Dale Earnhardt Jr. who won the Daytona 500 polesitter will have to start at the back of Sunday’s 43-car field because of a crash in practice for Sunday’s 53rd running of the Great American Race.
Earnhardt was drafting with teammate Jimmie Johnson when the five-time champion had to slow for even slower traffic and was hit from behind by Martin Truex Jr. who was hit from behind by other cars.
"The guys on the inside looked like they were going to stay low and then they started kind of creeping up and giving Jimmie (Johnson), and they gave me the impression they were going to be closing the hole on the outside. So Jimmie lifted. And he about wrecked and I got off the gas and there were a couple of guys coming behind me (Martin) Truex, and a couple other guys and just didn’t have a chance," Earnhardt Jr. explained.
But Earnhardt didn’t blame Martin Truex for hitting him from behind as he continued: "He was sorry for running into the back of me. And he didn’t have anywhere to go; and I’m sure he didn’t. We were all off the gas pretty hard right there for those guys to pull up the race track there. I don’t even know if we would have room. We might have had room on the outside to get through, but it was real tight. They moved up off the bottom into the middle of the race track at least, from what I could tell and what I can remember, and just give us the impression we were going to need to check-up. They keep slowing the cars down and it makes a car drafting normally much slower, and now the closing rate on the two-car pack is even faster; and I mean it’s just hard."
Also Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed his anger at the slower drivers saying "you got to pay attention out there, man. I mean if you’re going to come out here and race, you need to pay attention."
Martin Truex said "We came up on some slower cars and it looked like they just came up in front of the 48 (Johnson) and 88 (Earnhardt). When they checked up I checked up and I was being pushed."
To add insult to injury Earnhardt’s back up car was not fully prepared as its’ motor and other necessary pieces were missing meaning that Earnhardt will not have practiced in his car before Thursday’s Twin 150-mile qualifying races.
Earnhardt was drafting with teammate Jimmie Johnson when the five-time champion had to slow for even slower traffic and was hit from behind by Martin Truex Jr. who was hit from behind by other cars.
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| Photo: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR |
"The guys on the inside looked like they were going to stay low and then they started kind of creeping up and giving Jimmie (Johnson), and they gave me the impression they were going to be closing the hole on the outside. So Jimmie lifted. And he about wrecked and I got off the gas and there were a couple of guys coming behind me (Martin) Truex, and a couple other guys and just didn’t have a chance," Earnhardt Jr. explained.
But Earnhardt didn’t blame Martin Truex for hitting him from behind as he continued: "He was sorry for running into the back of me. And he didn’t have anywhere to go; and I’m sure he didn’t. We were all off the gas pretty hard right there for those guys to pull up the race track there. I don’t even know if we would have room. We might have had room on the outside to get through, but it was real tight. They moved up off the bottom into the middle of the race track at least, from what I could tell and what I can remember, and just give us the impression we were going to need to check-up. They keep slowing the cars down and it makes a car drafting normally much slower, and now the closing rate on the two-car pack is even faster; and I mean it’s just hard."
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| Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR |
Also Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed his anger at the slower drivers saying "you got to pay attention out there, man. I mean if you’re going to come out here and race, you need to pay attention."
Martin Truex said "We came up on some slower cars and it looked like they just came up in front of the 48 (Johnson) and 88 (Earnhardt). When they checked up I checked up and I was being pushed."
To add insult to injury Earnhardt’s back up car was not fully prepared as its’ motor and other necessary pieces were missing meaning that Earnhardt will not have practiced in his car before Thursday’s Twin 150-mile qualifying races.