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Dale Jr. apologizes for All-Star finish, endorses Bowman to replace him in 88

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500

Dale Earnhardt Jr. would like to see Alex Bowman (right) to replace him in the No. 88 next season.

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You could see it on his face and hear it in his voice: Dale Earnhardt Jr. was not happy with his performance Saturday night in the Monster Energy All-Star Race.

As he does after every race, Earnhardt took to Periscope to interact with his fans.

“It’s hard not to get down,” Earnhardt said after finishing 18th in the 20-driver field. “I’ve been racing a long time and it’s hard not to get down. Right after that, it’s hard to keep your chin up, really hard. I’ll get my chin up again in a couple days.

“I did my best, but damn, that’s no good. That’s not good enough. I don’t want to be running like that.”

Earnhardt finished 16th in the opening stage, 19th in the second stage and 18th in the third stage.

In his closing comments, Earnhardt said his performance was “pretty embarrassing.”

Even with his poor showing, Earnhardt did not agree with one fan who asked him if he felt whether the race was boring.

“Boring race? I really didn’t get to see much of it,” because he was so far behind, Earnhardt added.

Now it’s on to the longest race of the season, next Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, a race Earnhardt has never won in his career.

“The 600 is more important (than the All-Star Race),” he said. “I sure would love to win that race. We’re taking another car different than what we drove tonight. I don’t ever want to see that car again. I just didn’t like it.

“I’m going to race my heart at the 600. Don’t worry about that.”

Even though he was in a dismal mood, Earnhardt thanked his fans for trying to cheer him up.

“I appreciate everybody being so supportive, hanging in there with us,” he said. “It’s nights like this that you don’t feel like you deserve much support.”

Earnhardt also made some interesting revelations during his chat with the fans:

* He’s endorsing Alex Bowman to replace him in the No. 88 after he retires. “Alex Bowman in the 88 car next year, is that what you want? That would be pretty awesome. Alex in the 88. That sounds good to me. He earned it last year. He ran real good.”

* He planned to have a cookout Sunday, but he’s not in the mood, given how he finished. “We’re just going to order a couple pizzas,” he said.

And last but not least:

“Amy is not pregnant, no,” he said of his wife.

Follow @JerryBonkowski