Dale Jr. Somehow Finishes 15th After Rough Day In Atlanta

It looked like one of those oft-familiar days for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The sport’s most popular driver – occasionally its unluckiest – was headed for a finish outside the top 30 after pitting for what he thought was a loose wheel but wasn’t.

But when it was all over, Earnhardt Jr. had rallied to finish 15th.

Unlucky? Not today.

“Our luck would have been to finish 33rd,” crew chief Lance McGrew said. “We finished 15th. That’s a good day.”

Thanks to the solid result, Earnhardt Jr. moved up two spots in the point standings to 13th – just seven points outside the top 12.

At this time last year, Earnhardt Jr. was 24th.

Still, he walked quickly through the garage en route to a plane ride home, sounding frustrated that he had pitted unnecessarily.

“Long day,” he said. “We were running pretty good. We got two bad right-side tires and the right-rear tire, I don’t know, it felt like the damn wheel was coming off. We pitted and the wheel was fine, but the car was vibrating so bad, I could hardly see.”

Earnhardt Jr. added that he “should’ve not pitted,” except he thought the wheel was about to come off.

“And I’ve had them come off here and it’s not fun,” he said. “I should’ve just stayed out there and waited for it to come off.”

McGrew said that for whatever reason, the tires the No. 88 team got gave the car a “really weird vibration.” The crew chief said the team had yet to determine what happened.

“I mean, after the fact, I don’t think we needed to pit either time,” he said. “But at the time, when you think the tire’s coming off, you don’t need to end your day, you know what I mean?”