Junior: 'If you got out-cheated, then you didn't do your homework'
HAMPTON, Ga. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn’t buying two theories: The first, that a bolt just happened to break, allowing for the oil reservoir tank lid to become loose on Carl Edwards' car last week at Las Vegas. And the second, that he should be credited with the win for finishing second to Edwards, whose car failed inspection.
“That wouldn’t be a great way to win one,” the Hendrick Motorsports driver said after Sprint Cup practice Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “I wouldn’t find happiness or pride in that, so it makes no difference to me. When it comes down to it, you line them up and you race and the guy that crosses the finish line first is the winner.
“And if you got out-cheated, then you didn’t do your homework. That’s just the way it is. I do feel like guys should keep the wins, like it is now. If they want to strip the wins, they have to do it all the time, even for an eighth of an inch low at Talladega, places like that, even though I’ve been caught like that.”
Edwards was docked 100 points and crew chief Bob Osborne was suspended for six weeks. Edwards also would lose the 10 points for the Vegas win that he would get if he made the Chase.
“Those guys are learning things and doing things and they were wild and crazy enough to try it,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I’ve got to applaud them for the effort they made to try to win the race. I myself have been guilty of pushing the rulebook and breaking the rulebook, and I can’t stand here and be hypocritical of how Carl won the race.
“We got outran and we got outfoxed, not only just behind the wheel but at the shop as well. We have to figure out a way to get that advantage within the rulebook. I’m sure that’s what Carl and them would do, they’ll find a way to find that advantage within the rulebook.”
Team owner Jack Roush today indicated that a bolt failed, something that was first mentioned by team president Geoff Smith when the penalty was announced Wednesday.
“Him saying that it was a mistake and the bolt was failing was ridiculous,” Earnhardt Jr. said of Smith. “It was comical. That was really comical actually. And they should not allow him to make those kind of comments.
“Instead the crew chief [should be] out there stating an honest answer. They would be better off. But I enjoyed reading his version. … Everybody knows the truth anyway.”
The truth, according to Earnhardt Jr., is that Hendrick Motorsports has tested a car with a loose oil tank reservoir lid in the wind tunnel and it added 19 pounds of rear downforce. Earnhardt Jr. also noted that Edwards’ car had loose window clips after the Las Vegas race, which Earnhardt Jr. said, “that’s not by accident.”
His only issue, really, is that the team hasn’t just admitted fault.
“That was unfortunate, turning the blame on NASCAR saying that NASCAR assures that every bolt won’t fail," Earnhardt Jr. said. "That guy [Smith] doesn’t even know how many bolts hold the lid on. So how could he make any comment on it?
“I thought Carl drove a good race, he’s a great race car driver. If we put the lid on, he probably wins the race. But we’re all out there trying to get unfair advantage, and you can’t hang one guy for it. You can’t really come down on one guy because we’re all trying to do that. If you walk around and look at all these cars, you’d find little things that you wouldn’t like and probably wouldn’t pass inspection on every one of them if you had them for a couple of days.”
