Earnhardt finishes 3rd in Nationwide Series opener

Dale Earnhardt Jr. works with Hendrick Motorsports team members in a garage at the Daytona International Speedway Feb. 16 for NASCAR's Nationwide Series Camping World 300. Earnhardt drove the National Guard sponsored No. 5 car that day to finish third after starting 19th. The following day, Earnhardt drove the Amp/National Guard co-sponsored No. 88 car in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series 50th running of the Daytona 500. He led that race three times for 12 laps and finished ninth. (Photo courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports)
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove the No. 5 National Guard car at Daytona International speedway Saturday to finish third in the Camping World 300 season opener for NASCAR's Nationwide Series auto racing.

IN THE BEGINNING:
Earnhardt qualified 19th and moved up into the 15th position by Lap 17 and finally broke into the top-10 on Lap 20. The race stayed green until the first round of green flag pit stops when Earnhardt was running 10th.

LIFE IN THE PITS:
Members of the No. 88 Sprint Cup Series team served as the over the wall crew for the Nationwide Series race. The No. 5 National Guard team pitted the car under green for the first time on Lap 38. They made a chassis adjustment and changed four tires. The right rear tire was found to be blistered upon inspection in the pits. Earnhardt said the car was terribly loose and the car was harder to drive after the adjustment. Crew chief Chad Walter called for the team to cut a chain under the right front tire and made a track bar adjustment during the second pit stop under caution on Lap 54. The third pit stop was on Lap 97, and the No. 5 team picked up two positions sending Earnhardt out onto the track in second position for the Lap 100 restart.

HOW IT ENDED:
NASCAR veteran driver David Green was the spotter for the No. 5 National Guard Chevy during the race. Once Earnhardt broke into the top-five on Lap 85, Green helped tell Earnhardt what lines were moving. Earnhardt tried to make a few moves to take the lead, but found he had no friends to draft with. At one point in the closing laps, Earnhardt slipped as far in the field as 12th when he tried to take the lead. With the help of Green, Earnhardt drafted his way back into the lead pack again with 10 laps to go. With nine laps remaining in the race, there was a spin mid-pack bringing out another caution. Earnhardt was seventh on the restart and with each lap, he moved up a position. Earnhardt finished the race third.