Are Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Lance McGrew simpatico?
Before blowing his engine at Indianapolis, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was running in the top 10. Not coincidentally, he was for the first time driving a car completely prepared by new crew chief Lance McGrew. Though they weren’t able to finish, it was a positive for a team that hasn’t had many of those this season. “We just have got to figure out a way to close,” McGrew said. “That’s happened to us a couple times already this year. I think we’ve put together a string of top-10 cars; we just have not had the string of top-10 finishes.” Sitting 22nd in the standings, 446 points behind Kenseth in 12th, Junior’s playoff hopes are long gone. From here on out, it’s all about 2010. 5. Will Denny Hamlin right the ship? Hamlin is always a favorite whenever NASCAR hits a flat track – especially Pocono, where he swept both races in his brilliant 2006 rookie campaign. But in June, Hamlin didn’t even make it around Pocono’s 2½-mile triangle once before his fuel pump broke. In a race where he was a favorite
