Junior says Smith was wronged

CONCORD -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. once used a questionable pass below the yellow line to beat Matt Kenseth at Talladega.

Looking back at that 2003 victory, Earnhardt can't figure out what he did differently than Regan Smith did last week at the same track. Smith's last-lap pass of Tony Stewart was below the out-of-bounds line and ruled illegal, which denied Smith his first victory.

"It was exactly the same. I was forced below [the yellow line], and that was declared OK," Earnhardt Jr. said Friday at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt strongly believed that NASCAR wronged Smith by ruling his move Sunday was illegal.

Smith ducked below the yellow line to pass Stewart, returned to the racing surface and crossed the finish line first. NASCAR doesn't permit passing below the line but occasionally makes an exception if officials believe the driver was forced onto the apron.

Officials said they did not believe Stewart forced Smith under the line, but Earnhardt disagreed.

"What is unclear is what being forced below the yellow line is," Earnhardt said. "In my opinion, [Smith] was forced below the yellow line. The two did make contact. He was on the inside of Tony. In my opinion [Smith] wins the race. I feel like Tony did what he had to do. In the car, everyone would have done what Tony did, and everyone would have done what [Smith] did.

"What's curious is, when are you forced? Show me some video of what's forced and what's not."

HALL OF FAME ADDITION: The winningest car in NASCAR Cup history will be on display at the new NASCAR Hall of Fame -- without the scuff marks.

Seven-time points champion Richard Petty unveiled his blue No. 43 Plymouth in which he won 36 races in 1966-67, including a record 10 straight on the way to his 1967 championship. Petty agreed to lend the car from his own museum to the Hall of Fame, set to open in 2010 in downtown Charlotte.

"Really that was when we really built our career," Petty said Friday as he pointed to the car outside the Charlotte Convention Center. "Even though we had done pretty good, I think that pretty much cemented us in and we were able to go from there."

But Bobby Allison, a longtime rival of Petty, joked that the car was missing something.

"I'm so pleased to see this thing as one of the first things going in, but it's not really authentic," Allison said. "I put lots of wheel marks [on it], and they're not there. Maybe I can get them on there later today."