Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS, will be available to members of the media on Friday, Oct. 6, at 3:10 p.m. local time in the Charlotte Motor Speedway media center.
CHARLOTTE STATS: Dale Earnhardt Jr. has yet to win a points race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but if you throw out the DNF for engine trouble in the spring of 2013, the Kannapolis, North Carolina, native has an average finish of 14.4 in the last six years (2012-2017) and a career total of six top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. The 1.5-mile oval is also the site of his first NASCAR Cup Series start (May 1999) and first Cup pole (May 2000).
ALL-STAR: While Earnhardt hasn’t yet won a points-paying race at Charlotte, the driver earned a victory as a rookie in his first start in the All-Star Race on May 20, 2000. It was a 70-lap event and he took the lead from Dale Jarrett with two laps to go to win the race. Earnhardt has made every All-Star Race since 2000, although he has had to run the open qualifier twice. Both times, Earnhardt transferred to the All-Star Race – once by winning the fan vote (2011) and once by winning the Showdown (2012).
LOOP DATA: According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics, Earnhardt ranks seventh among drivers for green-flag passes at Charlotte since 2005, completing 1,868 of them. In that span, the driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS ranks ninth among drivers in fastest laps run (216), 10th in laps inside the top 15 (4,379) and 12th in laps led at the 1.5-mile oval (162).
BRAD PAISLEY HEADLINES JR NATION APPRECI88ION CONCERT: On Saturday night, Oct. 7, Earnhardt is treating fans to a concert featuring three-time Grammy award-winning country music artist Brad Paisley. Saturday night’s concert, presented by Wrangler and Nationwide, is part of the JR Nation Appreci88ion Tour, Earnhardt’s campaign to salute fans in his final season as a full-time NASCAR Cup driver. Earnhardt will introduce Paisley on stage and will participate in a special presentation of “Trackside Live,” a pre-race show at zMAX Dragway broadcast live on NASCAR.com beginning at 8:30 p.m. Prior to Earnhardt’s “Trackside Live” appearance, country music sensation Tim Dugger will rev up Saturday’s show by opening for Paisley. The spectacular concert is FREE for every adult ticketholder to Sunday’s Bank of America 500. For tickets and information, fans can call the Charlotte Motor Speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS (3267) or visit www.charlottemotorspeedway.com.
2018 DAYTONA 500 PAINT SCHEME UNVEIL: Both Earnhardt and Alex Bowman will be in attendance for the unveil of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevy’s 2018 Daytona 500 paint scheme on Thursday, Oct. 5. On July 20, Bowman was named the full-time driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet beginning in 2018. Bowman, 24, piloted the No. 88 Chevrolet in 10 of the final 18 Cup races last season in place of the injured Earnhardt. The Tucson, Arizona, native debuted July 17, 2016, at New Hampshire and went on to earn three top-10 finishes with the team including a sixth-place result at Phoenix, where he won the pole position and led a race-high 194 laps. Scroll down to the Hendrick Motorsports section for more information on the 2018 unveil.
BOWMAN IN NXS: Through Hendrick Motorsports’ technical partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing, Bowman will drive the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend on Saturday, Oct. 7. He will also race the No. 42 Camaro at Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 11. Hendrick Automotive Group’s HendrickCars.com, which features more than 43,000 new and pre-owned cars for sale, will serve as Bowman’s primary sponsor in the Charlotte race with additional support from Vannoy Construction. For more, click here. |