drives past during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 16, 2013 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images)
What a difference a year makes. A year removed from his greatest race in recent memory, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s run at Michigan International Speedway ended in the garage Sunday.
Earnhardt came in as the race’s defending winner, having gone to victory at MIS last year and breaking a 143 race winless streak. Sunday in the Quicken Loans 400, it looked as though Earnhardt could repeat his win. On lap 77 Earnhardt took lead during a round of pit stops and held the point as the field took the green.
Earnhardt would hold the lead until he was passed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne on lap 90. He would regain the lead when Kahne’s Chevy lost a right front tire and slammed the wall hard on lap 104. By lap 118 Earnhardt was stretching out his lead over second place Matt Kenseth to over two seconds. It appeared that Earnhardt was the class of the field until lap when on lap 128 when Earnhardt suddenly began to slow. He reported the engine in his Chevy was going down a cylinder. MORE>>>
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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