Dale Earnhardt Jr. could barely crack a smile after his performance on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway – and this after the guy finished fourth.

Most drivers would happily take a top-five finish without a second thought, but Earnhardt Jr. said he was “just so damn embarrassed about how we ran all night” and even apologized to his fans for not having a competitive car.

Earnhardt Jr., who moved back into the top 12 in points (he’s now 11th), repeatedly said his team got lucky by surviving a wreck-filled race.

In fact, he used the word “lucky” at least eight times in a six-minute interview.

“We’re getting a little bit more lucky than I would like,” he said. “We’re not running good enough to finish fourth, so we’re lucky to finish there. You don’t want to make the Chase on pure luck, you know? You want to make it because you ran well.”

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