McDowell is OK after crash
As he got out of the crumbled car, McDowell waved to the crowd indicating that he was OK.
“I feel great, nothing broke,” McDowell said. “I didn’t lose consciousness. I felt every roll down the hill.”
McDowell said he had “few little bumps and bruises” but was fine other than that.
While McDowell said he didn’t know what happened, he said something “didn’t quite feel right” on the car when he came out of fourth turn on the first lap.
“For me to walk away from that wreck is unbelievable,” McDowell said.
“I’m going to count by blessings tonight and thank God for this opportunity to walk away from that wreck.”
Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt Jr., the Hendrick newcomer and the team’s most consistent finisher with four consecutive top 10s, ran a fast lap of 190.907 mph to earn the pole.
It is his first pole in 22 races, since Pocono in August.
“The car is as good and as comfortable,” he said. ” … It could be a good weekend for us.”
The qualifying run came on the 10th anniversary of Earnhardt’s first NASCAR victory, a Nationwide race at Texas.