The call to stay on the track was made by Junior
himself -- in apparent defiance of crew chief Tony Eury
Jr, who had the pit crew standing by to put 4 fresh
tires on the No. 8 Chevy.
Earnhardt would later innocently claim that he simply
didn't hear Eury's instructions to come to pit road.
Tony "actually told me to pit, but I didn't hear
him," Earnhardt said. "I thought I would have Jimmie
Johnson on the inside of me the rest of the race trying
to pass me. We just drove away."
"It was a great race car," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It
had a great long run set-up on it. I was real loose on
new tires, so pitting wasn't an option. Staying out was
the thing to do."
A move that would pay off for Junior as he passed
Johnson on the outside to take the lead.
Dale Jr came into this race leading the pack in the
Neaxte Cup championship standings. A lead he was able to
build on by winning. He left Richmond with a 40 point
lead over 2nd place Jimmie Johnson.
This was the first event at the 3/4 mile short track
since new asphalt was put down, and the repaving
produced some exciting racing. The bottom groove had
always been the fast way around Richmond, but since
repaving drivers were able to find speed and grip in the
outside lane.
"I was really worried that they were going to catch a
lot of hell for paving the track," Earnhardt said.
This was Dale Jr's 2nd Cup victory at Richmond. His
first win here came in 2000 during his rookie season. It
was his 5th top 5 finish on this short track that he
counts as one of his favorites.