Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brian Vickers go for a spin in the early going. Credit: Turner Sports Interactive

Junior, Vickers collide in early going at Vegas

LAS VEGAS -- -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. has built his NASCAR career out of being able to complete laps with the best of them.

But on Sunday at Las Vegas, Earnhardt ended the race on the wrecker's hook for the third time in the past eight races.

He didn't have the handling problems that plagued his No. 8 Chevrolet last year. Worse, only 12 laps into the event, he got into the back of Brian Vickers, triggering a four-car accident that also created victims out of Bobby Labonte and Ricky Rudd.

	Rough start Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 2005 stats Race Start Finish Daytona 5 3 Fontana 40 32 Las Vegas 30 42 Avg. 25 26 Earnhardt and Vickers collide in the early laps Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Earnhardt took the blame for the accident, saying he was surprised when he suddenly caught Vickers in Turn 1.

"[Vickers] had been on my ass for about three laps, so I was going to let him go, I just got into him," Earnhardt said. "I don't know what the hell happened over there.

"I went into the corner like I thought he should and he got into there a little easier than I expected. I got all over him. I apologized to him."

Vickers and Earnhardt had both qualified poorly Friday and were moving through the field when the wreck occurred.

"You know, we just got wrecked," Vickers said. "It's a shame. Junior apologized, which is good. Stuff happens and guys make mistakes."

Earnhardt Jr. finished 42nd, his worst finish in nearly three years. He dropped to 27th in the points after three races, but he also knows he can bounce back with a win in Atlanta, like he did in 2004.

"I have had harder times than this," Earnhardt said. "I mean, we'll just try to turn it around. I've had a pretty good car the last couple of weeks -- just ain't made the best of it."

For Rudd, it was his third consecutive week he'd been caught up in an accident. As a result, he is last in points among teams with three starts.

Rudd started the season full of optimism after his team, the Wood Brothers, were especially strong in offseason testing.

"It has just been a real frustrating season," said Rudd, was able to complete 158 laps and finish 37th. "The crew did a great job of patching the car up. Usually people would put a car that bad on the truck and leave."

Labonte, like Earnhardt and Vickers, didn't make it back to the track after the accident. He finished 41st, his second DNF of the year.

Labonte's team didn't master the new spoiler-tire package at Las Vegas, and Sunday's wreck completed a dismal weekend for him.

"You've got to get these cars so loose to drive them through the center of the corner on entry, that [when] I turned the wheel down to go left, I spun out," he said.