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NASCAR Cup All-Star

Earnhardt laments "ridiculous" performance in final All-Star Race

When Dale Earnhardt Jr. agreed to return to competition in 2017, after missing half of last season with a concussion, he didn’t sign up for running at the back of the field.

Lee Spencer

Edited: May 21, 2017, 5:15 PM

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After three DNFs in the first 11 races, Earnhardt’s average finish for the season is 23.8 — the worst of his career.

NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver deserves better.

While Goodyear’s new option tire attracted most of the attention entering Saturday’s All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Earnhardt’s final run in the non-points event was another key story line.

However, from the time the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy unloaded on Friday, Earnhardt never found the feel — or speed — he was looking for. Although he qualified sixth, Earnhardt regretted that so much time was spent dialing in his car during practice and not rehearsing the pit stop portion of time trials.

A despondent Junior

In the All-Star Race on Saturday night, he dropped to an 18th-place finish after grazing the wall in the third stage and didn’t transfer to the final round. But it was as if the No. 88 Chevy never showed up in the first place. Earnhardt was never a factor, and he was last among those still running at the finish.

“I've got to smile to keep from crying, because that was ridiculous,” said Earnhardt as he started his Periscope exchange with the fans. “Pretty embarrassing. It’s unfortunate the All-Star Race will be memorable for how bad we ran.

“The hard thing about is, really, we have to go back there and run 600 miles.”

Clearly, Junior is already concerned about next weekend’s Coca-Cola 600. Yes, he won the All-Star in his event debut, but Earnhardt has never won a points race at his home track, though he’s come close. Who can forget 2011 when Earnhardt took the white flag in the lead to start Lap 400, only to run out of gas in the final corner? In 2015, he finished a career-high third in the 600, matching his best overall finish on the 1.5-mile track (2004 in the fall race).

Maybe crew chief Greg Ives was experimenting with some new ideas for upcoming intermediate tracks. Certainly, that was the case for Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team, which shares a shop with the No. 88 crew. While Johnson had crazy speed and won the third stage, whatever angle Ives was working was an epic fail.

“I don't have a clue how they did or what even went on, so I don't know yet,” Johnson said after the race. “But we'll do anything we can obviously to help those guys. Yeah, we'll do anything we can. I know we were trying some stuff. I'm not sure I'm in love with everything we did this weekend. But we're definitely trying some stuff.”

Concerned about 600

Earnhardt was adamant he’ll have a different car for the 600 with a different setup. What will frustrate the driver even more is if the team returns to Charlotte and ends up with the same results.

“It really is hard on your confidence to go back there, and think things are going to be different,” Earnhardt said. “They’ll be different. Will they be better? Will they be worse? That’s the answers you just don’t have.

“I worry about going back and being better, being good enough. I don't want to run like that for 600 miles. I know the team, Greg (Ives) and those guys, damn sure don’t want to sit there and watch that thing run so bad. So a little concerned…I don't know what the problem is. I’m just the driver. But we’ll get it going. We’ll figure it out.”

Earnhardt didn’t come back this season to go out with a whimper. We’ve watched former champions retire well off the pace they enjoyed in their heydays. Earnhardt isn’t hanging around for the money. He doesn’t have to.

And while his credentials will be sufficient for Hall of Fame status, this isn’t how we want to remember Dale Jr.

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