After Dale Jr.‘s Top-10 Finish, No. 88 Team Says ‘That’s How It’s Supposed To Be’
Dale Earnhardt Jr. always climbs from his car with his helmet on. The question is what expression he'll have on his face when he removes it.
Lately, it hasn't been too good. He's looked tired or frustrated or disappointed.
Not Sunday.
Earnhardt Jr.'s smile returned after a seventh-place run at Michigan that moved him up two spots in the point standings to 14th and left him downright joyful.
He even walked up to a reporter, smacked him on the shoulder and said, "YAY!" with fists raised in a brief moment of triumph.
"I feel happy," he said, seeming relieved to finally get his first top-10 since Texas. "I’ve got a buddy that’s having a birthday tomorrow. We’ll drink some beers, have a good time. It’ll be a good day."
For once, Earnhardt Jr. had an uneventful race. Nothing went wrong, and the pit road calls actually worked in the 88 team's favor.
Did Earnhardt Jr. want to pinch himself?
"I did when I saw Denny (Hamlin) go under the white (flag)," he said, laughing. "I said, 'I'll be damned!' You know? That’s the way it’s been."
Another reporter asked Earnhardt Jr. if he felt top-10 finishes would get him into the Chase. Currently, he's 81 points out.
"Absolutely. Yeah. I think so. Maybe," he said, chuckling again. "I mean, that’s all we can hope for. We’re not a team that’s challenging for victories just yet, so top-10s are a direction we need to go."
All around, it was simply solid. After his interview, Earnhardt Jr. walked over to crew chief Lance McGrew and extended his hand.
"Thanks," Earnhardt Jr. told McGrew. "You kept up with the track, man."
McGrew started to tell Earnhardt Jr. that "those damn green-flag-to-caution stops" were a difficult, but Earnhardt Jr. cut him off.
In the driver's mind, it was all positive.
"I’m sure, yeah," he told McGrew. "It was good off the trailer, man. Good job."
For his part, McGrew said “it was nice to stop the bleeding a little bit” of the recent slump. The past two weeks, the team has had much better cars.
And this one went smoothly, with no issues. That’s been rare for the 88 team, as Earnhardt’s Junior Nation knows well.
"That’s how it’s supposed to be!" McGrew said. "That’s how the days are supposed to go. I don’t know why we attract controversy, if we have that kind of stuff happen to us: We’ll get a flat tire or an untimely caution that changes a bunch of stuff up on us. I think this is how it’s supposed to be."
On Sunday, Earnhardt Jr. and McGrew had reasons to smile. And Earnhardt Jr. said his fans may have, too.
"Hopefully they enjoyed it," he said. "Today was a good run and hope I can bring more to ‘em."
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