Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought his No. 88 Chevrolet to pit road for an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 63 and lost a lap in the process. The culprit? A loose wheel.
Earnhardt, however, was back on the lead lap as the highest-scored lapped car after NASCAR called the fourth caution of the race for Dave Blaney’s spin in Turn 1 on Lap 132.
A combination of hard driving and astute pit strategy on the part of crew chief Steve Letarte got Earnhardt back in the top five, and ultimately he delivered a fourth-place finish.
The rally didn’t surprise Earnhardt, who posted his seventh top 10 in the last eight races.
“We had a fast car,” Earnhardt said. “I thought Steve Letarte could get some good strategy to get us back up into the top 10 and top five, and I was real happy with the way we were able to rebound.”
