Have a FaceBook, Twitter, or other social networking account?

Link them to your fanatic account!

Add An Account

TAKE ME TO...
NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP:  Earnhardt Jr. Victim Of Mechanical Woes
Dale Earnhardt Junior finished 32nd in Sunday's Auto Club 500...
Kenny Bruce  | http://www.scenedaily.com  |  Posted February 22, 2010   Fontana, CA
A week after finishing second in the season opening Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Junior finished 32nd Sunday at Auto Club Speedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

A week after a stirring runnerup finish in the Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Jr. limped home 32nd in the Auto Club 500, 12 laps behind race winner and teammate Jimmie Johnson.

Problems with the rear axle sent the No. 88 Chevrolet to the garage on lap 186. While he returned after repairs had been made, his day was effectively done.

“We tore up an axle or a drive plate, one of the two happened first,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Down in the center of [turns] 1 and 2, I just got back to the gas and the car felt like it had a flat tire. I don't know. Something's going on there where we're chewing that stuff up and tearing it up. We've got to figure out why that's happening.

“They think it's a material issue, so we'll just have to see.”

Earnhardt Jr. said he felt like he should have come away with a decent finish had it not been for the mechanical problems.

“Looking at the guys around the top 10, we should have been right around that No. 16 car [of Greg Biffle], I think,” Earnhardt Jr. said of the Roush Fenway Racing driver’s 10th-place finish. “It was a tough day.”

Crew chief Lance McGrew said the team had a 10th- to 14th-place car.

“We need to be better than that. It’s kind of hard to tell, though, when you have so many problems,” he said.

After a handful of early-race adjustments, Earnhardt was getting settled in when he was penalized for excessive speed exiting the pits on lap 134. As a result, he lost more track position, and McGrew said that put the team “behind the eight-ball.

“I think the car was decent; we kept working on the car, working on the car, and we actually got the car to where he liked the way it drove,” McGrew said. “But he was so far back in traffic …

“When the rear-end trouble hit, it just chewed the end right off the axle. Not really sure if the problem is the axle or the drive plate. The right side looks brand new and the left side is chewed all to hell. So I don’t really know.”

The finish dropped Earnhardt Jr. from second in the point standings to 16th, and a day that could have given the Hendrick Motorsports team a wealth of information went by the wayside.

Part of the problem, McGrew said, began much earlier than race day.

“I think we learned some but we obviously didn’t learn enough,” he said. “And I think the whole playing the rain game – that hurt us on qualifying day, so then you’re behind. Then we’re switching back and forth between qualifying setup and race setup and back to qualifying setup. Wound up making mistakes and you’ve just got to be better. But I think until we get back in the swing of it, you’re going to have little things that you have to address daily.”

As for Earnhardt Jr., it was a disappointing end to what might have been an otherwise productive day.

"Well, what can you do?” he said. “You just go on home.”

SceneDaily.com•Dale Earnhardt Jr. says Daytona 500 finish was all about opportunity


Play! SPEED Fantasy Racing Cup Edition - Spring Series
kenny_bruce's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kenny Bruce

SceneDaily.com

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2012

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.