RELATED: ‘The Intimidator’s Day at ‘Dega’
TALLADEGA, Ala. — An Earnhardt was charging through the field with championship implications on the line, and a raucous Talladega crowd stood and screamed at his every move.
What year was it again?
Dale Earnhardt Jr. continually controlled the draft Sunday in the CampingWorld.com 500, sweeping through the field both early and late in the race, looking every bit like his father did 15 years ago in one of “The Intimidator’s” most historic victories.
It was like father, like son. The only difference was the ending.
Junior finished second this Sunday in Alabama, as he was behind leader Joey Logano when a caution flag dropped on the green-white-checkered finish. That froze the field, relegating Earnhardt Jr. — who led 61 of 196 laps — to a runner-up result.
It was a second-place that ousted Earnhardt from the postseason, and also deprived him of a chance to orchestrate one final bit of magic at a track that has been, well, magical for the Earnhardt family.
“I was just doing everything I thought I could do,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I’m real proud of myself, proud of my team. We got nothing to be disappointed about.”
Earnhardt spoke amid a backdrop of boos — not for him, but from the Talladega crowd that was reacting to Logano’s jubilatory burnout and trip to Victory Lane.
The noise came down, and then so, too, did the aluminum cans, the fans washing the track with their unfinished beer.
“We’ve got a lot of Earnhardt fans in Alabama,” Junior said, a lilt in his voice. “They aren’t happy unless we win, and that’s the way I like it.”
Those fans went home unhappy, but Earnhardt was at peace with the end-race execution.
The driver of the No. 88 withstood vibrations, a pit penalty and the daring decision to jump out of the single line of cars late in the race and create a second a line to push toward the lead — if no one had followed him, Earnhardt Jr. would have been freight-trained to the back of the field.
But he went, and then he went, picking off cars like a series of jumps in checkers, sprinting and strategizing his way to the front of the field, the crowd volume rising with each successful pass.
“I just told myself that I was going to work as hard as I could every single lap,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “When they lined up around the top, I’d never been in that situation to have to pass those guys when they’re lined up like that. I clawed and clawed and clawed and got up into the top three, finally into second.
“We did everything we had to do today, we just came up a little short.”
His captivating charge through the field was set up by a penalty on pit road, something that has plagued the No. 88 team throughout the Chase. This time it was his crew going over the wall too soon during green-flag pit stops on Lap 121.
The punishment was a pass-through penalty that sent Earnhardt Jr. from running third in the lead pack to running 27th all alone. He would have been caught and lapped if a caution did not come — and one came on Lap 132 when Justin Allgaier‘s engine expired.
Another caution — just the second of the day — fell on Lap 186 with Junior in third place. Leader Greg Biffle pitted for fuel, making the top four Logano, Earnhardt, Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon. Logano opted to start up top, which wasn’t the preferred line Sunday, but it kept Earnhardt from lining up directly in front of his HMS teammate Gordon, who had a powerful car all weekend and was prepared to push his teammate.
“I know there were a lot of people pulling for Dale Jr. today, and I was one of them,” Gordon said after climbing out of his car on pit road. “I wanted to help him so bad.”
Logano didn’t give him the chance, a strategic move that Gordon said was the smart play. That was of no consolation, of course, to the Earnhardt Jr. fans at the track, or the man himself.
A win at Talladega would have done more than send Junior to the next round of the postseason. It would have added another chapter to his Talladega tome, a book already rich with stories and success.
“I’m more proud of the drive I had today than the two wins this year,” Earnhardt Jr. said.
There’s no need to ask “What if?” either. Junior already knows what would have happened if the race had stayed green, and he had the chance to race for the win.
“Hell yeah I had him,” Earnhardt Jr. said of catching Logano. “Of course we had him.”