Thinking about worst-case scenarios when it comes to driving, it's always neck and neck between the brakes going out on a fairly crowded bridge and losing the ability to actually steer the car. I never really thought about the steering wheel straight-up falling off—the wheel locking up seems much more plausible—but Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s steering wheel actually did just straight-up fall off while he was driving. In a race. With other NASCAR drivers.This would be absolutely terrifying for anyone, and most of us would presumably be driving several miles per hour less than Jr. was at the time. Earnhardt said that it came during a caution, so it could have been worse, but this is still pretty nuts. The wheel just popped off the shaft and he found himself holding it in his right hand, you could almost feel him helplessly blinking at the camera like Wile E. Coyote. He quickly grabbed the shaft, though, and steered it that way for a few seconds before being able to fit the steering wheel back on.This all happened after Earnhardt was involved in two wrecks earlier in the race. The first time, Earnhardt spun out on his own. Fourteen laps after he returned from that wreck, Carl Edwards spun out and wrecked Earnhardt, causing his car to briefly catch fire. Then his steering wheel came off. Earnhardt was forced from the race early, but from the sound of things, it probably should have been earlier. After the race, he undersold his afternoon just a little, saying, "It's been a terrible day."