Whoo Hoo!!!!

[Elwood]

From the back at the start to the win.

17 pit stops, 11 of those during one caution.

And 2nd in points now.

And 4 in a row at Talladega.

 

AWESOME!!!!!!!!   :thumb:    :thumb:

 

I really thought the Hendrick guys were goiing to run away with it after they all stop together and were running so tight together, but it was awesome to see Jr. come back through those guys and win.

 

That move he made on Johnson when Johnson went high to block him was awesome.

 

:thumb:  :thumb:

[General Lee 01]

That was the best race I've seen at Talladega in a while.

 

That  also was the best wreckI've  seen in a while (Except forthe fact mymain guy was in it. ).

 

Anybody else catch Ryan Newman's "Post-wreck" interview?

 

Reporter: "Ryan, how are you?"

 

Newman: "Well,  it could be better, don't ya think?"    

 

It  was awesome to see Junior get the win like that.

 

It was also good to see one of my other faves, Elliott Sadler, turn  his bad luck around for once.    :thumb:

[SilveradoWV]

Yeah that was great that Jr won!!!!!! And that move he put on Johnson was so great, Johnson was a little whiney    on the post race but overall I think he just got whipped on that move. He was also whiney because Jr went below the yellow line, that was a close one for sure. I think Hammond (sp?) summed it up after the race though sayin Nascar is going to be leaning more toward the drivers assumption on that rule. I do believe if Jr kept going straight he would have hit Kenseth, he just allowed extra space so fortunately no foul! :thumb:

[Stepside Z]

That was a great race. I would like to see Jr. win the championship this year. Go 8

[TROYROBO]

restrictor plates and dei-----always wins  

[Elwood]

I'm not a Johnson fan (or any Hendrick car), but I thought Johnson did say something smart in his interview.  He was complaining about the call, but then he said that he needed to look at the tape because he only saw it from his view and he could be saying something that wasn't true.

 

Here's one of the latest articles on the call.....

Another blown call? Teams think so

 

By JENNA FRYER, AP Sports Writer

 

April 6, 2003

 

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -- NASCAR denies it has different rules for different drivers. Other teams wondered if that was true Sunday, particularly after Dale Earnhardt Jr. seemed to get preferential treatment on his way to a win.

 

Earnhardt used a disputed pass to win the Aaron's 499, driving below the yellow line at Talladega Superspeedway with four laps to go to pass Matt Kenseth for the lead. He then pulled away to win his record fourth consecutive race at Talladega.

 

 

``He was clearly below the yellow line,'' said Jimmie Johnson, who was behind Earnhardt and Kenseth. ``Anybody else who dances down there gets in trouble. From my vantage point, I didn't think it was a legal pass.''

 

Driving below the yellow line to improve position is strictly prohibited at Talladega and Daytona, and the sanctioning body warned all drivers before the race Sunday that it would be watching closely for such moves.

 

Earlier in the race, Steve Park, Earnhardt's teammate, was black-flagged for driving below the line to make a pass. But in Earnhardt's case, NASCAR let the move go.

 

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 acknowledged going below the line, but he agreed with NASCAR that he had already passed Kenseth.

 

``I can honestly say if I did anything wrong, I would be the first driver to admit it,'' he said. ``I know in my heart of hearts I did not go below the line to improve position.''

 

Elliott Sadler, who was right behind Earnhardt, believed Earnhardt had to go below the yellow line to avoid hitting Kenseth.

 

``I was the one pushing him, and they ran him down,'' Sadler said. ``He had to do that or cause a big wreck, so it was a smart move.''

 

Winston Cup director John Darby said NASCAR spent as much time looking at whether or not Kenseth pushed Earnhardt below the line as they did examining the pass.

 

``The Earnhardt move was a no-brainer call,'' Darby said.

 

The rest of the garage saw it differently, and numerous crew chiefs were lined up outside the NASCAR hauler looking for an explanation on the rule.

 

All of them wondered why Earnhardt was not penalized the same way other drivers have been: Most recently, Sterling Marlin was black-flagged during the Daytona 500 when he went below the line to avoid running into a slower car.

 

``I guarantee you if my driver went an inch below the line, he would have been black-flagged,'' said Todd Berrier, Harvick's crew chief. ``The rule is below the yellow line, it doesn't matter if it's two tires or four tires. An inch below the line is illegal, and he was way more than an inch under it, and a lot more than (Park) was earlier in the race when he got called for it.''

 

It's the second time in a week that NASCAR has been questioned for calls it has made. A week ago at Texas, it disallowed Jeff Gordon's pass of Kenseth under caution when Kenseth slowed to let lapped cars by him. Gordon objected, passed Kenseth to take the lead, and NASCAR sent him back into second place.

 

Days later, NASCAR president Mike Helton acknowledged that the call was wrong, and drivers were again told that the sanctioning body made a mistake in Sunday morning's pre-race meeting.

