NASCAR’s most popular driver had the power go out in his car as the field came to the green flag. Junior made his warmup laps just fine from his 20th starting position but was forced to pit before entering Turn 1 because of the problem.
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After a pit pass-through to correct the problem, Earnhardt was back on the track but was being scored two laps down. He would have to rely on cautions and NASCAR’s free pass to get back on the lead lap.
Sure enough, Kyle Busch’s early crash helped Junior get a lap back.
And by Lap 125 Earnhardt was back on the lead lap.
