Dale Earnhardt Jr News

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) _ Dale Earnhardt Jr. is joining Hendrick Motorsports, hopefully moving one step closer to a championship that has eluded him while driving for his late father's company. Rick Hendrick said Earnhardt will replace Kyle Busch on his star-studded roster of drivers. The announcement Wednesday ended five weeks of recruiting for NASCAR's most popular driver, who became a free agent May 10 when he said he would leave DEI at the end of this season. His ...

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) _ Dale Earnhardt Jr. will leave the company founded by his late father at the end of the year in a shake-up certain to ignite a bidding war for NASCAR's most popular driver. He told Dale Earnhardt Inc. on Thursday that he had decided to make the switch to another team when his contract expires, intent on going to a more competitive team. ``At 32 years of ...

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) _ Dale Earnhardt Jr. seemed on the verge of a big day Sunday, one that would have ended his 31-race winless streak and allowed him to mark the 28-year anniversary of his father's first win with one of his own. Then came the rain, and his chances at victory flew into his window. ``I got something in my eye before we went back out after the rain,'' ...

Dale Earnhardt Jr. can do no wrong at Talladega _ at least as far as the fans are concerned. It seems most of the 150,000 or so NASCAR aficionados who show up twice a year for Nextel Cup races at the big Alabama track are rabid Junior fans. Each time their hero's red-clad No. 8 Chevrolet whizzes by, thousands rise to their feet like a mini-wave, throw their hands in the air, pump their fists and exult. ...

If Dale Earnhardt Jr. is going to make a run at his first Nextel Cup title, he'll have to jump-start his campaign this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway _ the wild-card race in the Chase for the championship. Mark Martin is resigned to wrecking, and Jeff Burton knows his long string of avoiding disaster at Talladega is bound to end some time. Just about every driver in the 10-man Chase field ...

Dale Earnhardt Jr. would rather face the burden of digging out of his seventh place spot in the Nextel Cup points standings then not being in the Chase at all. One year after failing to qualify for NASCAR's Chase, Earnhardt used 12 top-10 finishes to surge into contention for the first time in two years. But he faded late in New Hampshire and finished a disappointing 13th in the opening ...

ADJUSTED CHASE POINTS: 5,025 TEAM: Dale Earnhardt Inc. HOMETOWN: Kannapolis, N.C. AGE: 31 CAR: No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet CREW CHIEF: Tony Eury Jr. BEST CHAMPIONSHIP FINISH: 3rd (2003) OUTLOOK: Earnhardt is on a comeback after finishing a career-worst 19th in the standings last year. But he's been hit or miss this year and had a pair of engine failures at inopportune times. Unless he gets really hot, he's a longshot ...

By Mark Long DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) _ Dale Earnhardt Jr. returned to Daytona's Victory Lane for the first time in more than two years, winning the Busch Series race Friday night. Earnhardt took the lead early and dominated the rest of the way, holding off Brian Vickers after a late restart in the Winn-Dixie 250. Vickers finished second, followed by series point leader Kevin Harvick, pole-sitter J.J. Yeley and ...

By Mark Long DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) _ Dale Earnhardt Jr. stared at the scoreboard, saw his No. 8 car listed in fifth place and knew there was an error. There was no way he had a top-five finish. Not with an ill-handling car. Not with an inconsistent engine. Not with increasingly cool weather that made it nearly impossible to pass. The standings were eventually changed, and Junior felt fortunate ...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) _ Dale Earnhardt Jr. was leading halfway through the Daytona 500 on Sunday, five years after his father died on the final lap of the same season-opening race. Race favourite Jeff Gordon brushed the wall early and was way back. Earnhardt was followed by 2003 series champ Matt Kenseth, 2004 series champ Kurt Busch, retiring driver Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson. Defending Nextel Cup champion Tony ...