Earnhardt, who has seven career restrictor-plate wins, earned his eighth second-place restrictor-plate finish — and his second in the four plate races this year — as he once again came up one spot short Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

This one might have been more frustrating than the others. Earnhardt led 38 laps and was in position to make a move on the final lap but never got a chance because of a wild crash and caution flag before he got to Turn 3 on the final lap of the Camping World RV Sales 500.

“It's frustrating because the worst part about it really is is you go home and you'll spend months thinking about what you could have done to not be second,” Earnhardt said. “That's the worst part about it.

“You're kind of happy with being competitive and it was a good result. But you'll go back and think of a million things you could have tried different."

Having last won a restrictor-plate race at Talladega in October 2004, Earnhardt was in great position on the final lap as he was running second to Jamie McMurray and had a committed drafting partner in Austin Dillon behind him.

But Dillon tried to throw a block — as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was running fourth and making a move to the inside lane — that triggered a wreck on the backstretch. Dillon's car got airborne and NASCAR threw the caution.

Once NASCAR threw the caution, Earnhardt had lost his chance to make a move, which typically only works coming to the finish. Instead of Earnhardt celebrating, McMurray was in victory lane.

“We were kind of forming our run around the middle of (turns) 1 and 2 and I think we had a pretty good head of steam coming off Turn 2 and they got together behind us and that was that,” Earnhardt said. “I was going to try something down the back straightaway, but we just never got a chance.”


MISTAKE FOILS DANICA


Sometimes drivers try to argue against their pit-road speeding penalties.

For Danica Patrick, there was no argument Sunday — except with her crew.

A flustered Patrick, who had been running in the top 10 and appeared poised for possibly her best career Sprint Cup finish, tried to dart down pit road with 28 laps remaining in the Camping World RV Sales 500 on Sunday.

But the tricky pit-road entrance at Talladega Superspeedway left her no time to slow down to under 60 mph and she sped down pit road and into the grass to avoid hitting other cars.

She had to come back around and pit for tires and gas, and then had to come back down pit road at pit-road speed to serve her speeding penalty. With no cautions after the incident, she wound up a lap down in 33rd.

Patrick and the team traded a spirited and adult-rated rant.

“I’m sorry I missed pit road but I about (expletive) crashed with two cars on the way in,” Patrick said.

When told of the penalty: “Because I (expletive) went so fast coming in. … We need to show more organization when it comes to pitting on speedways,” she told her team.


CREW CHIEF MISSES RACE, DRAMA


Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief Steve Addington missed Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway as he rushed home Sunday morning to be with his wife, Katie, for the birth of their child.

SHR Competition Director Greg Zipadelli, who won 34 races as a crew chief at Joe Gibbs Racing, filled in for Addington. Addington missed plenty of drama with Dillon's last-lap wreck.

Contributors: Bob Pockrass, Sporting News staff

PHOTOS: Dale Earnhardt Jr.