NASCAR NOTEBOOK

updated 1:35 a.m. ET Sept. 5, 2005

FONTANA, Calif. - Dale Earnhardt Jr. watched any hope of qualifying for NASCAR’s Chase for the championship go up in smoke.

He blew his engine — and any remaining chances to make the top 10 — on the 211th lap Sunday night in the Sony HD 500 at California Speedway.

His Chevrolet was spewing smoke and hemorrhaging oil as Earnhardt nursed it off the track.

He said any chance he had at the championship “has been over for at least 80 laps,” and obviously was disgusted with the way his engine performed.

“It finally broke. We struggled all day and all night down the straightaway,” said Earnhardt, who was eliminated as he dropped to 18th in the point standings. “We ran it hot in qualifying, I did, and might have burned something up in the motor and it finally just broke. Our car was horrible. But it’s real disappointing.

“I’m really glad it’s over with and I’m ready to go to Richmond. I promise my fans I’ll be back in victory lane next year.”

Heading into the race, Earnhardt had only a slim mathematical chance of squeezing into the top 10. He qualified 41st.

“We just had a bad night tonight — plus all year,” he said. “I’m surprised. I bet you all are surprised.”

Earnhardt has won only once in the series this season and has led only 17 laps.

Former series champion Dale Jarrett also was all but eliminated from Chase competition after finishing 24th. He remained 14th in the standings but fell 117 points behind 10th-place Jamie McMurray.

Driving blind
It’s tough enough driving a NASCAR stock car at speeds at speeds close to 200 mph in heavy traffic without having to do it blind.

Because of the late afternoon starting time for the race at California Speedway, the 43 Nextel Cup drivers faced a blinding sun as they drove into the third turn on the 2-mile oval for the first half of the 250-lap event.

“It’s just real tough,” said Elliott Sadler, who won the inaugural September race at the California track last year. “You can’t see anything going into (turn) three and then you can’t see anything in your rearview mirror on the front straight.”

After dealing with the situation a year ago, drivers tried a number of different methods of blocking out the sun on Sunday, including tape on some windshields, tinted tear-offs on the visors of their helmets, and sunglasses under their visors.

“It’s pretty difficult because it’s hard to find something that works to allow you to see heading into the sun without making it too dark when you’re not going in that direction,” veteran racer Jarrett said. “You just have to kind of wait it out and try not to get too close to the guys around you.

“After the sun sets, there’s no more problem.”

Sadler finished 17th and Jarrett 24th.

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