KANSAS CITY, Kansas – NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. is likely in a must-win situation next weekend at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway if he wants to remain in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
An unscheduled pit stop for a loose left-rear wheel proved too much to overcome for the Hendrick Motorsports driver who finished 21st in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
“I was pretty sure we had an issue,” said Earnhardt. “We had a lot of wheels shaking, tires shaking because of the wheels spinning inside the tire. Every set we had today except for one didn’t shake. Every set shook, but it’s a completely different kind of thing when the wheel is not tight.
“We don’t know which one it was we came in so quick it didn’t beat up the wheel enough to give us a real indication of which one it was. I knew we needed to come down pit road. We had a fast car, just never really had good track position and got behind. We didn’t come here to run second or top five we don’t need that we need a win. We had to try to go out there and win and we just got behind.”
Earnhardt returned to Kansas hoping for a little luck after a lousy weekend at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway last Sunday, which left Earnhardt Jr. with a disappointing 28th place, 11th in the Chase standings and second among four drivers up for elimination.
The good news?
Next weekend, Earnhardt returns to the 2.66-mile superspeedway where he’s recently been a master of restrictor plate racing.
“I wouldn’t rather be going anywhere else than Talladega for the next race if we need a win,” Earnhardt sounded. “That is a good opportunity for us. Even over Daytona, I think we can go to Talladega and do the job. There is a little more room there to be aggressive and make the moves you need to make. I got the car. That car won the 125, ran third in the (Daytona) 500 and won Talladega and won Daytona. That is a good enough car. I wouldn’t want to be going anywhere else if it’s a win and you are in kind of deal.”
There’s no doubt that the Hendrick Motorsports driver is beyond talented in his plate racing craft, but his recent success winning at Talladega in May and at its sister track Daytona International Speedway in July is still no guarantee of a season-saving victory next Sunday.
Still, with all the headaches that restrictor-plate racing can produce, Earnhardt knows all he can do is go there and do his thing.
“When you think about it we’ve got to win to get into the next round and I wouldn’t want to be going anywhere else,” he said. “When you look at all the tracks where would myself and I’m sure where my fans think we’ve got a shot to win, where else would we want to be going besides Talladega? Looking forward to it. We have a car that can win there. We will go there and try to do the job. It’s all we can do.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
