Earnhardt gambles on fuel mileage, settles for second
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s fans were on their feet, his sponsor representatives were ready to invade victory lane and Junior Nation could envision what would have been the driver’s best start to a season — two wins in three races.
Then, with two turns of the final lap remaining, Earnhardt’s Chevrolet produced the ugly sound no driver leading a race late in the day wants to hear — the dreaded sputter. The fuel was gone. Earnhardt’s Hendrick Motorsports team, with crew chief Steve Letarte at the helm, gambled on fuel mileage in the closing portion of Sunday’s Kobalt 400 and lost. Earnhardt finished second to Brad Keselowski, who passed him on the last lap.
In NASCAR’s new world, as Earnhardt acknowledged, his team’s decision to go for broke late in the race would not have been the same last season. With a Daytona 500 victory in his back pocket, Earnhardt is virtually assured of a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, giving his team the freedom, as Earnhardt put it, to shoot for the moon. Point totals are no longer as important.
“The new format isn’t perfect, but it definitely is showing that it has tons of positives,” Earnhardt said. “It’s better as far as entertainment for our sport. It gives us freedom. It was nice to be able to do the things we did today.
“This format is definitely allowing teams to gamble like we have. It didn’t pay off. We didn’t get the ultimate prize. But we did run second. As much as you want to win — and, believe me, we were out there trying to win — you do take pride in good performance and good finishes.”
Earnhardt led laps 223 through 266 of a scheduled 267 and had a comfortable lead over Keselowski entering the final 20 laps. But everyone on pit road at Las Vegas Motor Speedway knew Earnhardt was playing a risky fuel game. Letarte had estimated the fuel load was about one lap short of lasting until race’s end.
Earnhardt went into saving mode, slowing earlier in the turns to conserve gas. That allowed Ke- selowski to move into the shadow of the No. 88, a surge that forced the Hendrick Motorsports driver to return to full-speed racing.
“We figured we were a lap short, and I let Brad get there,” Earnhardt said. “I felt like if I had enough gas I could hold him off. Once he got within about eight car lengths, I started running hard.”
Letarte apologized to his driver on the radio afterward. “Sorry, buddy,” he said. “I tried.
“Well, we have a first, a second and a second. I’d say we’re doing OK to start this deal off.”
It’s more than OK. With the Daytona 500 victory followed by second-place runs at Phoenix International Raceway and Las Vegas, Earnhardt is off to the best start of his career.
When he won the Daytona 500 in 2004, he followed that with a fifth-place finish in Rockingham, N.C., and a 35th in Las Vegas.
“The confidence is up there,” he said. “Our team just keeps stepping up this ladder. The sky is the limit for us. If we are smart and keep our composure and don’t get foolish and don’t get too proud of ourselves and just keep it in perspective, we have a good opportunity this year.”