RICHMOND, Va. – Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 National Guard-car, battled for race position in Saturday's Sprint Cup auto racing series event at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway here May 1, 2010.
A mid-race tire issue stalled his efforts though, causing him to cross the finish line in 32nd.
Earnhardt lined up in 25th for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, and by Lap 28 he was sitting in the top 15.
When the first caution flag went up on Lap 43, Crew Chief Lance McGrew called Earnhardt in for some adjustments and at the green-flag restart on Lap 49, Earnhardt was 16th.
The handling of the No. 88 Guard-sponsored car became an issue during the long green flag run, and Earnhardt strived to maintain his position continually.
He was running 25th when green-flag pit stops began on Lap 139, and he made a stop on the following lap for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment.
On Lap 149, when the field cycled through green-flag pit stops, Earnhardt was scored 25th on the scoring pylon and on the .75 mile track, the 35-year-old continued his fight for race position.
Despite his efforts, an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 196 due to a cut tire forced Earnhardt to fall to 37th when his pit crew sent him back out to green-flag racing.
During the second half of the race, Earnhardt managed to climb to 32nd when the checkered flag waved
Earnhardt currently ranks 13th in the championship standings, only four points behind 12th-place Clint Bowyer and 258 points behind the leader Kevin Harvick.