It’s what I feel and probably millions of other Junior fans out there.  For the second time in three years, Dale Earnhardt Jr. failed to qualify for the Chase for the Nextel Cup.  I thought that Jr. can win the last race before the Chase, the 2007 Chevy Rock & Roll 400. During the latter stages of the race, Junior is among the top drivers until fate intervened.  Or I guess it was just bad luck.  A very bad case of bad luck. With just five laps to go and Junior looking ready to finish at least in the top three, his car’s engine failed!

"We just haven’t been finishing races," said the most popular NASCAR driver today during the post-race interview.   "We’re running in the top five every week. We ain’t in the Chase. We deserve to be in the Chase. I wish we were for my fans. But we’ll give them something to cheer about. We race hard. We don’t quit. We love racing. That’s what we do. We’ll be all right. It’s just disappointing, man."

Going into the race, Jr. is given an almost impossible task for him to qualify for the Chase. He needed to erase Kevin Harvick’s 128 point-lead. Jr. can only get to the Chase if he finish not lower than fifth, lead the most laps which were given extra points, and have Harvick finish worse than 33rd. With that odds against him, Jr. proclaimed himself "the longest of long shots".

Come raceday, Jr. was ready. The Junior Nation is all pumped up, ready for Dale Jr. to put up an impressive race. Through the first half of the race, Jr. did not show any challenge for the win as he battles with the condition of his Car of Tomorrow.  His seat is killing is back. He kept complaining about this to cousin and crew chief Tony Eury Jr.  Halfway through the race, the problem was fixed, and Junior was bale to gain some ground on the leaders.  During Lap 242, Harvick’s car overheated thus giving Junior much hope.

This was the point where I was all pumped up. Ready to celebrate with the Junior Nation.  But then, at the end of the day, it was not meant to be. "We broke another motor, and they seem to fall apart when they plug ‘em into my car. I don’t know what it is about it, but we’ve had a good car all year long. It’s just really frustrating."

"These dang motors", added Jr.  I second the motion.