First, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was to have driven a car with Philadelphia Eagles logos on it before the NFL nixed that last week.
Then just a few minutes into Friday’s lone NASCAR Cup practice of the day at Pocono Raceway, Earnhardt had an issue with the engine.
The team was forced to change the engine during the session. NASCAR confirmed that Earnhardt will start at the rear of the field in Sunday’s race because of the change.
Earnhardt enters this weekend 22nd in the points. He is 99 points out of the final playoff spot at the halfway point of the 26-race regular season.
Update on practice: I blew the motor up. Went into 2nd gear (was aiming for 4th) and grenaded it. Will have to start last Sunday.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) June 9, 2017
NASCAR prefers we make a qualifying attempt even though we start last. So I'll make 1 lap in race setup trying to learn for tomorrow.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) June 9, 2017
Very big pit stalls here @poconoraceway. It's not worth putting extra laps on our tires we start the race on. https://t.co/dlmUche9vG
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) June 9, 2017
It was explained to us that Nascar would rather us make an attempt. We would prefer not to. https://t.co/rGUu9wWZKH
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) June 9, 2017
Doesn't happen often at all. I got careless and totally own it. https://t.co/TJ4E45Xw1d
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) June 9, 2017
More about the dead engine. Our rev limiter is 9500. It turned 12,615 before it gave up.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) June 9, 2017
Engine swap for the No. 88 @AxaltaRacing team. #Axalta88 pic.twitter.com/FXpNoA8ePZ
— No. 5 Team (@Hendrick5Team) June 9, 2017