AVONDALE, Ariz. -- In a season in which far more has gone wrong than right for Dale Earnhardt Jr., several members of his over-the-wall crew luckily escaped injury Sunday morning in a traffic accident outside Phoenix International Raceway.

According to a Hendrick Motorsports team representative, three members of Earnhardt's pit crew and two pit support members were on Avondale Boulevard, attempting to make a left turn onto the access road to the infield tunnel when their van was rear-ended by another vehicle at about 8 a.m. local time.

The van's occupants, catch-can man Jason Dalrymple of Concord, N.C.; front-tire carrier Ben Fischbeck of Waynesville, Mo.; rear-tire carrier Matt Myers of Ford City, Pa.; and pit-support crewmen Bailey Walker and Mark Jacobs went to the track's infield care center, where they were examined and released.

Hendrick spokesperson Laura Scott said, "They were just a little shaken up, more than anything. Once the adrenalin wears off they might be a little sore, but it's not expected to affect their race-day duties."

The crew members had arrived in Phoenix on Saturday and were driving from their hotel when the accident occurred.