The inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kentucky Speedway failed to live up to expectations for Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 National Guard NASCAR racecar, after he suffered a blown left-front tire late in the race which resulted in a 30th-place finish in Saturday night’s event.
Earnhardt ranks eighth in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship standings, and sits 76 points behind leader Kyle Busch and has a 21-point cushion over 11th-place Tony Stewart after 18 races in the 2011 season.
Rain washed away Friday’s qualifying efforts, and Earnhardt lined up his green-and-white Chevrolet 29th based on Friday’s practice speeds.
In the early goings of the race, Earnhardt diagnosed a loose-handling condition – something crew chief Steve Letarte and the No. 88 team would combat during a majority of the race.
Earnhardt raced inside the top 25 while working through the handling issues.
The middle stages of the race included long green-flag runs and communication was the key for Letarte and Earnhardt to work through the handling issues.
With less than 30 laps remaining in the 400-mile event, the field began to peel off the racing surface for a final round of pit stops.
On Lap 251, Letarte called Earnhardt to pit road for a fuel-only pit stops. He slid the left-front tire as he was coming to his pit stall causing unforeseen damage to the tire.
As Earnhardt made his way back on track, the left-front tire blew causing damage to the racecar and bringing out the fifth caution.
Earnhardt brought his No. 88 machine down pit road and the over-the-wall crew made quick work of making the necessary repairs. Earnhardt went back on track and crossed the finish line 30th.