Waltrip Wins Jr. Second At Talladega - Plus Standings and Driver Comments
NASCAR Talladega EA 500 Results 1. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 180 - 5 bonus points 2. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 175 - 5 bonus points 3. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 165 4. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 160 5. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 165 - 10 bonus points 6. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 155 - 5 bonus points 7. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 151 - 5 bonus points 8. (32) Ricky Craven, Pontiac, 142 9. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 143 - 5 bonus points 10. (09) Mike Wallace, Dodge, 134 11. (18) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 135 - 5 bonus points 12. (31) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 132 - 5 bonus points 13. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 129 - 5 bonus points 14. (22) Ward Burton, Dodge, 126 - 5 bonus points 15. (90) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 118 16. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 120 - 5 bonus points 17. (77) Dave Blaney, Dodge, 112 18. (43) Jeff Green, Dodge, 109 19. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 106 20. (23) Kenny Wallace, Dodge, 103 21. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 100 22. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 102 - 5 bonus points 23. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 94 24. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 91 25. (25) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 88 26. (1) Jason Keller, Chevrolet, 85 27. (01) Mike Skinner, Pontiac, 82 28. (44) Christian Fittipaldi, Dodge, 79 29. (98) Jason Jarrett, Ford, 76 30. (38) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 78 - 5 bonus points 31. (74) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 70 32. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 72 - 5 bonus points 33. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 69 - 5 bonus points 34. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 66 - 5 bonus points 35. (60) David Green, Chevrolet, 58 36. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 55 37. (41) Casey Mears, Dodge, 52 38. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 49 39. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 46 40. (00) Buckshot Jones, Chevrolet, 48 - 5 bonus points 41. (10) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 40 42. (7) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 37 43. (14) Larry Foyt, Dodge, 34 Average speed of race winner: 156.045 mph. Time of race: 3 hours, 12 minutes, 17 seconds. Margin of victory: 0.095 seconds. Caution flags: 5 for 23 laps. Lead changes: 41 among 17 drivers. Lap leaders: E. Sadler 1; J. McMurray 2-13; M. Waltrip 14; T. Labonte 15; J. McMurray 16-22; B. Jones 23-41; M. Waltrip 42-43; W. Burton 44-48; J. Gordon 49-50; J. Johnson 51; M. Kenseth 52; K. Harvick 53; J. Gordon 54-85; R. Wallace 86-87; K. Harvick 88; R. Gordon 89-90; J. Gordon 91-101; K. Harvick 102; E. Sadler 103-104; J. Gordon 105-106; K. Harvick 107; J. Johnson 108; E. Sadler 109-122; M. Waltrip 123; K. Busch 124-125; J. Burton 126; R. Gordon 127-128; J. Johnson 129-141; M. Waltrip 142-143; B. Elliott 144-145; J. McMurray 146; E. Sadler 147-152; W. Burton 153-155; R. Wallace 156-164; D. Earnhardt Jr 165-166; B. Labonte 167; D. Earnhardt Jr 168; B. Labonte 169; K. Busch 170-176; M. Waltrip 177; K. Busch 178-179; M. Waltrip 180-188. Points 1. Matt Kenseth, 4227 2. Kevin Harvick, 3873 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 3843 4. Jimmie Johnson, 3751 5. Ryan Newman, 3738 6. Jeff Gordon, 3707 7. Bobby Labonte, 3528 8. Kurt Busch, 3527 9. Tony Stewart, 3456 10. Terry Labonte, 3396 11. Michael Waltrip, 3386 12. Robby Gordon, 3321 13. Jeff Burton, 3245 14. Rusty Wallace, 3239 15. Bill Elliott, 3202 16. Mark Martin, 3131 17. Jamie McMurray, 3089 18. Sterling Marlin, 3019 19. Greg Biffle, 2984 20. Elliott Sadler, 2955 21. Ward Burton, 2942 22. Ricky Craven, 2887 23. Ricky Rudd, 2880 24. Jeremy Mayfield, 2870 25. Joe Nemechek, 2792 26. Johnny Benson, 2782 27. Dale Jarrett, 2725 28. Dave Blaney, 2713 29. Jimmy Spencer, 2538 30. Kenny Wallace, 2481 31. Steve Park, 2376 32. Todd Bodine, 2348 33. Jeff Green, 2200 34. Casey Mears, 2136 35. Ken Schrader, 2053 36. Tony Raines, 2011 37. Kyle Petty, 1976 38. John Andretti, 1808 39. Mike Skinner, 1682 40. Jack Sprague, 1284 41. Mike Wallace, 1037 42. Larry Foyt, 955 43. Jerry Nadeau, 844 44. Christian Fittipaldi, 796 45. Derrike Cope, 607 46. Jason Leffler, 546 47. Johnny Sauter, 356 48. Kevin Lepage, 348 49. Brett Bodine, 308 50. Hermie Sadler, 260 Wreck Ruins Benson's Day At Talladega, Finishes 41st. #10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson’s post-race interviews have lasted longer than his Talladega races in 2003. Wrecks have limited Benson to little more than 13 competitive laps. But, what makes it even more frustrating is neither wreck was of Benson’s doing. “I think saying we have bad luck here is an understatement,” Benson said. On Sunday, Jeremy Mayfield cut down a left rear tire on lap ten sending Mayfield to the top of the track triggering a multi-car melee that involved Benson, Jimmy Spencer, and Larry Foyt as well as several others who sustained less damage. Benson's car suffered severe damage and stopped on pit road. The accident was very similar to an incident on lap 3 in April when Ryan Newman encountered tire trouble, spun and took out half the field including Benson. “Sure it’s frustrating beyond belief,” Benson said after the wreck on Sunday. “We were biding our time at the beginning. Everyone was saying how wild it was getting and then all of a sudden Jeremy has a problem and takes all of us out. There isn’t much a driver can do when something like that happens because everything happens so fast here.” Benson’s Valvoline crew spent more than two hours working feverishly on the car after the wreck before sending Benson back onto the track for a few laps late in the race. The work moved Benson from 43rd to 41st position.