Earnhardt leans on Johnson to bolster CMS form

Dale Earnhardt Jr. thought his run in the Monster Energy All-Star Race last weekend so ridiculous he told those on his post-race Periscope he had to smile just to keep from crying.

In hopes of not repeating that performance in the Coca-Cola 600, Earnhardt said Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway his No. 88 team is leaning heavily on teammate Jimmie Johnson. Johnson is an eight-time winner at Charlotte and the notebook he and his crew chief, Chad Knaus, have compiled over the years will be the baseline for how Earnhardt and crew chief Greg Ives approach the weekend.

"We totally eighty-sixed all that stuff we ran last week, and we put in Jimmie's setup, and we're just like him," Earnhardt said. "I was just asking Greg (Ives) how we're just like him if he ran a flat (28.05) in practice and we ran a 30 (28.36) in practice. But Greg and Chad got real close this week, and me and Jimmie have been in communication.

"Jimmie has come by the car a couple times in practice already, looking at notes and printing out our driver traces and trying to figure out whatever we can do to help me."

Earnhardt said he admires how Johnson has adapted through the years by being willing to try something he might see his competitors doing something better. Now as teammates, Johnson has encouraged Earnhardt and the rest of the Hendrick Motorsports stable to do the same.

"He comes over with these printouts and says, 'This is what I'm doing with the gas, and this is what you're doing, and this is where the time is getting lost; maybe try this, that and the other,'" Earnhardt said.

"He's a super teammate, so, I'm lucky to be able to work in the same shop with him. He's certainly been an influence on my success and my enjoyment in the sport. Yeah, we're leaning on him pretty hard this weekend considering how we ran and how they ran last weekend at the All-Star Race."

Johnson was second fastest in practice while Earnhardt was 22nd.

Even after going in a different direction than last weekend, Earnhardt didn't sound pleased with how his car was handling during practice. When asked if he expected it to be better, Earnhardt said he didn't expect anything because of how bad the No. 88 team was last weekend. He also doesn't have references of how good the car might have been made throughout the week.

Part of why he started off the wrong way, Earnhardt said, was because of how different the track was with all the rubber laid down. It took about three or four runs for Earnhardt to get his line back down and understand what he needed to do as a driver.

"We finally got some decent speed out of it," Earnhardt said. "We ran that 35 and we got on the splitter real bad in (Turns) 1 and 2, and it cost us two-tenths down there. If we get it right, we can get in the top 15. That's a start. That ain't good enough, still, but that's progress compared to last week. And I'm looking forward to getting in race trim.

"We've got some practice time; we really ran short last week on practice time, so I'm anxious to get in there and practice and see what we can do. We've got a completely different setup. So, hopefully, it doesn't go like it did last week. It shouldn't. And let's hope it doesn't."

Because who knows what Earnhardt's reaction might be if his final Coca-Cola 600 goes the same way his final All-Star Race appearance did.