BRISTOL, Tenn. – Another week, another thrilling race in the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
Hendrick Motorsports left Bristol Motor Speedway with two top-five finishes, and there was plenty to take away from the showing.
DRIVERS, START YOUR ENGINES
As the green flag dropped Sunday afternoon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was supposed to roll off the grid 20th.
Except he couldn’t get rolling.
The driver reported that his No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS had no power, so he was forced to head to pit road. After the race, he explained what happened.
“We've got the Roush system on our cars for the stuck throttle issue, and just warming the brakes up, I engaged that system to kill the throttle,” Earnhardt said. “I was warming the brakes up like I always do, and apparently I applied too much pressure and it killed the motor.”
The system, he explained, is designed to shut the motor off if the brake is applied to a certain extent. That way if the throttle is stuck, the driver just needs to press hard on the brake pedal to help remedy the issue.
“That's one of the two systems that you have to choose from in this sport,” he said. “The other is a button on the steering wheel. I don't like the button on the steering wheel, because when the throttle sticks, I ain't going to think mash a button. I'll be in the fence before it's over with. So the brake thing works too good.”
So Earnhardt headed to pit road, cycled the ECU to reset it and was able to return to the track – albeit down two laps in 40th position.
But the No. 88 team was able to recover all the way to a second consecutive second-place finish.
HOSTING AN MVP
Perhaps a reigning Super Bowl champion was a good luck charm for Earnhardt and the No. 88 Nationwide team.
Thanks to Nationwide, Peyton Manning was able to attend Sunday’s race at Bristol, accompany Earnhardt during driver introductions and even take in part of the race from atop the No. 88 pit box.
"It's pretty awesome that Peyton Manning is coming out to Bristol," Earnhardt said when he first heard the news. "I think he's going to enjoy watching the race there because it's such an amazing racetrack. It's awesome to have a legend like him coming to participate and enjoy our sport."
After the race, he was hopeful that the five-time NFL MVP left with even more admiration for what the NASCAR athletes tackle on a weekly basis.
“I was glad he was here,” Earnhardt said. “I'm very curious as to what he thought about our sport because he's been to Indy a couple times, to the Indy 500, but this is a real unique racetrack, and when we went around the track for intros, he was pretty surprised. He couldn't believe the banking and all that. I tried to explain it to him, but you really can't until you come here and see it.”
Relive the visit through social media here, and check out the best photos from Manning’s trip to the track with Earnhardt here.
ELLIOTT’S BEST FINISH
Fresh off his first career top-five finish, Chase Elliott upped the ante Sunday at Bristol.
His fourth-place finish was his best result of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career.
“I think it just comes back to having a good car, and I thought our guys did a really good job throughout the weekend,” the rookie said.
Like Earnhardt, Elliott was forced to overcome falling two laps behind the leaders. In Elliott’s case, it was due to a loose wheel on the No. 24 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet SS.
But he and the No. 24 team bounced back and continued to climb through the pack all the way to the checkered flag.
“Hate to have a loose wheel, but guys did a good job overcoming that having a fast pit under green only losing two laps,” he said. “That was big to keep us in contention there and try to get back on the lead lap.
“Definitely a long afternoon, but had a fast car, and that was the biggest thing that kept us alive.”