Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin, who both started the night clinging to spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, sustained damage that required multiple pit stops before the race was 10 laps old Saturday night.
After Clint Bowyer, who had an outside chance of making the Chase, spun and backed into the outside wall at Richmond International Raceway while racing for third, he tried to right the car and get moving again as the field closed in from behind. Instead, he pulled into traffic and stopped, causing a multicar pileup.
Hamlin's car hit the outside wall and sustained significant damage to the right side. He dropped to 40th place and went a lap down in the race he has won the last two years.
Earnhardt sustained front-end damage that threatened his radiator cooling system.
