DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 DIET MOUNTAIN DEW/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET – FINISHED 20TH

IS YOUR HEAD OKAY?
“Yeah, I just took a lot of hard shots.”

WHAT HAPPENED FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE?
“I couldn’t see really. Somebody on the bottom got turned and we just all crashed. I couldn’t really tell how it started.”

HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE THAT RACE IT WAS JUST CRAZY AT THE END?
“If this is what we did every week I wouldn’t be doing it I will just put it to you like that. If this is how we raced every week I would find another job.”

WHAT WAS THAT LAST LAP LIKE? NORMALLY YOU GUYS ARE THREE-WIDE BUT THIS TIME YOU WERE FOUR AND FIVE WIDE?
“That is what the package is doing. It’s really not racing. I don’t know it’s a little disappointing how that all went down. That cost a lot of money right there. If this is how we are going to race and that is how we are going to continue to race and nothing is going to change I think NASCAR should build the cars. It would save us a lot of money.”

YOU’VE RACED A LOT OF CRAZY TALLADEGA’S WHAT MAKES THIS ONE DIFFERENT? YOU USED TO LOVE RACING HERE:
“You just can’t get away from each other that good. It’s obvious you saw the race we tore up… How many cars were in that wreck?

MEDIA: “Probably 30. It was the whole field practically.”

DALE EARNHARDT JR.: “Then that is okay with everybody? That it is like that?”

MEDIA: “I know it sucks for you guys but for the fans it’s awesome to watch.”

DALE EARNHARDT JR.: “Really? It’s not safe. Wrecking like that is ridiculous. It’s blood-thirsty if that is what people want. It’s ridiculous.”

WHAT CHANGES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE?
“The way we are going ain’t the right direction. There are plenty of engineers out there I’m just a driver. There are plenty of smart people out there that can figure something out where when one guy gets in trouble we don’t have 30 cars tore up at the expense of it. I mean it’s awesome in a word and everybody can get on the chip about it and get excited about all that which just happened, but for the longevity of the sport that aint healthy. I don’t care what anybody says for the good of the sport I mean it’s good for the here and now and it will get people talking today, but for the long run that is not going to help the sport the way that race ended and the way the racing is. It’s not going to be productive for years to come. I don’t even want to go to Daytona or Talladega next year, but I ain’t got much choice.”

DID YOU SENSE THAT THAT WAS COMING TOWARDS THE END?
“I knew somebody was going to wreck. There has been a last lap wreck in like 90 percent of these things for the last four years with this car. We can’t get away from each other with the bumpers lining up and everybody pushing all the time and spinning each other out. I mean that’s no good. It’s not working. Somebody needs to change it.”

DO YOU THINK THAT LAST RESTART WITH THE CAUTION ADDED TO IT?
“No, I think we would have wrecked anyways. I mean the last lap everybody is going to push and you can’t push. But the last lap if you can get the guy you’re going to shove him try to go, but if he’s got a guy in front of him he can’t and he’s going to get spun out. I don’t think the caution had anything to do with it. I can’t believe that nobody is sensible enough to realize just how ridiculous that was. I mean that is ridiculous that all those cars are torn up. Everybody is just ‘ho hum’ no big deal that is not alright”

WHAT ABOUT YOUR CHAMPIONSHIP CHANCES NOW?
“Well we will keep digging but we will see. I don’t know where we are at.”