, 2008) – By the time Dale Earnhardt Jr. suits up for this weekend’s race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, he could have made about 120 round trips from the track to Hendrick Motorsports headquarters in Concord, N.C. That is because Earnhardt has logged a total of 114,368.7 miles on his Chevrolets through the years, and this weekend, he will be making his 300th consecutive start in a points-paying race. Earnhardt, driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, has been participating in Cup races since May 30, 1999, when he debuted at Lowe's Motor Speedway. During his nine-year career, Earnhardt has racked up 17 wins, 81 top-five finishes and 130 top-10s in a total of 303 Sprint Cup events. For Dover’s one-mile concrete oval, Earnhardt and his team have picked a chassis that has performed well on other short tracks. Chassis No. 88-421 already has led the No.88 team to two top-10 finishes this season-- fifth at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and sixth at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Crew Chief Tony Eury Jr. is confident in the chassis they have chosen for the upcoming race. “The Dover car is all set back at the shop," Eury said. "It's done good for us at Martinsville and Bristol."