All things considered, Dale Earnhardt Jr. knew better than to grouse about his fourth-place finish in Sunday’s race.
On Lap 53, Earnhardt was flagged for speeding on entry to pit road and served a pass-through penalty two laps later. Mired in traffic because of the infraction, Earnhardt spun in Turn 1 following contact from Cole Whitt’s car moments after a restart on Lap 72.
Earnhardt’s average running position during the entire race was 18.72. It wasn’t until fuel strategy started taking its toll in the closing laps that he cracked the top five.
Despite the problems during the race, Earnhardt was happy his car had speed. And as to the finish, he couldn’t really be disappointed.
“No, not really,” he agreed. “I was going to be disappointed to run 19th. So, we’ll take it.”
Source: Reid Spencer / NASCAR Wire Service
