Dale Eanrhardt Jr. sits on pit road just after leaving the driver's seat of the No. 8 Chevrolet. Credit: Autostock

Numbness, bad car force Earnhardt Jr. out early

LONG POND, Penn. -- Numbness, not pain, forced Dale Earnhardt, Jr. out of the Budweiser Chevrolet Sunday at Pocono Raceway.

VIDEO Victory Lane Johnson completes the season sweep at Pocono Raceway Heavy Damage Contact with Vickers sends B.Labonte to the garage Into the wall Stewart gets loose on the track and hits the wall on Lap 108 No Luck Jeff Burton's struggles continue as he wrecks while in the top 10 Driver Change Junior turns driving duties over to Andretti on Lap 53 The pits Joe Nemechek loses the lead on pit road

"I felt fine," Junior said. "The bumps hurt a little bit but my foot was going to sleep. I haven't been using it a lot -- I haven't been standing on it much and it just goes to sleep and cramps up real easy."

Earnhardt, still nursing burn injuries suffered two weeks ago when he wrecked a sports car at Infineon Raceway, completed 51 laps before better judgment said to hand the ride over to substitute driver John Andretti.

"I could have run the rest of the way, but the car was so bad there really wasn't no use of me being in there wasting my time," Junior said. "(I figured) I should be out of the car trying to get better. I think I'll be able to go to next week's race without any problem."

The driver switch was choreographed much like last week's switch at New Hampshire, when Earnhardt gained 14 positions in 61 laps before turning the reins over to Martin Truex, Jr.

Earnhardt pitted on Lap 53, loosening his belts as he coursed down the pit lane. When he stopped in the pits, gasman Jeff Clark grabbed him under the armpits and pulled him from the car. Andretti hopped in, completing the switch in one minute, 22 seconds.

After two subsequent stops, the team spent a total of 1:42 on pit lane. Though Earnhardt appeared to be in significant pain, he says the numbness was his only concern.

Earnhardt Jr. spent 27 laps sitting on the pit wall after exiting the No. 8 Chevrolet. Credit: Autostock

Once out of the car, Junior spent 27 laps in his team's pit stall, mostly sitting on the pit wall, before being carted away by track personnel. He expressed the most dismay over the attitude of his race cars the last two weeks.

"I'm just really disappointed that things are going like they're going," Earnhardt said. "I wish that this thing would heal up a little faster, but it just takes time, I guess. The car wasn't running too well, and I thought if we was gonna make a change, we should make it then.

"We had a terrible race car today, so there wasn't any use in me being in there flying around in it."

Earnhardt started 16th, lost a lap on Lap 28 and was running 33rd when he pitted to make the driver switch. Andretti restarted 34th, one lap down, but managed to complete less than 25 laps before a broken sway bar forced him into the Turn 2 wall. He was then black-flagged for running too slow.

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Running three laps down in 36th position, Andretti pitted on Lap 79 and took the car to the garage. While replacing the sway bar, he lost four more laps and returned to the track in 37th position, seven laps down.

In the end, Andretti finished 25th. As a result, Earnhardt fell from second to third in the Nextel Cup standings, 267 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

"I hated more giving it to the (substitute drivers) than getting out of it," Junior said. "We threw John in there and he ain't had a lap this weekend. The sway bar bolt was missing and the car was rolling over and spinning out on him, and I just hate it for him.

"I hated to put Martin in that situation last weekend (because) I know the car wasn't that great. But I just didn't really have any business trying to run it. Hopefully we'll come to Indy and be able to get through it."