Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick tangle at Kentucky

071215VIDEO

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a rough night Saturday at Kentucky Speedway.  Less than a week from his victory at Daytona International Speedway, he and his Hendrick Motorsports crew struggled with NASCAR’s one-off rules package.

The package NASCAR instituted for the race was meant to lower downforce and increase passing. Rear spoilers were reduced from 6 to 3.5 inches with the front splitter expanded by 25 inches. An overhang was also reduced by 1.75 inches. Cup teams were suppose to get extra practice in the week leading up to Saturday’s race but persistent rains all week cancelled the extra sessions and the teams were only able to get in two hours of practice Friday.

As it turned out, Earnhardt and his crew could have used more practice. MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. 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.