Earnhardt: Smith was wronged

The NASCAR icon said he made a similar move to Regan Smith’s to win a race at Talladega in 2003.

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Dale Earnhardt Jr. once used a questionable pass below the yellow line to beat Matt Kenseth at Talladega.

Looking back at that 2003 victory, Earnhardt can’t figure out what he did differently than Regan Smith did last week at the same track. Smith’s last-lap pass of Tony Stewart was below the out-of-bounds line and ruled illegal, which denied Smith his first victory.

“It was exactly the same. I was forced below [the yellow line] and that was declared OK,” Earnhardt Jr. said Friday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

“I know for a fact Regan didn’t go down the front straightaway with a plan to pass [Stewart] on the apron. He was under [Stewart] on the race track when Tony came down and he was forced onto the apron.”

Earnhardt strongly believed that NASCAR wronged Smith by ruling his move Sunday was illegal.

Smith ducked below the yellow line to pass Stewart, returned to the racing surface and crossed the finish line first. But NASCAR doesn’t permit passing below the line, but occasionally makes an exception if officials believe the driver was forced onto the apron.

Officials said they did not believe Stewart forced Smith under the line, but Earnhardt disagreed.

“What is unclear is what being forced below the yellow line is,” Earnhardt said. “In my opinion, [Smith] was forced below the yellow line. The two did make contact. He was on the inside of Tony. In my opinion [Smith] wins the race. I feel like Tony did what he had to do. In the car, everyone would have done what Tony did and everyone would have done what [Smith] did.

“What’s curious is, when are you forced? Show me some video of what’s forced and what’s not.”

Earnhardt said he felt for Smith, who is essentially a free agent right now because his ride at Dale Earnhardt Inc. doesn’t have sponsorship lined up for 2009. Earnhardt is no longer affiliated with DEI, and said he doesn’t pay much attention to the sponsorship woes the team is currently battling.

As of right now, DEI has just one full sponsor lined up for four race cars next season and Earnhardt said a win by Smith could have put a positive spotlight on the slumping organization.

“It definitely would have impressed a lot of people for Regan’s sake,” Earnhardt said. “I think he’s a really, really good guy and I think he’s got a lot of talent. There’s a lot of drivers in the sport with jobs that he probably deserves. There’s also the chance that it would help DEI nail down some money for next year for that team.”

Earnhardt left DEI at the end of last season to join Hendrick Motorsports, and said he won’t be running back to his late father’s race team to rescue it.

“The way the economy is working, and the way things are looking on Wall Street ... as delicate the situation is financially across the country, across the world, I think I would be best to be idle,” he said. “I haven’t pushed my nose in there and asked many questions what the situation is. It’s obviously, the team, from the outside looking in is pretty dire.”