Earnhardt backs wife, blames himself for ‘Clash’ debate

INDIANAPOLIS — Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his own statement Saturday.

He defended his wife’s Twitter post — and blamed himself for putting her in a position where she felt she had to speak out.

Five days after Amy Earnhardt wrote it wouldn’t be “worth the risk” to see her husband compete in next year’s Clash at Daytona, the 42-yearold driver explained outsiders don’t understand what the family endured as he recovered from concussion-related symptoms last year.

“She’s been there for everything,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “A lot of folks that may have a different opinion about it weren’t there through the whole process. If anyone knows how difficult it was beside me, it would be her. It wasn’t a lot of fun for her.” Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt spoke about six hours before making his final Brickyard 400 qualifying run at Indianapolis.

The series’ most popular driver announced in April he would retire after this season, in part because of his injury history. Two big crashes last summer forced him out of the final 18 races, and he missed two races during the 2012 playoffs also because of concussion-related symptoms.

But Earnhardt appeared to reopen the possibility of returning to Daytona after winning the pole there three weeks ago, his first since September 2013. To be eligible, drivers must win at least one pole during the previous season, be a previous Clash winner or be a former Daytona 500 pole-winner who still competes full-time on the Cup series.

On a recent podcast, Earnhardt said he told team owner Rick Hendrick that competing in the Clash would be something his wife “needed to warm up to.” She hasn’t so far. “I’ve received many comments on Dale Jr running the 2018 Clash based on whether or not I give my blessing,” she wrote Tuesday night. “Considering his struggles last fall with his injury, we are very blessed that he is now healthy, happy and able to enjoy his final season...and hopefully many years beyond racing. So my answer is simple. It’s not worth the risk to his health.”

While some Earnhardt fans were upset with the response, Junior said his wife felt she needed to take her opinion to the public.

He also suggested his immediate reaction following the pole-winning run left his wife in a tough spot.

“It sounds like a great idea right off the bat, but maybe it’s not worth it,” Earnhardt said, explaining the Clash has a higher crash rate than other NASCAR races. “I feel much more in control of my own fate in the remainder of this season and anything I do beyond that, than I do being out there in the Clash, to be honest with you. But if it’s something she feels strongly about, we have to sit down and I have to hear her out.”

INDIANAPOLIS — William Byron’s first trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway ended with an unforgettable finish.

After taking the lead with 15 laps left, the teenage rookie used some savvy moves and a little luck Saturday to hold off the hard-charging Paul Menard for his third NASCAR Xfinity Series win in less than a month. The margin of 0.108 seconds was the narrowest in race history, and he did it by successfully blocking the 2011 Brickyard 400 winner for the final two laps while dealing with a troublesome tire for the final 20.

“I can’t believe that tire held,” Byron shouted after the postrace celebration. “But it is awesome, man.”

At 19 years, 7 months, 23 days, Byron became the youngest winner of a major race on Indy’s historic 2.5-mile oval. Brazil’s Matheus Leist set the previous mark in May when he won the Indy Lights race at 19 years, 8 months, 19 days.

And in three short weeks, Byron has visited victory lane at two tracks — Daytona and Indy — that often torment more experienced drivers.

Getting there Saturday sure wasn’t easy.

Byron and the series’ other drivers used restrictor plates, new air ducts and a different splitter in hopes of making the race more competitive than in past years. In part, it worked.

Eight drivers traded the lead 16 times, both race records. And before Menard pressed the issue, Byron had to hold off Joey Logano, who finished third more than three seconds back.

“I made a pretty aggressive dive into (turn) one on the last lap to see if I could get him loose but he hung on,” Menard said. “Maybe I could have gotten his bumper but it would have killed my momentum too. I definitely tried to get him loose and couldn’t.”

But there was plenty of single-file racing, too.

Series officials will now debate whether a similar package would make for a more entertaining Cup race next September.

One driver who would vote against it is Kyle Busch, whose four-race winning streak at Indy ended. He wound up 12th, tying Michael Schumacher’s track record for most consecutive wins in a race car. Marc Marquez won five straight in on two wheels in the MotoGP.

Byron, unlike Busch, had no complaints.

“I knew in practice the car was driving really well. I thought this was our race to lose,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve come here and it’s such a special moment walking into the place.”

And he leaves with a win.