New RCR-DEI engines up in smoke in 'Dega debut

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- In Sunday's debut event for the newly completed Dale Earnhardt Inc. / Richard Childress Racing engine package, cars blew up like balloons at a clown school.

Not one, not two, not three, but four RCR-DEI engines blew during the UAW-Ford 500, dropping Martin Truex Jr. two spots in NASCAR's Chase battle and furthering the frustration of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who some say missed the Chase due to several prior engine failures the season (watch video).

Sunday's blown engine at the Talladega Superspeedway was his sixth.

Lap-by-Lap

Jeff Gordon led only one lap at Talladega, where there was only one Big One but more trouble for some Chase drivers.

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The only difference Sunday: Earnhardt Jr. was far from alone this time. Chase contender Jeff Burton, the No. 31 at RCR, was the first of the four to go (watch video) while Aric Almirola the No. 01 at DEI, was the last.

The problem is believed to be the same problem the RCR-DEI initiative experienced at a test session last month at the Talladega Superspeedway, according to Will Gray, head engine tuner at DEI.

"This is the first time we've raced a complete combo of RCR and DEI equipment, all their plate guys and our plate guys working together," said Gray, as he packed up the No. 1 transporter Sunday in the garage. "I hate to guess ... at the test, a piston in the No. 1 car blew that engine and we thought we had the problem fixed, but it is hard to turn around 16 engines in the matter of weeks."

Gray said the crew didn't pay close enough attention to what happened, but did the best they could with the limited time available.

After the race, Earnhardt Jr. managed to mask his frustrations.

"We had a good car. We had a good motor. But we have some sort of gremlin," he said. "At the test here, I saw a lot of working back and forth between DEI and RCR ...we all had good cars and I'm sad for Martin [Truex Jr.] more than anything."

Steve Hmiel, DEI competition director, said the engines all experienced the same failure.

"When you open the hood, now you know what to look for," he added. "The hole is in the same place in the oil pan. It's breaking something inside and it's breaking it in all three engines."

The RCR-DEI engine in Paul Menard's No. 15 machine didn't blow up; however, his car was badly damaged in a 10-car melee that occurred on Lap 145, the "big one." But, Gray said Menards' crash will prove beneficial for research and development back at the race shop on Monday in North Carolina.

"The engine on the 15 is not all blown to pieces, it was still running when [Menard] wrecked, so we can take it apart and look at it," he said. "It's kind of a blessing in disguise. If you can take anything away from this day ... that will be it."

The RCR and DEI cars will all have the same engine package again next week for the Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"For the last couple weeks, we've been running a lot of RCR components in our open engines and been successful, so we will try to do that more for the next five races and just look forward to next year and create a better package," Gray said.

In light of Chevy's engine change to the R07 and the partnership between DEI and RCR, Earnhardt Jr. said he isn't surprised his team has succumbed to engine failure on multiple occasions.

"We've fought a lot of different curve balls with the fuel change and everything else," he said. "Changing our engine package with our new Chevy motor and just a lot of curve balls this year..."

In February, NASCAR switched from leaded racing fuel to unleaded racing fuel in an attempt to become more environmentally sound.

Richard Childress Racing teammates and Chase contenders Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick, also running the new engine package, were everything but sound after news of blown engines hit their radios.

"We were just conservative on everything," said Bowyer, who started 23rd and finished 11th. "It wasn't as strong as it needed to be but hey, it did its job and got me to the end and that's what I needed to do here."

As for Harvick, the No. 29 was running one cylinder down and crew chief Todd Berrier was happy with that.

"You don't like to run 20th-place but at the end of the day, it could have been a lot worse," he said. "So we finished, not blown up and home in the garage, it's good."

On the bright side, Hmiel said the equipment is consistent even though Sunday it was consistently bad.

"You're not happy about it but it shows everybody is getting the same stuff."