With all due respect to Saturday night’s scheduled NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is targeting the following weekend’s Coca-Cola 600.
Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of the All-Star event and the May 29 600-miler, represents a big hole in Earnhardt Jr.'s career resume. Although he won the All-Star race in 2000, his rookie season, he remains winless in point races at the 1.5-mile track.
“I’ve won the All-Star race, but I haven’t won the 600 or a point race at Charlotte,” Earnhardt told USA TODAY Sports Friday. “It’s a track I consider my home track. I’d much rather win the 600 than the All-Star race.”
While he’ll be shooting for first place in Saturday night’s non-points race — which awards $1 million to the winner — Earnhardt said he and his team also hope to work on setups and strategies for next week’s marathon, the longest race of the Sprint Cup season.
“I want to focus myself on what we can learn this weekend and what we can do better, not only for Charlotte but the rest of the season,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity to research and try to find some speed. You’ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose during All-Star weekend.”
Earnhardt has had a roller-coaster sort of season. He’s winless, with three second-place finishes and three finishes of 32nd or worse, thanks to crashes. Last week he fell two spots in points to 11th.
“Hopefully, we’re going to get out of this funk real soon and find the speed we need to get out there and compete,” Earnhardt said. “The whole team is real focused, and everybody is positive. There are a lot of races left.
“We just have to take our lumps and stay motivated and not get down. Obviously, you have to be realistic about the situation, but you also have to want to fix the problem and be part of the solution.”
Earnhardt said the All-Star weekend opens windows on ways to get better.
“It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “I don’t know what it is about racing in a non-points race that sort of brings your guard down and you can try to get outside the box and try stuff. It’s a good weekend to give us confidence going forward.
“We’re working on a lot of stuff to try to improve, and I expect that to bear fruit really soon.”
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PHOTOS: Behind the wheel with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
