In the past, Darlington Raceway hasn’t been one of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s best tracks in the past. However, as many times with Steve LeTarte and this team, Earnhardt Jr. came out strong on Saturday night and ran within the top five the majority of the night.
“We really weren’t a top-two car, we were probably the third best car, fourth best car, depending on where Jimmie and Jeff Gordon were,” Earnhardt Jr. commented. “They were pretty good, a little better than us most of the time.  But the 4 (Kevin Harvick) was the best car I thought.  Jeff was pretty good.”
It looked as though Earnhardt Jr. would lock that solid finish down without contending for the win, when a caution flew with 10 laps to go. Earnhardt Jr. would take two tires along with some others, while the rest took four. As a result, he would restart second beside teammate Jimmie Johnson. Earnhardt was able to get a good restart and pull ahead of Johnson as they went through turns one and two.
“The outside line was real bad about spinning the tires, and Jimmie hadn’t been up there and didn’t really know that, so he chose the outside on them restarts and I knew I had a great shot at getting the lead from him,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “We got going, he spun his tires real bad, the 4 got to pushing me a little bit and we got the lead, and that felt pretty good leading the race.”
Earnhardt Jr. looked to have a solid lead on his belt when the caution flew for Kurt Busch wrecking on the backstretch, bringing forth a green-white-checkered. Earnhardt Jr. got a good restart once again, but simply his two tires versus Harvick’s strong car and four tires weren’t enough as Harvick was able to get by and grab the win.
“We had 30-something laps on our left, and it just wasn’t going to get the job done with him right there on us,” Earnhardt Jr. commented. “I’m going to probably wished I would have run the top in 3 and 4 coming to the white and made him try to pass us on the bottom, but I’m pretty sure he was going to get around us somehow.”
For Earnhardt, it marks his third runner-up finish since winning the Daytona 500 in February, and perhaps this one brings the most disappointment. Darlington is one of NASCAR’s most historic tracks and every driver badly wants to be able to get a win to their credit. For Earnhardt Jr., perhaps the want for a win is greater due to his appreciation for the history of the sport.
“It’s a little disappointing to come that close because I know I don’t really run that well here and the opportunities to win are going to be very few compared to other tracks,” Earnhardt Jr. explained. “It hurts a little bit to come that close because we worked so hard to try to win races.  Running second is great but nobody is going to really remember that.”
Though despite the disappointment, there is a lot of pride in Earnhardt Jr. and team for the run that they had as they continue to put together solid runs this season and mount their championship chase.
“We’re proud of it,” Earnhardt Jr. expressed. “And Steve, I know he’s very proud.  They did a great job giving me a really good car to be able to run that well here.  The car was phenomenal.  Really proud of those guys’ effort.  Even though they know where my shortcomings are, they worked their guts out to try to get us the best.”
The finish espically feels good following the race at Texas Motor Speedway where Earnhardt Jr. finished 43rd due to a mistake early in the race. Earnhardt Jr. says performances like this should be no surprise as the team is as strong as they’ve ever been.
“We’ve got areas where we can probably get a little better, but we’re really right there,” Earnhardt Jr. added. “The 4 (Harvick), I saw — the performance of the 4 car, I saw that coming because I know how good Rodney (Childers) is and I know how good Kevin is, and pairing them together, that’s one of the best pairings in the garage next to this guy sitting next to me (Jimmie) and Chad.  That’s going to really be a tough combination to battle all year.  They’re going to win more races.
“But our team, man, I’m proud and I’m happy where I’m at.  These guys are giving me some great stuff.  We’ve really learned each other, and they know they’re giving me some really good cars because they know my habits and what I’m looking for.”
