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Comes from behind to set record at track

Monday, April 07, 2003

By The Associated Press

Dale Earnhardt Jr. narrowly avoided an early crash and charged from behind yesterday to win the Aaron's 499 and become the first driver to win four consecutive races at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.

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 final four laps, once with a controversial pass below the yellow line on the track apron.

Before the race was even over, runner-up Kevin Harvick's team radioed NASCAR and demanded a review of the call. NASCAR did, and spokesman Jim Hunter said officials reviewed it again after the race and stood by their call not to black-flag Earnhardt.

"There is not a shadow of a doubt he was below the yellow line," Hunter said. "However, in our judgment, he had already improved his position and was past (Kenseth) when he went down there."

Earnhardt, 28, came up with his first win of the season and the eighth of his career. His late father Dale Earnhardt is the career leader at Talladega with 10 Winston Cup victories.

Earnhardt Jr.'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. A deflated tire sent Ryan Newman's car into the fourth-turn wall on the fifth lap around the high-banked oval and sparked 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.

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 and slid out of the top five. But he charged back, taking the lead on lap 185 with the disputed pass below the yellow line in Turn 1.

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."

Sadler was followed by Ricky Craven, Terry Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Burton and Jeff Gordon.

Other race

Brazilian Grand Prix: Kimi Raikkonen of Finland won on a rain-soaked track a race that was stopped because of multiple spinouts and crashes. Only 10 of the 20 drivers finished the race, which normally runs 71 laps. The race was halted during the 55th lap, with Italy's Giancarlo Fisichella in front. But officials declared the race over with a red flag at the end of the 53rd lap, when Raikkonen was first. This was the second consecutive victory for Raikkonen, who won a month ago at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Five-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher was knocked out of the running early when his car spun off the course. Also spinning out in the same wet corner were Juan Pablo Montoya, Antonio Pizzonia, Jensen Button and Justin Wilson.

None of those drivers was hurt, but all the cars were damaged.