Dale Earnhardt Jr
Takes on Talladega
and wins again!
Talladega, AL - Dale Earnhardt Jr makes DEI top dog again as he takes the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet to victory lane for his 3rd straight win at Talladega. With a $1 million dollar purse to spur him on, Jr fought tirelessly throughout the race. Even though he had lost the help of his DEI teammate, Michael Waltrip, he gained assistance from Tony Stewart and when he took the lead after his final pit stop, he was able to stay there for the remainder of the race.
Although Tony Stewart was shuffled from the front to the back of the field early in the race, he made his way back to finish 2nd in the #20 Home Depot Pontiac. More importantly for Tony, he is now the new leader in the Winston Cup Championship Points Race.
The race started strangely as Mark Martin ran into Jimmie Johnson during the pace laps. Mark's #6 Viagra Ford experienced a hydraulics problem that caused the steering to lock up. As he turned the wheel back and forth trying to correct the problem, he drove down the track into the #48 Lowes Chevrolet. Both vehilces were damaged. Mark Martin pitted during the remainder of the pace lap. However, Jimmie's crew chief Chad Knaus misinterpreted the NASCAR rule about pitting at that time and Jimmie stayed out until the field went to green. Both Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson ended up a lap down.
Jeff Gordon was able to lead the race several different times, but on lap 126 a retainer spring caused a valve problem and knocked the #24 Dupont Chevrolet out of the race. All 4 of the Hendricks vehicles ended up having engine problems that forced not only Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson to collect DNFs, but Terry Labonte in the #5 Kelloggs Chevrolet, and Joe Nemechek in the #25 UAW Chevrolet as well.
The race was run with no cautions and "The Big One" never happened. The smaller fuel tanks did break up the pack somewhat, however, it didn't take long for the cars to bunch up once again. It did seem to make a difference at the end of the race when fuel mileage came into play for several drivers. But, there was still very little passing and not much excitement for the majority of the race.
How did you like the race? Do you think the smaller fuel cells made any difference?
Send us an email and we'll post your perspective of the race.
Article by S. Kipple
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