https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBhp5xOpXMM
With a NASCAR career spanning over 20 years, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is certainly no stranger to post-race interviews. But, following an eighth-place finish at the Pocono 400 back in 2012, Junior gave an interview that can only be described as bizarre.
As you can see from the above clip, Dale Jr. couldn't get out a straight answer after the reporter asks what held him up towards the end of the Cup Series race. He asks to start over, the reporter obliges, and then Dale gives about 15 seconds of fairly incoherent analysis.
While the interview at Pocono Raceway actually had NASCAR fans concerned about Dale's well-being, it was later speculated that he was acting so flustered due to a rowdy fan yelling at one of his handlers. Following the awkward interview, Junior was able to answer reporters' questions more articulately, explaining his conservative decision to pit instead of racing for the win with the gas he had left.
"I don't like running out of gas," Earnhardt later said, according to SB Nation. "I ran out of gas here one year, and that pisses me off so bad, it's just hard to recover from it mentally over the next couple weeks. There's no excuse in running out of gas. You put fuel in it and you go run."
Though, as Dale tried to say in the initial post-race interview, he wasn't counting on the high number of caution flags -- there were seven altogether. Caution laps, as you probably know, help drivers save more gas, which is why Joey Logano's decision to not pit, despite being short on fuel, ended up paying off for the ultimate winner.
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2012 Pocono 400 Race Results
1. Joey Logano -- Joe Gibbs Racing -- No. 20 Toyota
2. Mark Martin -- Michael Waltrip Racing -- No. 55 Toyota
3. Tony Stewart -- Stewart-Haas Racing -- No. 14 Chevrolet
4. Jimmie Johnson -- Hendrick Motorsports -- No. 48 Chevrolet
5. Denny Hamlin -- Joe Gibbs Racing -- No. 11 Toyota
6. Clint Bowyer -- Michael Waltrip Racing -- No. 15 Toyota
7. Matt Kenseth -- Roush Fenway Racing -- No. 17 Ford
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Hendrick Motorsports -- No. 88 Chevrolet
9. Paul Menard -- Richard Childress Racing -- No. 27 Chevrolet
10. Jamie McMurray -- Earnhardt Ganassi Racing -- No. 1 Chevrolet
11. Carl Edwards -- Roush Fenway Racing -- No. 99 Ford
12. Ryan Newman -- Stewart-Haas Racing -- No. 39 Chevrolet
13. Marcos Ambrose -- Richard Petty Motorsports -- No. 9 Ford
14. Kevin Harvick -- Richard Childress Racing -- No. 29 Chevrolet
15. Jeff Burton -- Richard Childress Racing -- No. 31 Chevrolet
16. Regan Smith -- Furniture Row Racing -- No. 78 Chevrolet
17. Juan Pablo Montoya -- Earnhardt Ganassi Racing -- No. 42 Chevrolet
18. Brad Keselowski -- Penske Racing -- No. 2 Dodge
19. Jeff Gordon -- Hendrick Motorsports -- No. 24 Chevrolet
20. Martin Truex Jr. -- Michael Waltrip Racing -- No. 56 Toyota
21. David Reutimann -- Phoenix Racing -- No. 51 Chevrolet
22. Bobby Labonte -- JTG Daugherty Racing -- No. 47 Toyota
23. David Gilliland -- Front Row Motorsports -- No. 38 Ford
24. Greg Biffle -- Roush Fenway Racing -- No. 16 Ford
25. Dave Blaney -- Tommy Baldwin Racing -- No. 10 Chevrolet
26. Travis Kvapil -- BK Racing -- No. 93 Toyota
27. David Ragan -- Front Row Motorsports -- No. 34 Ford
28. Aric Almirola -- Richard Petty Motorsports -- No. 43 Ford
29. Kasey Kahne -- Hendrick Motorsports -- No. 5 Chevrolet
30. Kyle Busch -- Joe Gibbs Racing -- No. 18 Toyota
31. A. J. Allmendinger -- Penske Racing -- No. 22 Dodge
32. Tony Raines -- Tommy Baldwin Racing -- No. 36 Chevrolet
33. Stephen Leicht -- Richard Childress Racing -- No. 33 Chevrolet
34. Michael McDowell -- Phil Parsons Racing -- No. 98 Ford
35. Casey Mears -- Germain Racing -- No. 13 Ford
36. J. J. Yeley -- Robinson-Blakeney Racing -- No. 49 Toyota
37. Joe Nemechek -- NEMCO Motorsports -- No. 87 Toyota
38. Mike Bliss -- Humphrey Smith Racing -- No. 19 Toyota
39. Stacy Compton -- Turn One Racing -- No. 74 Chevrolet
40. Scott Riggs -- R3 Motorsports -- No. 23 Chevrolet
41. Reed Sorenson -- FAS Lane Racing -- No. 32 Ford
42. Josh Wise -- Front Row Motorsports -- No. 26 Ford
43. Landon Cassill -- BK Racing -- No. 83 Toyota