Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued his stellar start to the season with a strong run at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday.
Earnhardt Jr. put himself in position to challenge for the win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Good Sam 500, leading 34 laps but settling for fifth after opting to stay out during the final caution prior to the overtime period. While some pitted at that time, leader Kevin Harvick, Earnhardt and Austin Dillon remained on the track.
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After the race, Earnhardt refused to question the decision to remain out on that final pit stop.
Earnhardt restarted second, on the inside of Harvick, and could not hold off the contenders on fresher tires.
“Yeah, I was surprised we finished as good as we did,” he said. “I thought that was a good move to not pit. If a couple more guys don’t pit and we get another guy on the outside in the second row we was in good shape.”
Overall, he seemed pleased to have had another strong day. Earnhardt has three consecutive top-10 finishes, a streak including a pair of top-fives.
“We had an awesome car and that’s three weeks in a row I’ve enjoyed the hell out of driving it, so had a fun day and we ran great, really, really good, so proud of my guys,” he said.