Sunday, May 22, 2011

Dale Earnhardt Jr. needs All-Star spot, either by racing in or fan vote

Times wires
Friday, May 20, 2011

CONCORD, N.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn't really want to watch the All-Star race on television at home while drinking a beer.

But in saying last week that he'd be okay doing that should he fail to qualify for tonight's $1 million race, Earnhardt gave the impression he didn't much care to participate.

That's not how he meant it, he insisted Friday.

"I did probably not word that correctly and gave people the wrong impression, I guess; I do care about being here," he said. "I'm unassuming about my role and accept my fate whatever it might be."

Earnhardt is no longer guaranteed a starting spot because his 10-year exemption for winning the race in 2000 expired. His last chance to earn a spot was last week at Dover, but his losing streak stretched to 104 races.

Now he must race his way into the event in the qualifier, the Sprint Showdown, or fill the spot selected by a fan vote.

The fan vote, Earnhardt explained, is "a tricky subject." As eight-time defending winner of NASCAR's most popular driver contest, it's assumed he's a lock to win the fan vote tonight.

Many teams used social media last year to lobby for their drivers, but Earnhardt being part of the voting field led to drastically scaled down campaigning this year.

But Earnhardt refuses to take the fan vote as a given: "I wasn't taking it for granted that I had won the fan vote and I was locked in and there was nothing to worry about," he said.

Earnhardt's attitude has not changed all season. When Charlotte Motor Speedway officials filmed a promotional All-Star commercial on his property this year, he declined to participate because he didn't have a guaranteed spot in the race.

He's always approached the event as if he'd earn a spot by winning a points race. But he didn't.

"I'm just going to run as hard as that car can go," Earnhardt said. "I would love to get into the All-Star race outright."

Earnhardt qualified 13th in the 27-car field for the Showdown. In a second qualifying session for the 18 drivers already in the All-Star Race, Kyle Busch earned the pole.

The main race has four segments. The first is 50 laps, then a 20-lap second segment with an optional pit stop. Next up is a 20-lap segment, followed by a 10-lap finale where the restart order is set by how the cars come off pit road on the final stop.

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/dale-earnhardt-jr-needs-all-star-spot-either-by-racing-in-or-fan-vote/1170942

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