Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared what went wrong during the South Carolina 400 after he was running in second behind eventual race winner Treyten Lapcevich.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. via Matt Weaver on X
Junior started at the rear of the field after having to take a provisional after a poor qualifying performance. However, he quickly worked his way through the field and finished the first half of the race in second. After the halfway break, Junior maintained his second place behind Lapcevich and ahead of Doug Barnes Jr. However, with just 31 laps to go during a caution, Junior pulled down pit road with his crew believing he had run out of gas and quickly attempted to refill the tank.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. during the 2024 South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway via FloRacing.com
However, the issue was much worse than Junior running out of gas as the crew eventually closed the decklid and popped the hood before taking the car to the hauler and ending his night.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. during the 2024 South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway via FloRacing.com
Reporter Matt Weaver noted at the time that Junior was bringing the car down pit road he believed it was an engine issue. Weaver reported that Junior said over the radio, “Oh man. Something is wrong with the car. … The moto won’t keep running. … I ain’t got no f***ing engine, boys.”
“Oh man. Something is wrong with the car.”
Dale Jr comes down pit road after taking the one to go
“The motor won’t keep running.”
219/250
“I ain’t got no fucking engine boys”
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) November 24, 2024
Fronstretch reporter Trenton Worsham would then share that Junior had a “fuel issue that caused his night to end.”
The team tells me it was a fuel issue that caused his night to end#NASCAR #SC400 https://t.co/HM6FO9RufE
— Trenton Worsham (@soundlink_trent) November 24, 2024
The official NASCAR Regional series then revealed it was a “fuel pump issue.”
🥲 A fuel pump issue ends @DaleJr’s night early. pic.twitter.com/httiGTHTM9
— NASCAR Regional (@NASCARRegional) November 24, 2024
Junior then confirmed it was the fuel pump while speaking with Matt Weaver following the race, “Yeah, the fuel pump broke.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr was ready to stop racing after qualifying but Gary Greenwood, who qualified with him, inspired him with some kind words.
And then he went out and nearly won the dang race. pic.twitter.com/HmuPpUbJBw
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) November 24, 2024
What did you make of Earnhardt’s performance during the South Carolina 400?
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