Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Steering Wheel Comes Off At Talladega

Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered a terrible afternoon on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, finishing in 40th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GEICO 500 after being involved in two separate accidents.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Steering Wheel Comes Off At Talladega

The No. 88 Nationwide Insurace Chevrolet driver lost control of his car on lap 50 and took out teammate Kasey Kahne, and later became engrossed in a wreck by Carl Edwards. Then, an unfortunate mishap momentarily made things even worse for Earnhardt, although he was able to save himself thanks to some quick thinking.

His steering wheel suddenly came off the steering column, but Earnhardt prevented his car from hitting the wall by twisting the column with his hand.

Following the race, Earnhardt stated that the move damaged his hand but ultimately saved the car. Fortunately, he wasn’t driving at full speed.

“Luckily it was under caution. I just grabbed the shaft and steered the car that way,” said Earnhardt. “Might of ripped the skin off my hand, but I wasn’t going to let it hit the wall. That was just a freak deal.”

He then took to Twitter to express his thanks to his team, Hendrick Motorsports, for quickly attending to him after the malfunction.

AVONDALE, AZ – NOVEMBER 15:  Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the rain-shortened NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 15, 2015 in Avondale, Arizona.  (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)