Summary:
Dale Earnhardt is not accustomed to the situation he is
in as he has scarcely been a situation like it in his 20 remarkable seasons in
NASCAR. During Sunday's NAPA AutoCare 500 Earnhardt ran miserably once again.
Earnhardt finished 22nd after another dreary day on the track.
Comparable to last week in Dover, the team was never able to get a handle on the
car. This was evident in qualifying as Earnhardt posted a lap deserving of only 32nd
position.
Following final practice on Saturday, Earnhardt's crew chief Kevin Hamlin changed nearly
everything on the car in a desperate attempt to give Dale a decent car for Sunday's race.
It was to no avail as Dale struggled once again on the track. Then things
worsened. While he was running in 17th position just 2 laps down, Earnhardt's brakes
burned up. Dale coasted around the track for the remainder of the race, finishing
five laps down in 22nd spot.
A few weeks ago it looked like Earnhardt was turning things around after he posted three
straight top-10 finishes. Now he has posted three straight finishes of 22nd or
worse. |
