Unless Earnhardt-Childress Racing Technologies solves its engine problems, what’s left of the season isn’t going to be very pleasant.
At Talladega, things were a disaster. One by one, Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Richard Childress Racing teams began to drop out of the race. Three suffered engine failure and one managed to limp to the finish with a dropped cylinder.
Jeff Burton’s No. 31 RCR Chevy blew up less than 100 laps into the race and he finished 43rd. As a result, he fell from 10th to 12th in points and admits his championship hopes are dashed.
DEI’s Martin Truex Jr., using the same engine, dropped out on lap 113 and wound up 42nd. He dropped from eighth to 10th in the standings. He, too, has almost no chance to win the title.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final race at DEI with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. ended in abject disappointment with an engine failure, his sixth of the season.
RCR’s Kevin Harvick dropped a cylinder with 50 laps to go and managed to stay on the track. He finished 20th and stands fifth in points. The lights aren’t out on his championship hopes, but things are getting dim.
RCR’s Clint Bowyer was the last man left. You can bet he knew what was going on. But his team had gone conservative, trying to run the engine as cool as possible.
The motor wasn’t as strong as Bowyer would have liked, but he finished 11th at Talladega and stands third in points, the only RCR or DEI driver with a realistic shot at the championship.
Engine calamities are nothing new. Virtually every team has experienced them. The good ones overcome.
I have to think that by now, DEI-RCR has a pretty good idea of what the problem was at Talladega, and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if it doesn’t occur again for the remainder of the season.
However, for DEI and RCR, engine woes at Talladega were more than just a downer. When it comes to the Chase, they left just one man standing.