Hendrick still supports unimpressive Dale Jr.

The fact that Dale Jr is NASCAR's favorite driver really seems to say something about that sport and its fan base. He was with the best team, that will win yet another championship, and yet could not seem to even come close to the pace of any of his teammates, one of them being 50 years old.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s lost season continued Sunday when he lost control on Lap 171 of the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 and triggered a 10-car crash.

Earnhardt's No. 88 Amp Chevrolet got loose underneath Marcos Ambrose in Turn 4 at Phoenix International Raceway. Junior spun, collecting Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano and others. Extensive front-end repairs took more than 50 laps and Earnhardt finished 35th.

"We had an oil leak," said Earnhardt, winless since June 2008. "It had been running down the right-side of the car. I don't know why we didn't come in and get it fixed."

Earlier, team owner Rick Hendrick repeated support for his embattled driver.

"You can't have a season like this without being frustrated," said Hendrick, who also owns the Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin Chevys. "But we're committed to fixing it, and we will. We have some of the right pieces in place now, and we're going to make more changes."

Hendrick told The Republic that he and Earnhardt's Nationwide team have not yet a signed contract with Danica Patrick. www.azcentral.com