Dale Earnhardt Jr. keeps Daytona 500 starting spot after driveshaft change
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Mechanics hurriedly changed out the driveshaft of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet during the final practice before Sunday’s Daytona 500.
“It fixed a little vibration we had,” Earnhardt told Paste BN Sports. “It's common. We are just trying to get the little gremlins out.”
The change at Saturday’s practice doesn’t affect his starting position for the 59th running of the "Great American Race" as Earnhardt will remain on the outside of the front row, next to teammate and pole-sitter Chase Elliott. A new driveshaft is not one of the mechanical changes that would force a car to start at the back of the field.
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Earnhardt went on the track for a few laps before he pulled into the garage for the change. The two-time Daytona 500 champion, who is competing in his first race since a concussion sidelined him for the second half of the 2016 season, completed 30 laps, the most by any of the 28 drivers who took part in the final practice. He had the 19th-fastest speed (194.473 mph) during the session.
“We tried to work on that and were able to fix it right there on that last run,” Earnhardt said in a television interview. “It’s just simple stuff like flipping drive shafts and things like that. You want to get all that out of there so you don’t have any doubts about anything holding your car back.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led the practice with a fastest lap of 198.452 mph.
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