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Dale Jr.'s strong day ends prematurely: "We’ve got to finish better"

While Dale Earnhardt Jr. believed he had a really good car Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, he left the track with an unwelcome streak.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Logan Whitton / NKP / Motorsport Images

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Earnhardt spent much of the race running in the top-10 but during a round of pit stops on Lap 396 of 500, he was penalized by NASCAR for speeding on pit road, which sent him to the rear of the field on the restart.

“Well as far as what I see on my dash I wasn’t speeding, but (NASCAR) has better technology than we do,” Earnhardt said. “They said it was in the segment out of my pit box. Hell, I must have got out of there pretty damn good. I don’t know what to do about that.”

Pushed back in the field, Earnhardt found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time in a multi-car accident that erupted in Turn 3 on Lap 418.

Earnhardt was forced to take his No. 88 Chevrolet to the garage – with a broken radiator – which which ended his day and left him with a 34th-place finish.

Earnhardt has now gone the first six races of the season without a top-10 finish – the longest streak to open a season in his more than 17-year career in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

“I love this place. It was a lot of fun today. The car was really good. Greg (Ives, crew chief) and the guys made a lot of changes last night and made our car way better,” Earnhardt said. “We got bottled-up there in (Turn) 3 and they’re ain’t no bumpers on these cars.

“It knocked the radiator out of it. So, we’re out of the race. We went to the garage to try to fix it, but can’t with the new rules. So, we’re done. I was having a good time. But, I’m disappointed with the way we’re finishing.

“We’ve got to finish better than this.”

Earnhardt has now dropped to 25th in the series standings and his best finish so far this season was 14th at Phoenix. He also has three finishes of 30th or worse.

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