Dale Earnhardt Jr. happy with fifth, but still craving some claws
Hendrick Motorsports' Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a quiet day during Sunday's 5-Hour Energy 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, bringing the No. 88 Chevrolet home in the fifth spot.
Earnhardt was unable to lead a single lap and fought issues in the car throughout the entire race, but was pleased with the overall results.
"It was fun," Earnhardt said of the race. "The car didn't really drive that great. We tried to get it better during the race. We had some engine issues. I saw some stuff with the gauges that were way off. We were getting beat down the straightaway all day, even by the Hendrick stuff. Guys will go back and see what's wrong."
While Earnhardt was never a true contender for the win, his fifth-place finish was his eighth career top five at the one-mile track, the most of any driver without a win.
"Seems like I run in the top five or top 10 every damn time we come here. I'm always like the third, fourth, fifth best car," Earnhardt said. "I'm never like the 2 (Brad Keselowski), the 18 (Kyle Busch), the 4 (Kevin Harvick), the 11 (Denny Hamlin). That is very frustrating.
"But at the same time, you know, I got to say something about my ability and the team's ability. I take a lot of pride in having a good, positive statistic like that. But it sure would be nice to hold the lobster and do all the fun stuff they do in Victory Lane."
Sunday's race also marked the final time in the 26-race regular season that the series competed on a track they will return to during the Chase for the Sprint Cup. While he was able to extend his streak of top-five finishes, Earnhardt believes Hendrick Motorsports as a whole has work to do before the next Loudon race on Sept. 27 in what will be the second race of the Chase.
Teammates Jeff Gordon was ninth, Kasey Kahne 19th, and Jimmie Johnson was caught speeding on pit road and never recovered, finishing 22nd.
"I'm more concerned that we don't have speed," he said. "We ran fifth, but I didn't like the car at all. My teammates didn't have a lot of great speed. So as a whole, we need to really work hard, try to come here a little stronger next time."
VIDEO: Highlights from the 5-Hour Energy 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
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