Post by dalejrfan on Jun 26, 2005 16:10:19 GMT -5
SONOMA, Calif. -- It's tough to dismiss Dale Earnhardt Jr. from Chase contention, but his road just got a whole lot tougher.
Earnhardt crashed on Lap 3 of the Dodge/Save Mart 350, severely damaging his No. 8 Chevrolet. Earnhardt Jr. said that his car has transmission problems from the start of the race, and it didn't take long for the entire set of gears to explode.
Earnhardt slowed down immediately, and he finally made contact with Mike Bliss, which sent him hard into the outside wall. Bliss was able to continue.
"I couldn't get out of (Bliss') way," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I am sorry I got into Mike. My car wasn't in gear at the time it got hit.
"The transmission was a new, trick transmission and it didn't work. So, last year's transmission was pretty good."
Earnhardt's team cut off the rear of his car and replaced his transmission, and he reentered the race 14 laps down.
The transmission troubles end what was a promising weekend for Earnhardt Jr., who had surprised many in the garage with a fine qualifying run (10th) and by posting the fourth-best speed in Happy Hour.
He entered Sonoma 17th in the points, 129 points out of third, and he needed a top-10 finish to build momentum for next week's event at Daytona.
"I'm just frustrated that we put ourselves in this position. We are in control of this," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We need to not make these mistakes
Earnhardt crashed on Lap 3 of the Dodge/Save Mart 350, severely damaging his No. 8 Chevrolet. Earnhardt Jr. said that his car has transmission problems from the start of the race, and it didn't take long for the entire set of gears to explode.
Earnhardt slowed down immediately, and he finally made contact with Mike Bliss, which sent him hard into the outside wall. Bliss was able to continue.
"I couldn't get out of (Bliss') way," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I am sorry I got into Mike. My car wasn't in gear at the time it got hit.
"The transmission was a new, trick transmission and it didn't work. So, last year's transmission was pretty good."
Earnhardt's team cut off the rear of his car and replaced his transmission, and he reentered the race 14 laps down.
The transmission troubles end what was a promising weekend for Earnhardt Jr., who had surprised many in the garage with a fine qualifying run (10th) and by posting the fourth-best speed in Happy Hour.
He entered Sonoma 17th in the points, 129 points out of third, and he needed a top-10 finish to build momentum for next week's event at Daytona.
"I'm just frustrated that we put ourselves in this position. We are in control of this," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We need to not make these mistakes