NSCS California Preview: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

AT CALIFORNIA: In 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at California Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, has

AT CALIFORNIA: In 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at California Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, has recorded three top-five finishes and four top-10s. His best finish was in September 2006 when he came in second.

DOUBLE DUTY: For the second straight week, Earnhardt will race in both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup Series. This will be the second of nine scheduled appearances for the two-time Nationwide Series champion in the No. 5 Chevy. In three Nationwide Series events at the Fontana, Calif., track, Earnhardt has won once and recorded two top-five finishes and two top-10s. He won at the track on July 19, 1998, when he led 141 laps.

CALIFORNIA CHASSIS: This weekend, Earnhardt will race Chassis No. 88-483, which is a brand new car. The car was used last month in testing at California Speedway, but has yet to compete in an actual race.

HENDRICK AT CALIFORNIA: Team owner Rick Hendrick has recorded six Sprint Cup race wins at California Speedway -- more than any other owner. Hendrick's last win was by Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, on Sept. 2, 2007. The track has hosted 15 Sprint Cup events since its inaugural race in 1997.

LONG HAUL: Team transporter drivers Dave Radney and Rich Pickrell will log almost 5,000 miles traveling round-trip from Concord, N.C., to Fontana, Calif. They are driving out West to swap the California Speedway cars with the ones the team will run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. At the conclusion of Sunday's 500-mile event at California, Radney, Pickrell and crew members will switch the cars. The transporter drivers will stay through the Las Vegas races before beginning the roughly 33-hour trip back to Hendrick Motorsports' North Carolina headquarters. This is the first time that the Sprint Cup Series is holding back-to-back races on the West Coast.

FOR A GOOD CAUSE: Earnhardt, team owner Rick Hendrick and Earnhardt's sister, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, will be guests at the National Guard Youth Foundation Annual ChalleNGe Champions Gala on Feb. 26 in Washington D.C. The appearance is not open to the public. The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe is a community-based program that leads, trains and mentors at-risk youth so that they may become productive citizens. Visit http://ngycp.org for more information.

GOING GREEN: AMP Energy wants to see how fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr. are "going green" this season. Fans can win a chance to go to the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in October and meet Earnhardt by showing AMP Energy how JR Nation is going green. Log onto www.AMPEnergy.com for more information or to submit photos or videos.

*****

DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (REFLECTING ON DAYTONA.): "I'm taking a few days off at home this week to just chill out. Speedweeks in Daytona was really busy, and I wish we had finished better than ninth after all the hard work and effort put in by everyone. Everyone involved deserves a lot of credit -- the engine guys, the fabricators, everyone. We had a good test in California, and I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do."

TONY EURY JR., CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON THE CALIFORNIA TEST.): "Well, we figured out exactly what not to do (LAUGHS). Seriously, we had a great test session in both Las Vegas and California and built two new, fast cars over the winter. I think we should have some good results."

EURY (ON BEING ONE OF THE TEAMS THAT STAYED FOR THE DURATION OF THE CALIFORNIA TEST.): "It's rare that you get to go to California and test in these new cars so I'm real glad NASCAR let us have that opportunity. We tested the night session. Even though some people wanted to get there and get out of there as fast as they could, we stayed 'til the bitter end. It says a lot about the dedication of this team."

EURY (ON EARNHARDT'S PREVIOUS PERFORMANCES AT CALIFORNIA.): "The stats really don't show how well we've run in California with Dale. We've had some mechanical issues and also some pretty bad wrecks there. But Dale has a good line. He likes the top groove, and he has run well there without the finishes. I think we can come out of the gates strong there and be in the chase at the end for a good finish."

Â