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To say Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his fans were flying high after his sixth-place finish at Pocono Raceway in June would be an understatement. Earnhardt ranked third in points and appeared a solid bet to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. At the time, he enjoyed a 71-point cushion over the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cutoff.
Six races later, those hopes have deflated considerably. Earnhardt, after six consecutive finishes outside the top 10, has slipped to 10th, the final automatic Chase qualifying berth. He clings to a 19-point lead over 11th-place Denny Hamlin.
Keeping Hamlin at bay could be problematic. Hamlin has won two of the last four Pocono races. Looking forward is no bargain either: Earnhardt is three points out of ninth but the occupant of that spot is two-time Pocono winner Tony Stewart.
Earnhardt’s best Pocono finish was a runner-up, most recently in August of 2007. Prior to his sixth-place run in June, Earnhardt has finished outside the top 10 in five consecutive Pocono starts.
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