Dale Earnhardt Jr. leaves the No. 8 Chevrolet after completing 61 laps Sunday. Credit: Worth Canoy/Autostock

Injured Junior completes 61 laps at Loudon

LOUDON, N.H. - Dale Earnhardt, Jr. completed 61 laps Sunday in the Siemens 300, advancing the Budweiser Chevrolet 14 positions on the track while battling through intense pain from burns suffered in a crash last weekend.

VIDEO Busch wins Siemens 300 Kurt Busch focuses on taking the checkered flag at Loudon Race Reaction Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman review their top-five finishes Bumper Tag Rusty finishes 30th after being tagged by Jarrett late Heavy Contact Rudd and Craven suffer heavy damage in separate incidents Disappointment Contact with Schrader sends Truex Jr. into the wall Siemens 300 Junior runs 61 laps before handing it over to Truex Early Exit Contact with Johnson and Sadler sends Craven to the garage

"My injuries really, really hurt bad," Earnhardt said, perched atop the Bud pit cart. "It's a pain I've never felt before. But I was in two burn centers and I saw some people in there that were a lot worse off than I was and it made me really appreciate how luckily I was to be able get out of there.

"It's been one hell of an experience. Aside from the injuries, I wouldn't change anything. It's been a good experience for me. I've learned a lot of things through it, and I'll be a better race car driver once I'm back to 100 percent. Just ain't good enough to drive a car out here all day long. Hopefully next week we will be."

Being that Martin Truex, Jr. qualified the Bud Chevy, Earnhardt was forced to move to the rear of the field to start the race. But he quickly made it clear he wasn't in the seat just to cut laps. He was running 30th after 15 laps.

Still 30th on Lap 51, Junior was trying to stay ahead of leader Ryan Newman and remain on the lead lap. He succumbed to Newman on Lap 57, but was saved one lap later when Ricky Craven brought out the day's first caution.

When the caution flew, Junior was the first car one lap down, meaning he'd receive the "Lucky Dog" free pass and remain on the lead lap.

But not without some strategy. Had Junior pitted with the lead lap cars to complete the driver switch, he'd have surrendered the free pass. Hence, he was forced to stay in the seat for two more laps.

As he circled, crew chief Tony Eury, Jr. reminded him to place the shoulder harnesses and air hoses over the headrests so they would be easily accessible for Truex.

The No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet sported a rookie stripe Sunday since Martin Truex Jr. piloted the car for part of the race. Credit: Autostock

Junior pitted easily on Lap 60 and killed the engine. Jackman Jeff Clark pulled down the window net, grabbed Junior under the armpits and helped slide him out the window. As Junior hopped over the pit wall, Truex hopped in the seat and fastened himself in while Clark fired the engine and other crewmen put gas in the tank.

Truex peeled out, coursed down pit road, then sped around the track and pitted again for tires. Meanwhile, Earnhardt sat uncomfortably in a chair in his pit stall, sipping water. After five minutes he moved to the shade, received congratulations from crew members and friends, then just sat and took it all in before repositioning his chair in front of the pit cart television.

No one touched him. No one talked to him.

"Don't know what I plan on doing, really," Earnhardt said when asked his plans for the remainder of the day. "I thought I'd get back and probably change clothes. But Martin's got a good car. This is a winning team. Just want to see what happens, man.

"I think he can run good. This has kind of been a good track for him over the years. I just hate getting out of the car. That ain't no fun. They ain't many people I'd let get in there.

"I trust him with what he can do. Hell, he's probably better than I am getting around this place, and with this car and this team he's got a great chance today."

Truex returned to the track in 29th position, and moved to 25th before making contact with Ken Schrader between Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 141, and spinning into the outside wall. The accident hurt the performance of the No. 8 Chevy considerably.

ALSO •   Unofficial Results •   Unofficial Standings

"I was tight, running up high and Schrader was under me for a few laps, and actually that lap I moved higher than I had been running. He just drove in my quarter panel and wrecked me," Truex said. "I don't know why he was running me like that I was trying to run him clean, but what're you going to do?

"I was making out pretty good, picked off some spots in the beginning, then I got real, real tight and got spun out.

"That was the end of our day. That knocked the toe out really bad, then we got really tight and lost another lap. If that hadn't happened, I think we could have gotten it fixed and gotten the lucky dog. But once the toe was knocked out and we didn't have time to fix it, the car just wouldn't go at all. It ruined our day."

Truex ultimately finished two laps down in 31st position.

"That's still better than 43rd, I'll tell you that. All they wanted was last-place points, wanted him to start the race and me to get in the car and give it everything I could.

"I'm just disappointed in the way we ran. If I hadn't gotten spun out I think we would have run really good, because we had our car going good at the end of the race, just lost too much time when we got the toe knocked out."

Martin Truex Jr. hits the wall on Lap 141.

All said, Jimmie Johnson gained 60 points on Earnhardt in the championship point standings.

"Ain't many people I'd let drive my car. Martin's one of them. Luckily he was available this weekend," Earnhardt said. "We were real good all weekend in practice with Martin in the car. The car just wasn't as good as I thought it'd be, or had been all weekend. Just ain't no fun getting out. I'm a tell ya that.

"Just not good enough to drive a car today. My legs are hurting real bad."

Truex doesn't anticipate he'll drive the Cup car next weekend.