Dale Jr. made an aggressive move to pass Tony Stewart for the lead on lap 20. Soon after assuming the top spot, the yellow flag came out.
Dale Jr.: "Heh heh. That was FUN.
"Steve Hmiel (spotter): "That was fun to watch too..."
Shortly after taking the lead, Dale Jr. ran too low in turn two and wrinkled the left-front bodywork when running over the rumble strips on the inside edge of the track.
Dale Jr.: "I think the left front is buckled! I hit the rumble strips... (no immediate response) Can ya hear me?!"
Tony Eury Jr. (crew chief): "Yeah, it's turned under a little bit."
Dale Jr.: "Talk to me here.
"Eury Jr.: "Yes sir, it is bent in a bit, but we'll fix you up on the next stop. You're still three-tenths of a second (per lap) better than the the 20 car (Stewart)."
During the next yellow-flag period, after repairs were made...
Dale Jr.: "I'll probably keep hitting it. Those rumble strips are made for the open-wheel cars - they're not made for stock cars. It's like hitting a two-by-four that's on top of the asphalt. I do it every year and I suppose I'll keep hitting them because I like being down there near the grass."
As he slowed on lap 135 and smoke billowed from the racecar...
Dale Jr.: "It's blown up! A pulley came off or something. Or maybe the harmonic balancer — but it's done."
Today's StatsStarted: 4th (seventh top-five start of the 2007 season)
Finished: 34thMoney: $203,658
Laps Led: 33 laps
Points: 12th place (no change)
Best Pit Stop: Stop # 5 of 5 / Lap 126 / four tires and fuel / 13.00 seconds
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