FT. WORTH, Texas - After winning their first pole position of the season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy team finished 12th Sunday at the 500-mile event at Texas Motor Speedway. The team remains fourth in the point standings, 87 points behind the leader. Earnhardt led 31 laps and has now led 268 laps this season.
Recapping the race:
The race began under sunny skies and Earnhardt started out strong. He led the first 13 laps before the No. 18 car passed him for the lead. Earnhardt reported his car was so loose in the center and off the corners that he was practically spinning out. He held on waiting for crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and the team to make some changes as they discussed strategy on the radio.
The first pit stop was on Lap 30. Earnhardt entered the pits running fourth for four tires, an adjustment to help the handling and fuel. The No. 88 pit crew pulled out an amazing stop and Earnhardt exited pit road with the lead.
Ten laps later Earnhardt radioed to Eury that the changes took effect but now the right rear was trying to come around and he was spinning out. The team pitted on Lap 85 for wedge and air pressure adjustments. Earnhardt went back out onto the track in seventh place. Over the next fuel run the car became a handful for Earnhardt and the No. 88 began to slide backwards through the field. The Impala SS just continued to tighten up making it harder for Earnhardt to compete with the better handling cars for the win.
How it ended:
The team adjusted as much as it could and never gave up, but eventually Earnhardt dropped to one lap behind the leaders. The team managed to salvage a 12th place finish, still one lap down. Although the team was clearly disappointed, they maintained their fourth position in the point standings heading to Phoenix, a track where Earnhardt has scored two wins and Hendrick Motorsports has experienced much success in recent years.