The afternoons of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and A.J. Allmendinger’s at Michigan International Speedway ended up being short ones. The duo was eliminated early on Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 as a result of damage suffered in a lap 61 incident with rookie Chris Buescher.
Running three-wide through turns one and two, Buescher lost control of his No. 34 Ford on the inside lane. The NASCAR XFINITY Series champion washed up the track and into Earnhardt, who slid into Allmedinger and ultimately forced both drivers into the wall.
“The 34 just drove into the left rear quarter panel, I just don’t know,” Earnhardt said after the incident. “On the restarts, you have a responsibility to try to take car of everybody out there, even when you’re three-wide. I’m disappointed in that.”
Earnhardt and Allmendinger each made their way to the garage area, but both drivers were officially declared out of the race shortly thereafter.
Earnhardt addressed his day on Twitter following the crash.
The car was good today and getting faster. Easy top 10. Haven't been wrecked in a while but that is part of racing. Vacation starts early.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) June 12, 2016
Allmendinger was credited with a 38th-place finish. Earnhardt ended the day one position behind that in 39th.
The result marks the fourth DNF of the season for Earnhardt. Allmendinger notched his first DNF on the year.
Aaron Bearden is a Frontstretch alumnus who’s come back home as the site’s Short Track Editor. When he isn’t working with our grassroots writers, he can be found talking about racing on his Morning Warmup newsletter, pestering his wife/dog or convincing himself the Indiana Pacers can win an NBA title.