NASCAR Cup Series

Earnhardt in back of field after crash

Published Aug. 18, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Happy Hour was anything but for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday.

With 10 minutes remaining in final practice, Earnhardt backed his car into the wall coming out of Turn 2. It was the same car that Earnhardt won in the June race on the two-mile track. Although he qualified 22nd in the same car on Friday, Earnhardt was a favorite for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400.

While the team was able to get the backup car out before the end of Happy Hour, time ran out before Earnhardt could return to the track. The car Earnhardt will race on Sunday is Chassis 88-711. He tested the car at Pocono and Michigan tests in June. The car has been raced by Junior at Darlington and Fontana.

Earnhardt will now have to start from the back of the pack for Sunday’s race.