Earnhardt’s hopes for good finish at Charlotte fade into the night

CONCORD, NC - OCTOBER 12: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet, leads Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 12, 2013 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
CONCORD, NC - OCTOBER 12:  Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet, leads Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 12, 2013 in Concord, North Carolina.  (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
CONCORD, NC – OCTOBER 12: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet, leads Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Toyota, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 12, 2013 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

For much of Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Dale Earnhardt Jr. looked to be in a position to score his first victory of the season.

At the end of the night however, Earnhardt found himself a lap down in 15th.

After starting sixth, Earnhardt quickly worked his way to the front taking the lead on lap 30 in front of a Hendrick Motorsports contingent of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne; on lap 34 though Earnhardt began to experience some issues. 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.