Dale Earnhardt Jr. added Sony Pictures’ “Man of Steel” as a sponsor this weekend and his crew sported T-shirts with the superhero’s ‘S’ emblem on the chests during pre-race activities. One crew member even walked around wearing Superman’s red cape.
It seemed something super found its way into Earnhardt’s power plant, too, as he led 34 laps and appeared to have a strong setup for the finish. The car’s engine blew, however, on lap 131, three laps after he lost the lead to Jimmie Johnson.
“We had such an awesome race car. We actually improved the car on the last stop,” he said. “It’s frustrating, but you’d rather be leading the race than be running at the back and have problems. At least we were strong.”
Earnhardt ended the day 37th and fell from fourth to seventh in the standings.
The Zack Snyder film, a reboot of the popular superhero story, had a better weekend. It opened with a projected $133 million in ticket sales, the best June opening weekend in box office history.
