Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet was performing well when he was involved in a multi-car accident during Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Infineon Raceway.
The contact caused damage to the radiator which resulted in loss of engine power and his day was cut short as Earnhardt finished 41st.
Earnhardt earned the 18th starting spot for Sunday's 110-lap event, and crew chief Steve Letarte and the crew used the opening laps to get the No. 88 machine dialed in after Earnhardt reported a tight-handling condition in the early goings of the race.
Earnhardt was running 18th on Lap 38 when two drivers made contact in front of him, resulting in a multi-car melee. Earnhardt made contact with a spinning vehicle, damaging the nose and radiator of the green-and-white Chevrolet.
"They had a big ole mess getting into (Turn) 11, and we jumped in there and got part of it and banged up the nose a little bit," Earnhardt said.
During the caution period, the crew assessed the damage and made necessary repairs to get the car back on track.
The No. 88 went back to green-flag racing on Lap 41 in the 33rd position. Letarte instructed his driver to watch the fuel pressure and water temperatures. Four laps later Earnhardt reported a loss of power and on Lap 45 the engine expired.
"It knocked a hole in the radiator and it ended up hurting the engine a little bit, so I think the engine is done," he said. "It has a hole in the side of it so that usually isn't good."
Earnhardt was pushed back to the garage and scored with a 41st-place finish.
Earnhardt is now seventh in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship standings. He sits 65 points behind leader Carl Edwards after 16 races in the 2011 season.