Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins DieHard 250

"I couldn't really tell whether we were that good or not," the third-generation NASCAR star Sunday. "I just wasn't taking any chances. It seemed like the harder I tried to run, the slower I ran."

Earnhardt led three times for 208 of the 250 laps on The Milwaukee Mile, stretching his advantage to more than 20 seconds during long periods of green-flag racing. He finished 5.483 seconds ahead of Elton Sawyer.

"We were just awesome," said Earnhardt, a three-time winner this year on the Grand National circuit. "Tony Eury Sr. (crew chief) and Tony Eury Jr. told me this car was going to be awesome today. They were right."

Earnhardt, the 23-year-old son of seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, averaged 97.890 mph in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The race was slowed by six cautions periods that covered 29 laps.

Sawyer was the fastest qualifier Saturday, but his Ford was dropped to the rear of the field after an inspection determined the team's fuel supply did not meet NASCAR's benchmark.

"What happened yesterday was just kind of a fluke deal," Sawyer said. "It was a bad situation. It was embarrassing for me, for my race team and for our sponsors. We came out here today and showed what we're really made out of. It was a great effort."

Jeff Purvis finished third, followed by David Green, points leader Matt Kenseth, Mike McLaughlin, 1996 winner Buckshot Jones, Tim Fedewa, Joe Bessey, and 1997 winner Randy LaJoie.

Kenseth leads McLaughlin by 20 points in the season standings, while Earnhardt is 22 points back.

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