Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his third race of the season late Sunday night. It was the timing of a pit stop, a little luck and Mother Nature that all combined to give Earnhardt the 26th win of his career and his third of 2015. The field was also set for the final four who will compete for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup title in just one week. Here’s how it all went down on a long Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway.
After a delay of over six hours due to heavy rain showers and 19 pace laps while track drying finished up, Jimmie Johnson led the field to the green under the lights. Kurt Busch was able to get by on the outside for the lead at the end of lap 1, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third behind Johnson, Kyle Larson was fourth, Carl Edwards fifth. Jamie McMurray’s Chevy was smoking with a tire rub after contact with Kasey Kahne.
On lap 6, NASCAR ruled that Kurt Busch had jumped the start and gave him a pass through penalty. 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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