Dale Earnhardt Jr. found himself battling more than the competition on Sunday at Talladega — when his steering wheel came off and he was forced to guide his car briefly by holding the steering column with his left hand.
Earnhardt said the wheel incident happened after he had repairs for an early accident and returned to the track. He would later crash out of the race, but the final accident was not his fault.
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Speaking after being caught up in a second crash, this time with Carl Edwards, Earnhardt said his steering wheel had come off during an earlier caution period.