Rough opening act for Junior, Hendrick teammates
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — When Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead early in the Daytona 500, there was a raucous roar all around the famed speedway.
When he hit the wall late, there was an agonizing groan.
It wasn’t what Earnhardt — or his legion of faithful fans — wanted in the Great American Race. It was, however, fitting considering how the season opener went for Hendrick Motorsports.
“Had as much fun as we could under the circumstances,” Earnhardt said.
His teammates couldn’t even say that.
Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon had lengthy trips to the garage, and Mark Martin faded from contention in the final laps. Throw in Earnhardt’s ride to the infield care center, and the Daytona 500 was one to forget for team owner Rick Hendrick and his powerhouse team.
“Very disappointing,” Gordon said. “It’s definitely not what we wanted. It’s disappointing when you don’t have a shot in the Daytona 500, especially when you have as good a car and team as we all do.”
Johnson, Gordon and Martin were involved in a 14-car wreck early. Earnhardt, racing 10 years after his father’s death on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, missed that one.
He stayed in contention most of the race and had fans on the edge of their seats thinking Junior might end up in Victory Lane a decade after that fateful finish at Daytona.
But Earnhardt wrecked shortly after a green-white-checkered restart. David Ragan and Ryan Newman got together. Newman hit the wall, and Earnhardt’s car quickly became collateral damage.
Earnhardt finished 24th, extending his winless streak to 94 races. He was three spots ahead of Johnson and four in front of Gordon, whose winless streak now stands at 65.
Johnson, the five-time defending Sprint Cup champion, was 19 laps behind race winner Trevor Bayne. Gordon, the four-time series champion who started on the front row, was 35 laps back.
Martin enjoyed Hendrick’s best finish, a 10th-place showing that came after his trouble.
Martin was three laps behind after sustaining some minor damage in the big wreck early. He made a strong comeback, taking advantage of NASCAR’s free-pass rule to get back on the lead lap. He was running in the top five late but couldn’t keep up with the lead pack.
Martin extended his winless streak in the Daytona 500. He’s now 0-for-27.
The crash ended an otherwise solid Speedweeks for Hendrick Motorsports. It was a promising start after team owner Rick Hendrick made significant off-season organization changes.
Even though Johnson won his fifth consecutive championship, Hendrick felt his team fell way behind in 2010. Gordon, Martin and Earnhardt Jr. were winless.
All four of the drivers were looking for confidence and early season momentum following the changes. Instead, they left Daytona wondering what happened.
“It is such a bummer,” Gordon said. “We had such a fast race car, such a great race team. You have to take what you can from this.”