Swamp Fox
05-24-2001, 08:20 AM
Earnhardt Jr. to race in Busch event
By JENNA FRYER
AP Sports Writer
May 23, 2001
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
<http://sports.yahoo.com/rac/nascar/drivers/8/88/> will race in the Carquest
300 on Saturday, his first Busch Series event since he won the championship
in 1999.
Earnhardt, who also won the 1998 Busch Grand National title, will drive the
No. 87 Chevrolet owned by Joe Nemechek
<http://sports.yahoo.com/rac/nascar/drivers/3/34/>, who was injured in a
test session accident last week.
It marks the first time ever Earnhardt Jr. will compete in a car not owned
by Dale Earnhardt <http://sports.yahoo.com/rac/nascar/drivers/1/1/> Inc.,
the company founded by his late father.
``I never drove for anybody else, I've always driven for my dad, so this is
kind of a neat deal,'' Earnhardt said Wednesday. ``I just appreciate the
opportunity and think it'll be pretty interesting to see if I can get out
there and do good.''
Nemechek said once it became clear his injuries would keep him out of the
race, he began looking for a replacement driver because he felt the car is
strong enough to win the race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
``We tested there a couple of weeks ago and had an extremely fast race
car,'' he said. ``It would be a shame not to have anybody racing that thing
at Charlotte. So we talked about it and Dale Jr. was the name that came up.
``We gave him a call and he said he'd like to do it.''
Nemechek's suffered a broken elbow, a fractured shoulder and bruised lungs
in the accident in Dover, Del. He missed The Winston last week, and Bobby
Hamilton <http://sports.yahoo.com/rac/nascar/drivers/1/18/> Jr. will drive
his No. 33 Chevrolet in the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.
By JENNA FRYER
AP Sports Writer
May 23, 2001
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
<http://sports.yahoo.com/rac/nascar/drivers/8/88/> will race in the Carquest
300 on Saturday, his first Busch Series event since he won the championship
in 1999.
Earnhardt, who also won the 1998 Busch Grand National title, will drive the
No. 87 Chevrolet owned by Joe Nemechek
<http://sports.yahoo.com/rac/nascar/drivers/3/34/>, who was injured in a
test session accident last week.
It marks the first time ever Earnhardt Jr. will compete in a car not owned
by Dale Earnhardt <http://sports.yahoo.com/rac/nascar/drivers/1/1/> Inc.,
the company founded by his late father.
``I never drove for anybody else, I've always driven for my dad, so this is
kind of a neat deal,'' Earnhardt said Wednesday. ``I just appreciate the
opportunity and think it'll be pretty interesting to see if I can get out
there and do good.''
Nemechek said once it became clear his injuries would keep him out of the
race, he began looking for a replacement driver because he felt the car is
strong enough to win the race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
``We tested there a couple of weeks ago and had an extremely fast race
car,'' he said. ``It would be a shame not to have anybody racing that thing
at Charlotte. So we talked about it and Dale Jr. was the name that came up.
``We gave him a call and he said he'd like to do it.''
Nemechek's suffered a broken elbow, a fractured shoulder and bruised lungs
in the accident in Dover, Del. He missed The Winston last week, and Bobby
Hamilton <http://sports.yahoo.com/rac/nascar/drivers/1/18/> Jr. will drive
his No. 33 Chevrolet in the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.