 

Kenseth, who was involved in both controversies, wanted nothing to do with the Earnhardt pass.

 

``I don't want to say anything, because it will just cause me trouble,'' he said. ``Obviously there was no penalty, so it must have been legal in their eyes. So I'm going to mind my own business and go home and be happy with ninth place.''

 

Harvick took the same attitude, saying he didn't see the pass and that his crew didn't tell him about it until after the race. But he said it would have been a difficult call for NASCAR to penalize Earnhardt -- an overwhelming crowd favorite -- and take the victory away from him.

 

``I wouldn't want to be in the middle of it,'' Harvick said.

 

As a driver, Harvick said it's often difficult to understand all of NASCAR's rules and how they are applied.

 

``I don't think you can ever have a full grasp on the rules, their differences and the different situations,'' he said.

[MountaineerTom]

That was a little questionable.  I don't like that rule at all.  Not just because of why they have it, but because of people being penalized for itwhen the only reason they were below the line was to keep from hitting another driver, and at those tracks, more than likely causing a big wreck.  I think Park's penlety was questionable too, we was forced down there a little, I think.  I think there was one replay from behind the cars, where you could see the other car moving an jerking like he was forcing Park down there.

 

Marlin and Stewert have been screwed by that rule too.

 

Put some rumble strips down there like they did in the corners at Indy, and that will probably keep them from going down there unless they are definatly forced down there.  

[BigPappa95]

All I got to say is Jr is the man!!!!!  To go through what he did and win the darn thing is incredible.  Johnson got schooled out there and that is why he is so whiney.  If he woulda worked with Gordo a little more he may have won the thing, but instead he was taken to school.  Go 8!!!!!!  Long live 3!!!!!

[silverado man]

That was an awsome race too.  Did anyone see the end of the Busch race.  That had to be the longest lap of Jr. lap wondering if he was going to run out of fuel.      

[SilveradoWV]

I believe they made the right call on Jr's trip below the yellow line. What makes it look bad is that NASCAR had made the wrong call on numerous occasions in the past when drivers are forced down. And all of the teams who think he should be have got a penalty are basing their judgement on the previous calls that were made BUT they were wrong. Not sure if you understand what I am sayin or not but thats what I think.

[JonesNTN]

I think that lots of people got screwed in the past, and Junior got off lucky. Talledega is like a freakin Earnhardt convention in case any of you have never been. Its almost annoying how many people show up to see the race that don't know jack-taco about WC racing. And oddly enough they usually are the drunkest, most annoying people yelling "EARNHARDT". I believe Nascar took this into consideration and didn't want to tick off the fans.

 

However, in my view, if you are going to make such a BS rule, then you need to stick to it.

1.He Did go below the yellow line.

2. He Did improve his position.

 

These are the facts. There is no grey area about it. And there shoudn't be any grey area on rules imposed to some and not on others. I have seen lots of people get screwed on this rule, and Junior was given a freebie.

 

As much as I enjoyed seeing Chevy win, I believe Nascar screwed Happy on this one. :werd:

[antig24]

I think that the call was a good call, I think people are mad b/c nascar hasn't made the correct call for other drivers before so people expected jr to get blackflagged but he didn't.  I hope nascar starts showing some consistency sometime soon,lol.

[Elwood]

What makes it look bad is that NASCAR had made the wrong call on numerous occasions in the past when drivers are forced down. And all of the teams who think he should be have got a penalty are basing their judgement on the previous calls that were made BUT they were wrong.

 

I think that the call was a good call, I think people are mad b/c nascar hasn't made the correct call for other drivers before so people expected jr to get blackflagged but he didn't.

 

:thumb:   I think that's it exactly.

 

 

Johnson got schooled out there and that is why he is so whiney.  If he woulda worked with Gordo a little more he may have won the thing, but instead he was taken to school.

 

I think by now everybody here knows that I NOT a Hendrick Fan at all, but I did hear them say that Johnson was telling his spotter to let him know where Jeff was behind him so they could work together better.  It just doesn't always work out that way.  He tried to work with Gordon.

 

However, Jr. still made him look pretty bad a couple times.  

[JonesNTN]

David Poole has an interesting article on this subject at thatsracin.com.

[hogger999]

In my best Chris farley voice

"That...was...awesome!"

 

With 15 laps to go I honestly had a hard time watch the rest of it. I couldn't even sit down.

 

As for Junior going below the line. That was a no brainer. He  clearly went  below the line, but not until after he was already ahead of the 17.

 

Too be fair. I would have to have seen it from the side to say if he had passed the 48 before he crossed the line. I've watched the tape over and over and I'm still unsure on that call. I wonder how nascar would handle that. If a driver crosses the yellow line, and advances his position even though that it isn't the car he is attempting to pass.

 

Did that make any sense?

 

Anyway Congrats Dale Jr. and DEI. On your way to the Championship!  :hail: