Gamble costs Earnhardt second place

? It’s a situation Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t want to be in and a decision he didn’t want to make. What was more important: An individual victory or being a team player to help the family business?

That’s where Junior found himself in the waning laps of the Pepsi 400. He had been trailing teammate Michael Waltrip lap after lap around Daytona International Speedway and wasn’t sure what to do.

He had two options: Stay in line and hold off traffic so Waltrip could win the way Waltrip did for him during his victory here last year and again at Talladega in April or make a move and try to pass him so he could drive on to Victory Lane.

After a philosophical conversation with his crew over the radio, Junior decided individual wins were more important and his late father would have agreed.

With three laps left, he went high on the track and tried to pass his teammate. But he had no drafting help, was shuffled out of the pack and drifted back to a sixth-place finish while Waltrip won the race under caution.

“You know, I was sitting there trying to decide what to do and it made me think of what my father would have done in that situation,” Junior said. “It’s one of the times where it worked for me because Daddy would have went for the win every time no matter what and that’s how I made up my mind.”