Dale Jr's last race car paint jobs: (and quite a few more famous cars)
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/g...iveries-2.html

 

No farewell win, but lots of good Talladega memories for Earnhardt

Sunday, 15 October 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Images by Chris Graythen/Getty Images & John Harrelson/LAT,


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It might have seemed like divine intervention when Dale Earnhardt Jr. missed each of the big wrecks Sunday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway. But a victory was not in the cards.

After starting from the pole, Earnhardt finished seventh in his final start at the track where he's had the most success and fan support. One of just 11 cars left in the pack contending for the race win, Earnhardt said the little damage he did suffer in the 11th and final caution was enough to negate his chances, regardless of having lined up third on the final restart.
"The last one knocked the right front-end real bad and bent the splitter down about an inch and a half and knocked it on the racetrack, and when we got going there on the last restart, [the car] just wouldn't go in the corners," Earnhardt said. "So, everybody around us was just wasting their time pushing us and they sort of figured that out after a lap or two and decided to leave us alone and we just kind of hung on there to get a seventh.

"But I thought the car had enough to win ... and it was a great car all weekend. This has been a hell of a weekend for me and I'm glad to be able to finish and finish well. That means a lot to me. I know a lot of folks came and traveled here to see us run, so I know they're disappointed we didn't win, but I'm glad they got to see us run the whole event, and hopefully they enjoyed it."


It was a weekend full of emotion for Earnhardt, who is retiring at season's end. From the fan support to the gifts the track presented him Friday (champagne bottles from his dad's last win and his first at the track as well as his dad's car from 1980) and even winning the pole, the impending end of his career hit the 43-year-old hard. Every time he made a move on the track, the grandstands roared. Anytime he appeared on the video screens or his voice was heard over the PA system, the grandstands roared.
After the checkered flag, Earnhardt was again enveloped in the fan support as he stood on pit road. Cheers reigned down as he climbed from the car and spoke of trying to win one last race at Talladega. And Earnhardt spoke of giving it his all to get that win for the legion of fans who attended the race.
Of Talladega, Earnhardt said he owes the track a lot. His memories include not only running around the speedway as a kid but the success he's enjoyed as a driver. Talladega was the first track Earnhardt ran laps at that weren't in a late model.
"Dad called me at the dealership and asked me to come here. They were testing the V8 car for the Xfinity Series, they were getting rid of the V6's, so I drove his car with Dave Marcis, which was great, me and Dave and Dad," Earnhardt said. "That was 1994.
"So a lot of great memories here and then obviously the career in Cup here. Four in a row, all those things mean a lot to me. I hope to always have a great connection here and trust me when I say that whatever the track needs from me, anytime they want anything, I'll be here to help promote and support this place no matter what the request is. They've done so much for me, and I want to remain very close."
Earnhardt's resume at Talladega will be one to envy. In 35 starts, Earnhardt won six races, led 967 laps and earned 17 top-10 finishes.
Six wins at Talladega. Four straight from the fall of 2001 until the spring of 2003. Four points-paying wins at Daytona and seven non-points wins. Earnhardt also has seven Xfinity Series wins between Daytona and Talladega.
His plate success, in general, will most likely put Earnhardt in the conversation of one of the best restrictor-plate drivers of his time. Something he said "absolutely" means something to him.
"Anytime anybody says you're the best at anything, it's an awesome feeling," he said. "I can't deny that it feels awesome to hear that. People consider you good at anything, it's a great feeling. I knew that I wasn't going to win 200 races and seven championships and do all those great things.
"I just wanted to come in here and be considered talented. But to be great at anything was beyond my imagination. I appreciate people's compliments on my plate driving and the success we've had at all the plate races."

 

[h=2]Earnhardt thrills Talladega faithful with pole[/h] Saturday, 14 October 2017



By Kelly Crandall / Image by Nigel Kinrade/LAT





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The roar from the crowd quickly overtook the engine noise as the No. 88 flashed atop the leaderboard at Talladega Superspeedway.

The track's favorite son will start from the pole in what is expected to be Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s final start at the 2.66-mile facility. Earnhardt was fastest in both rounds of single-car qualifying Saturday evening, earning the top spot with a lap of 190.544 mph.

The Alabama 500 (Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, NBC) will be the first time Earnhardt has started from the pole at Talladega. It is his second pole of the season and 15th of his career.


"We got a pole earlier this year at Daytona. We've been fighting our teammate, Chase and his group, for poles at these tracks for a long time and it's been a lot of fun to be honest with you, how these two teams have pushed and elevated each other," Earnhardt said. "Really, all the credit for getting a pole at a place like this goes to the team and goes to the car and the guys that work on it, the engine, the body men; we've got an amazing staff back at Charlotte that builds some awesome stuff. I just hold the wheel straight and try not to bounce into the apron, but get as close to it as you can and make sure you run a clean lap.
"But there ain't much to it as a driver. This place has meant a lot to me. It's awesome to hear those fans happy for us and hopefully, we're going to give them a lot more to cheer about before this weekend is over."
Starting alongside Earnhardt will his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Chase Elliott. Elliott put down a lap of 190.412 mph after being third fastest in the first round. Sunday will be the third time this season Earnhardt and Elliott have shared the front row - Elliott sat on the February Daytona pole while Earnhardt took the July pole.
Filling out the next five spots are Ford drivers. The manufacturer is going for its fifth straight Talladega win on Sunday and what would be a season sweep of the restrictor-plate races.
Defending race winner Joey Logano will start third (190.374 mph), Kurt Busch fourth (190.268 mph), and Ricky Stenhouse was fifth fastest (190.170 mph). Stenhouse won at Talladega in May and is looking for three straight wins at the restrictor-plate tracks after following up his first career victory with a checkered flag in the July Daytona race.
Starting sixth is Brad Keselowski (190.151 mph) and Clint Bowyer clocked in seventh fastest (189.778 mph).
The rest of the top 10 were Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Blaney, and Trevor Bayne. For Johnson, his eighth starting spot is his best qualifying effort since a fourth place at Indianapolis in July.
"Certainly," said Earnhardt of having imagined winning one last time at Talladega. "You think about that every time you suit-up and get in the car, you imagine if that's going to be the day you get a win. But, this would be a real important one if we could win for all the fans, all year long, we certainly owe them a win and it would be great to get them one on Sunday."

 

Chevy pays tribute to Earnhardt Jr. in video

Saturday, 04 November 2017

Thanks for the memories:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=zIxLeQIIhb4


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This weekend, Chevrolet is debuting a TV spot called "What a Ride," features a collage of memories from Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s career, including never-before-seen photos, and footage from defining moments like his two Daytona 500 victories and his 26 Cup Series race wins.


"We have been so fortunate to have Dale Earnhardt Jr. as part of the Chevrolet family," said Paul Edwards, U.S. vice president of Chevrolet Marketing. "His 'Never Give Up' attitude and true passion for performance are the same qualities that drove Louis Chevrolet to race more than a hundred years ago, and still drive us today to innovate and win."


Earlier this year, during his retirement speech, Earnhardt Jr. said: "It's an honor to carry the Chevrolet bowtie on my cars. And I don't just mean that on the race track — I'm Chevrolet for life."


The new TV spot will air for the first time this weekend on the NBCSN broadcast during this weekend's 334-lap event at Texas Motor Speedway and continue to be shown through the year-end championship banquet celebration in Las Vegas.