NASCAR race results: Dale Earnhardt Jr. cool with top-five finish after A/C woes at Texas

Reid Spencer

NASCAR race results: Dale Earnhardt Jr. cool with top-five finish after A/C woes at Texas image

FORT WORTH, Texas — Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally had a car he could enjoy, but a balky cooling unit took some of the fun out of his fifth-place run in Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
 
The driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was a fixture in the top 10 for most of the afternoon, with a car that could run with the machines that have dominated the action early in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

MORE: Junior's teammate Jimmie wins at Texas
 
“It was warm,” a red-faced Earnhardt said after climbing from his car. “I thought the car was pretty warm all weekend, but our air conditioner wasn’t doing a very good job today. We’ve just got to relocate the outlet or the inlet to give it a better opportunity to get some air. But with the wind, as windy as it is here, you’ve got to put that thing in a more opportune place.
 
“It’s kind of like a vacuum. It’s pulling air out of the helmet . . . I just ran with the visor up the whole day. I was happy to see that caution late to get us some Gatorade and cool off a little bit. It was hot.”
 
At least the result was satisfying for Earnhardt, who posted his first top five — and top 10 — of the 2017 campaign.
 
“I figured we would get one sooner or later, but it’s nice,” Earnhardt said. “I know our fans are really pulling for us. Could have finished a little better, but we’ll take top five.”

Reid Spencer is a reporter for the NASCAR Wire Service.

Reid Spencer