Long Live #3
04-06-2003, 03:08 PM
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. narrowly avoided an early crash and charged from behind Sunday to win the Aaron's 499, becoming the first driver to win four straight races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Earnhardt, who led nine times for 34 laps in a race in which there was a total of 43 lead changes among 16 drivers, fought off challenges at the end from Jimmie Johnson, Ward Burton and Matt Kenseth.
He fought his way into the lead twice in the last four laps, once with a controversial pass below the yellow line on the track apron.
"That was some of the hardest racing I've seen here in a long time," Earnhardt said.
The 28-year-old son of the late Dale Earnhardt, the career leader at Talladega with 10 Winston Cup victories, came up with his first win of the season and the eighth of his career.
Sunday's win broke the record of three in a row on the 2.66-mile oval, set in 1975 and 1976 by Buddy Baker.
"There ain't too many (drivers) ever won four races here, period," Earnhardt said. "I'm stepping into some awful big shoes."
NASCAR requires carburetor restrictor plates at Talladega and Daytona, its two longest and fastest ovals. The plates sap horsepower and produce huge drafts up to four-cars wide in which a multi-car wreck -- sometimes called "The Big One" -- is virtually inevitable.
The crowd of more than 160,000 didn't have long to wait Sunday. A deflated tire sent Ryan Newman's car into the fourth-turn wall on the fifth lap around the high-banked oval and ignited a 27-car accident in the second turn of the fifth of 188 laps.
There were no injuries, but the crash took out or damaged the cars of a number of possible contenders, including Earnhardt, who started at the back of the 43-car field after his DEI team changed his engine after Saturday's final practice.
The No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet had to drive through the infield grass to avoid a worse fate, and it took his crew numerous pit stops and nearly half the race to repair the left front of the car enough to get the prerace favorite back to the front of the pack.
At one point in the early going, Earnhardt had lost the lead pack and was facing the possibility of being lapped until debris on the track brought out another of the six cautions and allowed him to pit for more adjustments.
Late in the race, Earnhardt got caught in traffic slid out of the top five. But he charged back, taking the lead on lap 185 with a controversial pass on Kenseth and Johnson that took him below the yellow line in Turn 1.
It appeared Kenseth's Ford was moving down the banking, pinching Earnhardt toward the apron when he made the pass.
"I couldn't see it at all," Kenseth said. "I have no idea."
Elliott Sadler, who was right behind Earnhardt, said, "I was the one pushing (Earnhardt) and they ran him down. He had to do that or cause a big wreck, so it was a smart move. He's just like his dad driving that car.
"He kept giving me the 'come on, push' sign and I pushed him all I could. We almost had a 1-2 finish, but we'll take third right now."
Rules prohibit passing below the yellow line, but a preliminary ruling by NASCAR was that the pass was legal.
Kenseth, the series points leader, took the lead on lap 186, but Earnhardt pushed back in front on lap 187 and kept the lead, beating Kevin Harvick's Chevy to the finish line by 0.125-seconds -- about two car-lengths.
Sadler was third, followed by Ricky Craven, Terry Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Burton and Jeff Gordon. Kenseth was kicked back to ninth on the final lap, and Johnson, who led a race-high 65 laps, wound up 15th after spinning into the infield grass coming off the fourth turn on lap 187.
Michael Waltrip, Earnhardt's DEI teammate and the winner of the season-opening Daytona 500, ran among the leaders until he crashed on lap 83. Waltrip wound up 24th.
Earnhardt, who also won a Busch Series race here on Saturday, did his part to extend DEI's dominance in restrictor plate races. He and Waltrip have combined to win eight of the last 10 Cup events at Talladega and Daytona.
Now, was that a great race or what?:D
Earnhardt, who led nine times for 34 laps in a race in which there was a total of 43 lead changes among 16 drivers, fought off challenges at the end from Jimmie Johnson, Ward Burton and Matt Kenseth.
He fought his way into the lead twice in the last four laps, once with a controversial pass below the yellow line on the track apron.
"That was some of the hardest racing I've seen here in a long time," Earnhardt said.
The 28-year-old son of the late Dale Earnhardt, the career leader at Talladega with 10 Winston Cup victories, came up with his first win of the season and the eighth of his career.
Sunday's win broke the record of three in a row on the 2.66-mile oval, set in 1975 and 1976 by Buddy Baker.
"There ain't too many (drivers) ever won four races here, period," Earnhardt said. "I'm stepping into some awful big shoes."
NASCAR requires carburetor restrictor plates at Talladega and Daytona, its two longest and fastest ovals. The plates sap horsepower and produce huge drafts up to four-cars wide in which a multi-car wreck -- sometimes called "The Big One" -- is virtually inevitable.
The crowd of more than 160,000 didn't have long to wait Sunday. A deflated tire sent Ryan Newman's car into the fourth-turn wall on the fifth lap around the high-banked oval and ignited a 27-car accident in the second turn of the fifth of 188 laps.
There were no injuries, but the crash took out or damaged the cars of a number of possible contenders, including Earnhardt, who started at the back of the 43-car field after his DEI team changed his engine after Saturday's final practice.
The No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet had to drive through the infield grass to avoid a worse fate, and it took his crew numerous pit stops and nearly half the race to repair the left front of the car enough to get the prerace favorite back to the front of the pack.
At one point in the early going, Earnhardt had lost the lead pack and was facing the possibility of being lapped until debris on the track brought out another of the six cautions and allowed him to pit for more adjustments.
Late in the race, Earnhardt got caught in traffic slid out of the top five. But he charged back, taking the lead on lap 185 with a controversial pass on Kenseth and Johnson that took him below the yellow line in Turn 1.
It appeared Kenseth's Ford was moving down the banking, pinching Earnhardt toward the apron when he made the pass.
"I couldn't see it at all," Kenseth said. "I have no idea."
Elliott Sadler, who was right behind Earnhardt, said, "I was the one pushing (Earnhardt) and they ran him down. He had to do that or cause a big wreck, so it was a smart move. He's just like his dad driving that car.
"He kept giving me the 'come on, push' sign and I pushed him all I could. We almost had a 1-2 finish, but we'll take third right now."
Rules prohibit passing below the yellow line, but a preliminary ruling by NASCAR was that the pass was legal.
Kenseth, the series points leader, took the lead on lap 186, but Earnhardt pushed back in front on lap 187 and kept the lead, beating Kevin Harvick's Chevy to the finish line by 0.125-seconds -- about two car-lengths.
Sadler was third, followed by Ricky Craven, Terry Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Burton and Jeff Gordon. Kenseth was kicked back to ninth on the final lap, and Johnson, who led a race-high 65 laps, wound up 15th after spinning into the infield grass coming off the fourth turn on lap 187.
Michael Waltrip, Earnhardt's DEI teammate and the winner of the season-opening Daytona 500, ran among the leaders until he crashed on lap 83. Waltrip wound up 24th.
Earnhardt, who also won a Busch Series race here on Saturday, did his part to extend DEI's dominance in restrictor plate races. He and Waltrip have combined to win eight of the last 10 Cup events at Talladega and Daytona.
Now, was that a great race or what?:D