Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 'It's going to be a tough race for us'

• NASCAR's most popular driver will start in the worst position of Chase drivers, 25th
• Earnhardt stands seventh in the points standings, 26 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson
• His Chase has begun with finishes of eighth (Chicagoland) and 13th (New Hampshire)

Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers occupied 10 of the top 13 spots in qualifying for Sunday's AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. That impressive showing included the top three of Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr.

But there were two notable outliers in Saturday's qualifying session for the third Chase race: Tony Stewart (24th) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (25th).

The prospects seem dim for Stewart, as the defending series champion hasn't finished higher than 21st in the past four starts at Dover. ("That's probably where we thought we'd end up," Stewart said after his 156.597 mph lap.)

And it's been another disappointing weekend for Earnhardt, who finished 13th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last week after struggling throughout practice.

After vowing this week to be more vigilant about keeping his team on task to improve his No. 88 Chevrolet, Earnhardt was 41st in final practice Friday.

"We were not very good," said Earnhardt, who thought he could get a jolt at Dover this week after finishing fourth here in June. "I don't know what to expect (in the race). We struggled all weekend really. We just haven't had real good speed.

"It's a lot of different problems. It's going to be a tough race for us, I believe. We are just going to have to work hard and see what happens."