CONCORD, N.C. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. has yet to win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but this year he’s hoping that he may have a leg up on some of his competitors.
Last month, Earnhardt and the No. 88 team got the opportunity to participate in a Goodyear tire test at New Hampshire, giving the driver some much appreciated extra track time.
“We don’t get a lot of time to test anywhere, so you welcome the opportunity to get out to the racetrack when not all of the competition can,” he said. “You look at it as an advantage to get a leg up on the other guys and also take some information back to your teammates.”
The two-day tire test was primarily to gather tire data for Goodyear, but the No. 88 team was also able to collect its own data to prepare for the upcoming two races at the track – this weekend and in September during the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
“The car felt good in the little windows we had to learn anything outside of the runs we were making for Goodyear, and I think we’re getting some good information,” Earnhardt said during the test. “(No. 88 team crew chief) Greg (Ives) and the guys collected a lot of data to go over and understand."
In 33 career Sprint Cup starts at New Hampshire, Earnhardt has amassed eight top-five finishes, four of which have come since he joined Hendrick Motorsports.
He has also scored top-10 results in five of his last eight starts at the Loudon, New Hampshire, venue.
“I just want to get a win there. We’ve been a top-five or top-10 car pretty much every trip, but we’ve never had the fastest car,” Earnhardt said.
“Hopefully the opportunity we had to test there is going to give us a chance.”