RELATED: Full race results
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 22nd in his final Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway as a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver.
Earnhardt’s night, and the night for his No. 88 team, got worse post-race after NASCAR officials found two lug nuts unsecured on his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet during post-race inspection.
Two unsecured lug nuts will result in a $20,000 fine and one-race suspension for crew chief Greg Ives, as suggested in the NASCAR Rule Book. That means Ives likely will miss the regular-season finale at Richmond Raceway — Earnhardt’s final chance to win and punch his ticket into the playoffs in his last season.
“We’ll work through that,” Earnhardt said on his Periscope after the race. “It doesn’t concern me about this team. This team can handle this type of stuff. Greg can handle it. He’s a tough guy. We’ll get through that. It happens.”
Any official penalties will be announced later in the week.