Turns out, it wasn't a broken part, but a shredded left-front tire -- one of two Earnhardt suffered Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, in a rain-delayed, day-to-night marathon that brought the season-opening streak enjoyed by NASCAR's most popular driver to an abrupt end. Bidding to tie Richard Petty's NASCAR record of four top-two finishes to open the season, Earnhardt never really got the chance. Despite a strong car early, the tire issues relegated Earnhardt to a 24th-place finish, four laps behind race winner Carl Edwards. But under a revamped Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format in which Earnhardt's Daytona victory likely guarantees him a berth, the disappointment over the finish was hardly what it might have been. More...