Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 8 Chevy takes the long, slow ride back to the garage. Credit: AP

Earnhardt Jr., team not stressed over standings

Second last-place run in a row has Junior 11th in points

LONG POND, Pa. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third in points and seemingly a lock for the Chase to the Nextel Cup after finishing fifth at Chicagoland two weeks ago.

Now he's 11th after consecutive last-place finishes.

Is he panicking? Hardly.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is disappointed with his race team. Credit: AP

Pennsylvania 500 Official Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Denny Hamlin Chevy 2. Kurt Busch Dodge 3. Jeff Gordon Chevy 4. Brian Vickers Chevy 5. Kevin Harvick Chevy 6. Jimmie Johnson Chevy 7. Tony Stewart Chevy 8. Bobby Labonte Dodge 9. Jeff Burton Chevy 10. Martin Truex Jr. Chevy • Complete results, click here • Official standings, click here Junior gets spunDale Jr. spins in the straightaway and hits the wall Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"I'm going to enjoy my week [off] at the beach,'' crew chief Tony Eury Jr. said after Sunday's race at Pocono Raceway "He's going to enjoy his week in Las Vegas. You've got to take it and go on.

"The people that sleep on it are the ones that are going to be in trouble.''

Earnhardt and Eury Jr. got an early start to their vacations thanks to a Lap-88 incident in which Dave Blaney sent him crashing into the wall. Earnhardt returned 46 laps later, but quit with 47 laps remaining when it was evident he would finish 43rd again.

"I got just punted from behind,'' said Earnhardt, who'd never had consecutive last place finishes in his Cup career. "Straight up punted. I'd be nervous to do that do somebody else. It either took a lot of b---s or a lot of ignorance. I'll say probably the latter.''

Earnhardt was trying to make the best of a bad-handling car when Blaney hit him on the front straightaway.

"I didn't do nothing to him on racetrack,'' Earnhardt said. "I don't think he meant to wreck me. I don't know why he would do that. He's a pretty good guy.

"But it's a pretty weird deal. I just got run over on the straightaway and tried to save it, but just got too far behind the wheel there.''

Earnhardt seemed as excited about getting back on the track a half-hour later as a trip to the dentist.

"Who wants to drive that?'' he said. "Sitting out there riding around in trashed cars is no fun. If they want to make changes to the points system next year they should start from 25th on back giving everybody the same points.

"That way we wouldn't have to get these wrecked things back out there.''

That way, Earnhardt wouldn't be 15 points out of the top 10 guaranteed a spot in the Chase and with no room for error in the six races before the field is set.

"You're telling me,'' Earnhardt said. "But what am I supposed to do? My motor blows up [at New Hampshire] and now I got wrecked. I don't know what else to do.

"We didn't bring a good race car to the track, not a good product. I am disappointed in my team on how the car drove, but we will just have to keep trying.''

Earnhardt was 14th in points a year ago after finishing 32nd at Pocono. But Eury Jr. said this is an entirely different situation.

"Not downing that team or nothing, but I've got a really strong team.'' he said. "We've been in this situation and won [Busch] championships together. This team can handle it.

MORE TROUBLE LOUDON, N.H. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. worked his way to third in the Nextel Cup points standings by avoiding trouble.  He couldn't avoid what happened on Lap 135 of Sunday's race at New Hampshire International Raceway.  •   Complete story,  click here Engine failureDale Earnhardt Jr. has engine failure at NHIS Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"Last year, that team was pretty down on itself halfway through the year, just the fans, the media and everybody slashing them. We've got something to prove, and I think we showed it all year.''

Eury actually is looking forward to the challenge.

"We've got lots of tracks coming up that's going to be good for us,'' he said. "I don't think it's going to be that big of a deal. I've outrun these guys all year, so I don't see why we can't do it these last six.''

Earnhardt seemed equally at ease.

"I'm still right in the hunt,'' he said. "You've got to put forth your best effort until you're out. If you're out of it, you're out of it. Just take [the final] 10 races off, have a good offseason and try again.

"Ain't no pressure on me, ever. I do this cause it's fun. I don't have to do it. I go out there and have fun. If you don't have a good race, you don't have a good race.''