Talladega, Ala. ? Dale Earnhardt Jr. had just enough gas to wiggle across the finish line Saturday and win the Busch Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Earnhardt, who has three consecutive Winston Cup victories at Talladega, probably did not have enough gas to win the race under a green flag.

But a caution with two laps to go allowed him to slow enough to conserve fuel by pulling down on the apron and moving his car back and forth to move the gas around. That let him make it across the finish line to go 2-for-2 in Busch Series events this year.

Earnhardt, who won the season-opener at Daytona, ran out of gas right after he crossed the finish line at the Aaron’s 312. He needed a push from Jason Keller to make it back around the track.

“We ran out in Turn One, right after we took the checkers,” Earnhardt said. “We had a good car all day long, we just didn’t have enough gas if it went green.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. climbs out of his car after winning the Aaron's 312. Earnhardt finished first in the Busch Series race Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway.

“So we really needed that caution, and even then I had to shake it back and forth to get enough gas out of it.”

His late father is the all-time winningest driver on NASCAR’s longest and fastest track, with 14 victories in three series.

Earnhardt Jr. has inherited his father’s mastery of drafting around the 2.66-mile oval and will try to become the first driver to win four straight Winston Cup races at Talladega in today’s main event.

Although he led a race-high 60 laps, his run Saturday was not as dominating as some of his other restrictor-plate wins. He took the lead with 60 laps to go when a fuel-only stop made him the first car out of the pits.

From there, Earnhardt led the lead pack of cars around and around Talladega, anxiously watching the fuel gauge on his No. 8 Chevrolet. With 25 laps to go, his team began to worry he didn’t have enough gas.