Rick Hendrick tried to relax Dale Earnhardt Jr. before the race Sunday by pointing out the team already had achieved two preseason goals.
Now, the team owner might need to work on a quicker way to soothe Earnhardt’s nerves during a race when the ride gets rough.
“When we started the year, we wanted to win a race and make the Chase. That’s two out of the way,” Hendrick said over the team radio.
For a while, it looked as if Junior might have knocked off another goal — winning a Chase race. Earnhardt led a good chunk of the way around the halfway mark at New Hampshire Motor Speedway before he tailed off and finished fifth.
Once Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevrolet started fading from the lead, he became frustrated and started yelling over the radio at crew chief Tony Eury Jr.
Earnhardt said he was tired of his car’s handling and then suggested someone was tampering with his tires and said the team needed to beef up security. That’s when Hendrick got on the radio to calm him down and suggested Junior “take a deep breath.”
“He hasn’t told me to shut up yet,” Hendrick said after the race. “It’s all good.”
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