Dale Earnhardt Jr. slammed the wall into Turn 3 after blowing a front tire. Credit: Autostock

Junior blows tire, finds wall early at Phoenix

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- The Checker Auto Parts 500 presented Dale Earnhardt Jr. with one of his best opportunities to claim his second checkered flag of the season. As it turned out, he didn't even get halfway to the checkered flag.

Earnhardt Jr., the defending winner of Sunday's race, blew a right-front tire going into Turn 3 and hit the wall on Lap 114. Instead of defending his race win in the desert, Earnhardt Jr. was forced to endure his fifth DNF since the Brickyard 400 in August.

Inside the Numbers Junior at Phoenix Year Start Finish 2005 19 DNF   15 4 2004 14 1 2003 11 1 2002 3 5 2001 30 DNF 2000 18 27 DALE EARNHARDT JR. •   Driver Page •   2005 Statistics •   Store: Junior gear! Trouble for JuniorDale Earnhardt Jr. has a tire go down and hits the wall Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

"It hadn't been on there long," Earnhardt Jr. said of the blown tire. "We had just gotten tires."

Junior also was quick to say that the accident was not due to a faulty tire.

"Looking at the tire, it ain't worn out. It's got a lot of tread on it. I don't know where the hole came from, whether we ran over something or the sidewall, or something like that. The tire's in great shape, as far as wear-wise. It's frustrating."

The accident halted a small streak of success for the No. 8 team. They finished eighth last weekend at Texas and fourth two weeks ago at Atlanta. Earnhardt Jr. said the team was poised to add to that run Sunday.

"We had a fast car," he said. "We were gonna race up for a top-three or a win, for sure. The car was really good. We were getting up through there, mixing it up with those guys, having a lot of fun.

"I'm just really disappointed that we're not still out there. It was a great car."

While a lot of other people in the garage area are looking forward to the end of the season, Earnhardt Jr. wishes he could keep racing.

"I'm still having fun," he said. "I wish the season would keep going a little more. I've just gotten into a rhythm where we're going to the track and being fast, but we've got good cars, like [Sunday] we had one of the top two cars, at least."