At the Carfax 400 at Michigan, Earnhardt charged to the front near the end of the race and finished 3rd; he also earned his second Top 5 finish this season in the same race. Earnhardt finished 9th in the Sharpie 500 a week later at Bristol, but his bad luck continued at the Auto Club Speedway when he was involved in a multi-car incident. After a 39th qualifying run at Lowe's Motor Speedway, he said "I'm about to the end of my rope". At the fall Talladega race, Earnhardt had a solid run, including leading several laps, before finishing in 11th place. Lance McGrew had the "interim" taken off of his title, and he continued working with the No. 88 team through the end of the 2010 season. Earnhardt ended 2009 winless, and finished a career low 25th in the standings.