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HARTSVILLE, S.C. (AP) - Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he's gone faster atevery track he's raced at this season - and he's certain DarlingtonRaceway won't be any different. Earnhardt will try for his first Sprint Cup victory at the Southern500 on Saturday night. He's also hoping to end a nearly four-yearwinless drought on the circuit stretching back to his first yeardriving for powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt's nearly four-year winless drought grew to 139 races whenhe finished ninth last week at Talladega. "We want to get to victory lane and we're getting closer,"Earnhardt said Thursday. Earnhardt has seen the improvement in his No. 88 Chevy team allseason long and the results have backed that up. He's third in thepoints and has had eight top-10 finishes in the 10 races thisseason. "I think we're a faster team this year," Earnhardt said. "We'vebeen running better everywhere this year so I'm expecting to stepit up a little bit and challenge for the win" at Darlington. That hasn't come so easy for Earnhardt, who has not had the loveaffair his late father had with the old country track. DaleEarnhardt won nine times on the track "Too Tough To Tame," secondall-time behind NASCAR Hall-of-Famer David Pearson's 10 Darlingtonwins. The best Dale Jr. managed here are a couple of fourths in March2002 and May 2008, his first year driving for Hendrick Motorsports.It was a few weeks later when Earnhardt Jr. took the checkered flagfor the last time, winning at Michigan for his lone victory in 154starts for owner Rick Hendrick. Earnhardt won 17 times driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc. beforejoining Hendrick. Darlington is unlike any other NASCAR track, Earnhardt said, whereconditions chance from lap to lap because of how quickly tires losetheir grip. A repaving of the track in 2008 increased speeds andconsistency. However, Earnhardt said the track's wearing down abit. "It's looking like the old Darlington where people are slidingeverywhere," he said. Not the repaved surfaced helped Earnhardt, who went 27th, 11th and14th at Darlington the past three years. Back in 2010 after crashing his primary and backup cars in Southern500 practice, Earnhardt talked about how the track's maddeningcorners, narrow straightaways and tire-chewing surface would oneday drive him from the sport. "'ll probably come here when I'm 45,run a race and say, 'The hell with it,'" Junior said then. Earnhardt was heartened with last year's run when he had a top 10going before a pit-road violation led to a pass-through penaltythat dropped him back to 14th. That showing, plus his performances this year have Earnhardt muchmore positive about his chance to succeed at Darlington. Thereason? Good, ol' fashioned hard work, Earnhardt said. "It's kind of cliché and you hear that a lot, but we'rereally not doing anything different," he said. "The guys just workreally hard in the offseason and we start this season off and we'refaster. We don't really know why." Earnhardt's even running well in practice. He said he spent thepast two days testing at New Hampshire and found "a lot of speedthere," he said. "Just looking forward to every week." Earnhardt, voted NASCAR's most popular driver the past nine years,hasn't lost the fans' adulation despite his winless streak. A fewhundred turned out at an area Wal-Mart to cheer their hero, snapphone pictures and get autographs. Earnhardt also unveiled a new paint scheme on the JR Motorsportscar Cole Whitt drives in the Nationwide Series to promote itssponsor, Mountain Dew. There's also a website where fans can weighin on what Earnhardt should do. First question: Beard or no beard? Earnhardt, whose face was a little scraggly when meeting fans,smiled when the crowd shouted loudly for him to bring back thebeard. He said he grows it in the winter to keep his face warm,then shaves it once temperatures heat up. "It's a guy thing," hesaid. Maybe Earnhardt's smooth, clean face will cut down resistance andgive the No. 88 a tick more speed this weekend at Darlington. "It's one of the hardest tracks we race on, one of the mostrespected tracks we race on and to get a trophy from Darlington ison top of a lot of drivers' lists, including mine," he said. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Flying Banners , China 10x10 Booth Display for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Exhibition Booth Display.
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