Earnhardt does it again
Dale Earnhardt Jr., with a charge reminiscent of his late father, shot from 11th to first in the final five laps and won Sunday's EA Sports 500 at Talladega Speedway. Earnhardt gained his fifth victory of the season and took over the points lead with seven races to go
Earnhardt restarted 11th after a final round of gas-and-go stops, which began under green and with caution coming out with many in the pits. The final restart came on Lap 184, with five laps to go. Brendan Gaughan and Terry Labonte, who had decided to risk skipping the final refuel, led at the green flag.
Kevin Harvick, who had challenged Earnhardt strongly before the final stops, swept by Gaughan to the lead, with a boost from team-mate Robby Gordon. Earnhardt, seemingly without help, darted twice to the inside, getting to fourth place on Lap 185. He swept by Dale Jarrett and Gordon and nosed in behind Harvick, then took the lead with a burst to the outside on Lap 186.
Two wrecks on the last lap did not slow the action, with NASCAR holding back the yellow flag. Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne crashed on the backstretch, behind the action for the lead. At the finish line, Elliott Sadler, running in the teens, got turned and flipped, crashing on his roof before coming to rest on all fours past the chequered flag. Sadler was not hurt.
Earnhardt's charge was reminiscent of Dale Sr.'s dramatic dash from 18th to victory over the final five laps of the race here in fall 2000, Senior's last victory. Earnhardt Sr. died in a wreck at the Daytona 500 in February 2001.
It was a masterful piece of work by Junior, who has won five of the past seven races here. He led 78 of the 188 laps and seized the points lead by 13 over Kurt Busch, who finished fifth. Jeff Gordon, who had led the points coming out of Dover, was caught in the confusion of the final pit stops and finished 19th, falling 61 out of the lead.
Daytona 24: Westbrook’s Ganassi Cadillac tops second practice
Richard Westbrook ensured Cadillac’s new V-LMDh snagged top spot in second practice for the Daytona 24 Hours, ahead of the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Autosport Acura.
Auer suffers back injury in Daytona 24 practice shunt
Mercedes driver Lucas Auer has suffered a back injury and been taken to hospital following a violent crash in opening practice for this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours.
Daytona 24: WTR Acura tops heavily interrupted FP1
Five red flags disrupted the first practice session for this weekend's Daytona 24 Hours, while Filipe Albuquerque put the Wayne Taylor Racing Andretti Autosport Acura on top.
Pedrosa to make KTM MotoGP wildcard outing in Spanish GP
Dani Pedrosa will make his first MotoGP race start since the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix with a wildcard entry for KTM at this year’s Spanish GP in April.
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
Saddled with uncompetitive Minardi machinery, Tarso Marques didn't manage to score points in his three partial seasons of Formula 1. But now the Brazilian has the chance to show what he can do in NASCAR, and explains the story of his comeback with new Cup Series entrant Team Stange
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
NASCAR’s new stock car generation is encouraging an influx of fresh blood into its top tier. But there are concerns that parts are in short supply as the entire paddock tries to build up stocks at the same time
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
After holding his nerve and hip-checking his team-mate on the run to the line, Austin Cindric made a perfect start to life as a full-timer in the NASCAR Cup Series by winning the Daytona 500. Here's how the Penske Ford man emerged first across the line in the first points-scoring race for the much-anticipated Next Generation cars
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
There are plenty of uncertainties ahead of the 2022 NASCAR Cup season as an all-new fleet of cars take to the track for the first time. Ahead of this weekend's Daytona 500, our experts explain what you need to know
How NASCAR had to learn a harsh lesson ahead of its Next Gen arrival
The NASCAR Cup kicks off with the Daytona 500 this weekend, but a major overhaul and a subsequent mountain of work has been required to be ready for the arrival of the Next Gen cars
How Larson took the long way round to NASCAR Cup glory
From villain to hero, Kyle Larson’s journey to the 2021 NASCAR Cup title comes straight from the Hollywood blockbuster scripts. While Larson had to reach his lifelong goal the hard way and go through a very public shaming after a ban for using a racial slur, his talents shone long before his name grabbed the headlines for both the right and the wrong reasons
How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022
It’s not just Formula 1 that’s set for upheaval in 2022, as the NASCAR Cup Series adopts its Next Gen cars that will cast any in-built advantages aside and require teams to adopt a totally new way of operating. Far more than just a change of machinery, the new cars amount to a shift in NASCAR's core philosophy
Why Bubba Wallace’s Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR
Bubba Wallace claimed his maiden NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega on Monday to become the first Black victor in the category since Wendell Scott in 1963. Both Wallace and Scott had faced obstacles and racism in their paths to their breakthrough wins, and NASCAR is trying to put it right with its range of diversity programmes
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.